Dark Heirloom (An Ema Marx Novel Book 1) (31 page)

Jesu inclined his head, gesturing for me to enter the building. We stepped into a hall made completely of polished wood; the floors, walls, and ceiling all smelled like Pine-Sol. From there, the man led us into a penthouse living room with plush red couches arranged in a half-square in front of a sleek fireplace.

Soft light glowed from behind frosted glass-covered lamps mounted on black marble walls. A very expensive looking pool table stood in one corner with a mini-bar on the opposite side. I glanced at my dirty fingernails and torn clothes, and silently vowed not to touch anything.

The man continued to jabber in Finnish. Thankfully, Jesu remembered my presence and cleared his throat. “Ema, this is Naamah. Naamah, this is Ema. She only speaks English.”

Naamah’s pale complexion blushed slightly. “Pardon me, madam, my wife failed to mention that.”

I shook my head and smiled politely, already liking Maria’s husband. He had a faint accent that wasn’t Finnish like Jesu’s. “Maria told you about me?”

“She speaks about you nonstop, my dear.” He laughed, causing the perfectly gelled black ringlets of his hair to bounce. Naamah swept his hand from left to right, gesturing to everything around us. “Please, make yourself at home.”

“If you don’t mind, it’s been a long drive here, I’d rather stand for now.”

“Of course.” He seated himself on the couch. “I apologize, my friend, but we have urgent business to discuss, and not much time for formalities. It is unfortunate that your father has returned.”

I started to speak, but Jesu held up a hand, signaling for me to stop.

“Maria said you could help?” Jesu looked hopeful.

“I am afraid I must join my wife and your father, but I want you to know that I am not your enemy, Prince Jesu.”

Jesu nodded, but he didn’t seem comforted. “I have always known that, Naamah.”

Naamah faced me. “Maria wanted me to give you something.” He rose and disappeared into a room. I glanced at Jesu questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders.

Naamah returned with a scroll under his arm. He held the scroll out to me, and I took it.

“Thank you, but what is it?”

“It’s a record of your father’s clan.”

Jesu and I both glanced at each other. He took the scroll from me and unrolled it.

“My father… was a vampyre?” My knees wilted, and I sank against the edge of the couch, despite the stains on my jeans.

“How did you get this?” Jesu asked him.

“My wife made a few calls to the American R.E.D., pulled a few strings, got Ema’s background, and asked me to look into it. She said you haven’t seen your father in thirteen years, is that right?”

“Yes,” I mumbled.

“Your father is not a vampyre, though. He chooses to remain human thus far.”

My brow rose. “But, he belongs to a clan, how can he not—”

“It says here your father is registered with the Jumlin Clan,” said Jesu. He glanced at Naamah. “I thought the Jumlin were extinct.”

“There is a small tribe of them, no more than twenty or thirty, residing in Canada.”

“Wait,” I stood. “You said my father
chooses
to remain human?”

Naamah nodded. “The Jumlin are the only vampyres in the world that remain human until they choose to consume blood.”

“It has been rumored that stress also causes the change in them,” Jesu added.

Naamah nodded. “Unfortunately, there is not much information on the diminishing clan.”

“Whoa! Can you guys just stop talking for a minute? I’m… I’m not such a mystery after all, then. My mom is a descendant of Apollyon, and my father’s a walking vampyre time bomb, it was really only a matter of time for me, wasn’t it?”

Jesu bit his lip then re-rolled the scroll. “Ema, I am sorry.”

“My dad knew. He
knew
, and he decided to leave me and Mom. Didn’t it ever once occur to him that I might need to know that information?”

“It seems I am the bearer of more bad news.” Naamah nodded in my direction, but spoke to Jesu.

“Your brother is after her.”

“Why?” Jesu demanded.

“I do not know,” Naamah shook his head. “But he has issued a warrant for her arrest, and my wife seems to think that he means Ema harm.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course Jalmari meant to harm me, that’s all he ever meant to do since the day we met.

Jesu’s fists clenched at his sides. His brow furrowed, and he bared his fangs as he sat rigidly on the couch. Naamah placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I know what she is.” He glanced at me, meaning intent in his eyes, then he looked at Jesu. “I know what she is meant to do, and I know that you are cursed.”

Jesu’s head snapped up, his mouth gaping at Naamah’s words, but Naamah held up a hand to silence Jesu before he could protest. “You must try, Jesu. You must try to let her do it.”

I wanted to ask Naamah what he meant, but only to confirm my own thoughts. I knew he was talking about Jesu’s premonition. I knew he was trying to tell Jesu to let me face Apollyon, despite his promise to keep me safe. Jesu stared at the floor, his expression blank, his body motionless. He just… stared.

I reached forward and placed a hand over Naamah’s. “I will find a way to make this right.”

“No,” Jesu snapped. “This is not our war.”

I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. I remembered how intently Apollyon had looked at me. How he had said my name out loud. I opened my eyes. “You’re wrong, Jesu. It may not be our war, but it is my battle. Apollyon wants me, and I doubt he’ll stop until he gets me. Besides, I can’t spend the rest of my life running away with you.”

Jesu glanced away. I wrapped my fingers in his. “I have to defeat him, Jesu. I won’t have a war happen because of my selfishness.”

He looked at our hands and tightened his fingers around mine. “Then, I will fight with you. But for now, we have to bide our time until we figure out what to do next.”

Naamah leaned back in his seat and pressed his fingers together like a steeple. “I am afraid Jesu is right about biding time. Ema, you are not safe in Finland with a warrant hanging over your head. You must leave the country as soon as possible.”

Both Jesu and I looked in Naamah’s direction.

“What?” I demanded, but the guys ignored my question.

“The sun will be up in five hours, where would we go?” Jesu stood, the urgency in his voice rising.

Naamah also stood, waving a hand before him. “I have already arranged tickets and passports for both of you. You will go to the German R.E.D. in Berlin. She’ll be safe there. As soon as you can, you must contact the Council about your father. I wish I could help further, Prince Jesu, but if I do not depart soon, King Apollyon will grow suspicious.

“I understand,” Jesu said. “When does the plane leave?”

Naamah glanced at his watch. “In two hours.”

My jaw hung open.

This is just peachy.

I showered and borrowed some of Maria’s clothes. In the shower, I thought I would have a meltdown as I scrubbed my own blood from my limbs and hair. Now, I smelled like lilac and aloe shampoo, and my hands were clean. I sat on the steps just outside Naamah’s penthouse to get some fresh air while Jesu finalized things. He joined me on the stoop and locked the front door behind him.

“Are you ready?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “Airports are usually crowded.”

His grin dimpled his left cheek. “We have a private plane.”

I knew I should have felt relieved, but somehow I wasn’t. I gazed past the iron fence, to the sleeping shops across the road. My first time in Europe, and I hadn’t seen but a blink of it. I wondered if Berlin would be different.

I stood and faced Jesu. “Someday, I would like to come back and take a tour of Helsinki.”

Jesu’s grin widened as he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me down the walkway to the compact car. “I will see that you do, Ema.”

Epilogue:

Jalmari

Rage blurred my vision as I carried Leena’s body into the forest. I gently laid her on a bed of pine needles and knelt beside her. I pushed her midnight-black hair from her face and gazed upon her body.

My jaw clenched at the sight of the wounds on her chest. They looked a day old, even though the terrible incident couldn’t have happened more than an hour ago. My head spun. That fucking demon fed on her essence, and then left her to bleed out before her body had a chance to heal.

She was so cold. So cold and… I didn’t want to think the rest, even though the word presented itself in my mind.

Gone
.

I pounded my fist into the earth. “It’s not fair, damn it. Do you hear me? It’s not fucking fair!”

I wrapped my hands around a tree trunk, ripped it out of the ground, and hurled it into the air. Before it landed, I had my fists on another log and flung it over the cliff. Pebbles and dirt sprayed across the forest. Wood chips exploded as the first tree came crashing down.

“Why’d you do it, Leena? I asked you to trust me. You’re so stupid, you know that?”

I kicked the trunk of a thick pine tree until it splintered. The ground trembled on impact as the tree fell over. I dropped to my knees, panting.

A hand rested on my shoulder. Maria’s gentle voice spoke behind me. “Your Majesty, it’s time to go.”

“Fuck you,” I spat. “Leave me to die.”

I took Leena’s lifeless hands and kissed the tops of them, willing her to come back to me. She had figured it out. She’d tried to save me, and this was what I had to show for my own stupid, selfish behavior. If only I had told her the truth.

Maria pulled me away from the body.

“She’s dead… ” I said.

“There, there.” Maria embraced me, cradling my head against her abdomen. I gripped her blouse with my fists and pressed my face against her. I tried to hold back, but couldn’t resist any longer. My chest heaved, and I sobbed tearlessly against Maria’s blouse.

“You must be strong, Jalmari. She went through all that trouble to save you. It was the last thing she did, and she did it for you. Now you must go on for her. You’ll see her again, when your time comes.”

I wanted my time to come now. A vampyre’s life was much too long. I pushed myself up and wiped my nose with my sleeve.

Maria brushed my hair out of my eyes with her fingers. “Are you well enough to see your father? He’s been wanting to speak to you.” She smiled as if his return was an ordinary thing.

“Before dawn.” I agreed.

She nodded, then returned to the castle, leaving me to mourn alone.

I set to work gathering a thick pile of pine needles. Then I gathered sticks, branches, and whatever remained of the trees I had broken. I lay the wooden pieces length-wise to create a platform on top of the bed of needles. With a heavy heart, I lifted Leena’s body and laid it on the pyre.

I bowed my head and squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, heat stung my vision. It was the closest a vampyre would ever come to really crying.

“My darling,” my voice cracked as I struggled against the lump in my throat. “I never got to tell you how much I love you. All these years, decades, millennia, I wanted to… I wanted to marry you, Leena. I wanted to make you my bride. My wife. A mother. To grow old and die beside you… I… I was such a coward. You deserved better.”

A cold frost warped my heart as memories of Leena flashed before my eyes. This was all
her
fault. If I hadn’t let that rat into our lives… if
he
hadn’t forced me… If I had listened to Leena…

Oh, Leena, oh no…

The sun peaked over the horizon. I sucked in a deep breath, and then exhaled while rubbing my forehead. I unsheathed my dagger and laid it in between Leena’s breasts. I took her hands and folded them over the hilt. Reaching into my pants pocket, I pulled out my brother’s lighter and lit it.

“Wait for me in Tuonela, my love. I won’t be long.” I set fire to the pyre and waited a moment to watch the blaze erupt. Sighing, I faced the castle and phased my body.

My father may have gotten his wish, but I knew I was still of value to him. Times had changed drastically since he was king. The Council would not welcome his return. I used this knowledge to propel myself forward. I turned my heartache into rage, and used it to fuel my determination.

I materialized just inside my office. The darkness was almost pitch-black. Plywood covered the window to protect my father’s delicate skin from the rising light as he sat in
my
armchair, behind
my
desk, in
my
fucking castle. He was no longer a skeleton. He had transformed back into his broad, brute self, the cup of blood in his right hand helping him quickly recover his strength. Maria stood in her place to the left of my father. For as long as he was alive, she would be doomed to serve him.

He gazed at me with piercing red eyes, disappointment evident. I didn’t care. I would not recoil. I would hold my ground like an equal. His voice was cold, and he clicked his long fingernails along the mahogany desk top as he spoke.

“Anger is good for you, my son, but you must use it wisely. Do not be a fool and allow yourself to become drunk with freedom.”

“Freedom is a lie.”

His lips curled in amusement as he sipped his drink. Maria immediately refilled his glass. Apollyon grimaced at her. I knew he was disgusted to receive his meal from a blood bank instead of a freshly slaughtered body.

“You wanted to speak with me,” I coaxed.

“I was not expecting to awaken so soon. I have much to discuss with you—”

“You have three minutes.”

He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “These things I plan take time. Despite your complete lack of worthiness, you are the only capable heir to the things I wish to achieve. I need you to keep the Council from—”

I barked a laugh. “Oh here we go again, old man. What are you going to do? Take over Europe? Take over the world? Times have changed. Your reign is long done for. No one fears you anymore.”

He glared at me. “I am not so ignorant. I have allies, Jalmari. I can still destroy you. Without me, you are nothing.”

“You have already destroyed me. Kill me, please. I want you to.”

He merely scrunched his face, exposing his crooked fangs.

I shook my head and scoffed. “There is nothing you can to do me that’s worse than what you’ve already done. Do what you want with the kingdom, I am powerless to stop you, but I will not help. I am no longer your vessel, or your slave.” I turned my back to him and phased.

I was almost outside when I felt Maria’s energy against my own. I debated whether or not to stop, and decided on the latter. We both materialized just outside the castle door.

“Do not try to stop me,” I warned.

“Jalmari, you’re upset.” She reached for my hand, but I jerked away from her.

“
Upset
isn’t even close.”

She hesitated, her eyes wide and pleading. “You can’t run from him.”

Guilt wracked at my chest. I didn’t want to leave her behind. None of this was her fault, but she would suffer in the clutches of my father’s hands for the things her husband did all those years ago. Naamah would return, if not for his wife, then at least for my father. He didn’t have a choice.

But I did.

“I’m not running, Maria. You’ll be okay, you know that? Naamah will come for you.”

“Jalmari, I’m worried about
you
.” She narrowed her eyes.

“I’m a big boy, Maria.”

She shook her head. “You’re a stubborn idiot. Where will you go? What will you do?”

I smiled and glanced at the brightening sky. “I am going to do what I should have done in the first place. I’m going to kill that rat named Ema Marx.”