The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV (25 page)

* * * * *

Julian looked over at me, as I stepped away
from the wall. The others were so fascinated by the story that they
didn't seem to notice the two of us move away. He took my arm,
turning me to face him, just before I stepped off the patio.

“What's the matter?” He whispered. I shook my
head, just wanting to pull away and sighed. “It's Creolas, isn't
it?” He asked. “What aren't you telling me, Caitlyn?”

“I've wanted to tell you something for a
while now, but I just didn't know how.” I whispered. Lauren called
out to him, and he glanced away as I worked up the nerve to tell
him my secret. “Julian.” I said, softly, and watched him glance
from me to the others again. “Julian, Creolas and I...”

He put his hand up, stopping me, not really
having heard what I said to begin with and looked at me.

“They want me to end the story, Cait. Can we
talk about his later?” He asked, quietly.

“Yeah,” I replied, shrugging, “sure.”

He kissed my cheek and walked back towards
the others. I watched him leave then made my way, once again, to
the large oval garden to the west of the house. I stood along the
furthest wall, looking out at the star filled sky as I listened to
Julian's voice in my head. We had an open line of mental
communication so that I could hear what he said.

* * * * *

“She seemed well enough when she woke up and
that next afternoon I watched her and Creolas walking around the
yard. He seemed so different, like having faced Klamara again took
all that anger away. I cringed every time I saw them together,
feeling the strange pull at my heart.” Julian looked up at the
moon, crossing his arms over his chest.

* * * * *

“Hello, beautiful.” A voice whispered in my
ear as arms wrapped around me from behind. I smiled at the voice
and leaned my head back against his chest, looking up at Creolas'
face. It always shocked me to see him with his dark hair and deep
blue eyes. “It's a lovely night, so why are you out here all
alone?”

“It's almost done.” I sighed and turned in
his arms to face him fully. “And, Julian doesn't even have a
clue.”

“That's good, isn't it?” He questioned.

“In a way, but you know how he feels about me
and how I feel about him, but I don't want him to think that
there's a chance for us, if you and I are together.” I stepped away
from Creolas and made my way to the vine covered gazebo then sat on
the step that lead up to it. Creolas knelt down in front of me and
took my hands. “It just makes me wonder how he'll handle news like
that.”

“Well, he'll either accept it, or he'll freak
out.” Nick's voice spoke up as he walked over. Creolas stood up and
shook his brother's hand. “I hope you've been behaving.”

“I'm afraid not too.” Creolas smiled and
glanced down at me. “She might hurt me.” I slapped him across the
back of his calf and watched him jump. “Ouch.”

“Does Julian know you're here?” Nick asked.
Creolas smiled, happily and shook his head.

“Does he know about you?” He asked back.

“Not a clue.” Nick laughed and the two of
them looked down at me, as I put my hands on my knees. “What about
you?”

“Of course he knows I'm here. Don't be
silly.” I replied, standing up. “He's probably over there right now
telling them about how after Klamara was defeated; I decided to
move down here to be close to him, under the guise of working as a
business partner.”

“Didn't you?”

“Well, yes, but that's not the point.” I
shook my head as the three of us walked over to the side of the
garden where we could see everyone clearly. I crossed my arms over
my chest and sighed. “How I would love to walk over there and set
the record straight, that this wasn't over, not by a long shot, but
how much does she really need to know. I mean, she's gotten a lot
more than she should have.”

“You really shouldn't blame her, Cait; after
all she's just a vampire.” Creolas said, casually, leaned down and
kissed me gently on the cheek before he backed up into the shadows
as Julian approached.

“He's right; she's not that important, not
anymore, so you really shouldn't worry.” Nick added, and then
touched my cheek, gently, with his fingers as he backed away. I
grabbed his hand, stopping him, and he smiled. “We'll be
close.”

“That's what I wanted to hear.” I whispered
and let him go. Julian stepped up just as Nick disappeared into the
darkness. He smiled at me, but I couldn't manage a smile back.
“There's something we need to discuss.”

“I know; I can feel it.” He whispered. “It's
about Ashley, isn't it?”

“Ashley? Well, yes, in a way, but it's more
to do with us.”

“Us?” He asked, confused. I nodded and
sighed. “What about us?”

“We're friends, right?” I questioned,
watching him nod slowly. “Then, I think you should know something
about me.”

“Like what?” He asked, softly.

“I'm in a relationship.”

“I know; with Robert.” He looked over my
face, and then I could see his pain, one that mirrored mine, in his
eyes. “Who else?”

The fact that he had caught on so quickly
seemed to shock me, and it took me a moment to answer back, but in
that small moment, he asked one more question.

“How long has this been going on?” I turned
from him and walked out to the steps that lead from the garden down
to the grass. It was the place I had first seen Julian those many
years ago, then I turned back to see that he had followed me. “You
said we needed to talk about it, so talk.”

“It started after Klamara, after we beat him
that last time.” I sat up on the wall and looked out at the grass.
“I was still angry with you, that you had lied and taken my
memories from me. So, I started to surround myself with things that
would help me remember more of the things that I had forgotten, and
the biggest was Creolas.

“I would follow him into the city, into the
club and I'd watch how he worked. I was fascinated by what he did
and how he did it.” I watched Julian close his eyes and turn his
head away, but I continued. “He caught me, one night, following him
and he was pretty mad about it, not like he would have been if it
had been before his change, but it was still anger and at first it
scared me, but I got over it pretty quickly.”

“So, is he why you moved down here, with me?”
Julian questioned. I shook my head, and stared at him. I knew he
hadn't seen my response, so, when he turned back to me, I shook my
head again.

“The reason I moved down here was to be
closer to you, because I loved you. You were and always will be my
best friend and I wanted you to be in Damien's life, despite his
lack of knowledge.” I got down from the wall and made my way down
the steps.

“Your relationship with Creolas, how serious
is it?” I turned and glanced up at him, as I stepped off into the
lush grass and smiled. His voice had changed in an instant, taking
on a more interested tone.

“I'm not sure how you would classify it.” I
laughed, and watched him step up beside me. “It's a bit more than
friendship, and a little less than lovers, kind of a semi-platonic
partnership.”

“I guess that's not so bad.” He shrugged.
“Actually, it sounds a bit like us.”

“You're right, it does.” I shrugged and
looked up at the bright moon. “So, has Ashley popped any questions
at you yet?”

“I told her that the story wasn't done yet.”
I stopped and looked at him, as if to ask what he meant. “I want
you to tell her what happened next, after you were well.”

“I thought we were going to leave that out.”
I questioned. “Remember what you said, something’s are best left
alone?”

“It really wasn't that bad when you think
back on it.”

“All right, if that's what you'd like me to
do, then fine but I think we should do it soon. I have guests
coming at two.”

“This morning?”

“Yes, it was the only time they could make
it.” I waved it off as we walked back to the party.

20

I sat down next to Quinn, who glanced at me,
then over at Julian who was talking to Ashley. He turned in his
chair and leaned in closer to me. I smiled at him as a knowing
smirk crossed his face.

“Spit it out.” I laughed at him. His smile
widened as he folded his hands together on the table.

“Does Julian know that those two are here?” I
wanted to ask how he knew, but didn't.

“Does it matter?” I questioned back.

“Not really.” Quinn sat back and looked over
at Ashley. “Should I be worried about him?”

“No.” I answered, truthfully. “Don't get me
wrong, she will hurt him, one more time, but that will only make
him stronger. Julian is destined for something else, something
bigger than what he is with her.”

“You can see this?” Quinn whispered.

“It started out as something I read in one of
Larado's books and with it brought a vision.” I got up and touched
Quinn on the shoulder. “Don't worry, things will get better.”

Julian smiled at me, and I saw that there
wasn't any less love in his eyes now that he knew about Creolas and
me then before when he didn't have a clue. I rubbed my hands
together as I leaned back against the wall.

“Things seemed to be fine for a while after
we finally defeated Klamara. I was getting to know Creolas better
and Nick and Julian seemed to be getting along, putting their
differences aside for once since they didn't have to focus on
protecting me, or at least we thought.” I closed my eyes and
thought back to that night, two weeks after our brush with death.
“I had let Robert know that I had been offered a job here, helping
Julian with his business, but at the time, I had decided not to
take it. Robert thought it would be a good idea to keep an open
line of communication.”

“Robert let you spend that much time with a
man you supposedly just met?” Ashley questioned. I shook my head,
smiling then continued without replying to her directly.

“Robert knew that Julian and I were old
friends. He thought we had gone to school together, and despite
what you might think, I never told him we had. When I told him the
truth, that I had come down here to find out if he really existed,
he came to his own assumptions that we had known each other from
school.” I rubbed my forehead, and then looked over the faces of
the people in front of me. I decided then that I had to just get on
with it and stop trying to stall. “We decided, that night, to go
out to a club. Connie had come down to bring Damien to me but
decided to stay when she found out Nick was around. So, with Damien
in the care of a nanny, the five of us went out.”

* * * * *

It had been almost three years since I had
stepped foot in a club of any kind, so, when we entered the
nightclub called the Ravenloft; I was a bit surprised that things
hadn't changed much.

The bar was crowded but the three tall men
that we were with seemed to make space rather quickly. It wasn't
long before the five of us sat, relaxing and chatting among the
loud music and moving bodies. Things unfortunately weren't going to
stay that peaceful.

Connie and I had moved out to the dance floor
one level below our table and from where we stood dancing together
to the fast pace of the music, we could see the three men looking
on.

I watched them, as my body swayed and moved,
provocatively to the beat of the music. I felt so alive, suddenly,
and then everything seemed to grow dark for an instant. I stopped
moving and stood looking up at the strobe lights, wanting the
vision to appear again, but it wouldn't. Connie looked over the
expression on my face, and then she took my hand.

“What is it?”

“Something's wrong.” I answered her, looking
around the floor trying to locate the three men we had come in
with. “Where are the boys?”

“They're up there. I signaled them to come
down here when your face became so pale.” Connie explained. Creolas
stepped up beside me, with concern in his eyes. “Where are the
others?”

“We have to leave, now.” He ordered, and then
looked from one of us to the other. I felt his hand grasp mine as
we moved through the crowd, and then he stopped, quickly and turned
to look at me. “Take Connie and run.”

“What is it?” I whispered stepping closer to
him and that was when I saw the strange dart in his neck. “What's
going on?” I pulled it out gently, but the effect it was having on
him told me it was too late. Creolas leaned against me as his knees
began to give out. I turned and looked up at Connie as I knelt down
on the floor with Creolas, who seemed to be slowly blacking out.
“You have to leave.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked,
confused. “What's going on?”

“Listen to me.” I asked of her, standing up.
“Something is wrong here. Please, leave the club, go to the house,
get Damien and get out.”

“Caitlyn, I don't understand.” She whispered,
softly. That was when I felt the pain in my neck. I reached up and
touched the spot where the pain was. “What is that?”

I looked at the thin, long, dark brown,
wooden dark that I had pulled out of the skin in my neck. The tip
that had pierced me had a strange blue tip that looked a bit like
gel. I turned my gaze from the dart to Connie as my vision started
to blur.

“Go, please.” I whispered, and then struggled
to hold my balance. I watched Connie's face fade out and I reached
out for her. “Connie, run.”

I felt her leave, step away from my grip, and
my world became completely black. I could still feel myself
falling, even though I couldn't move to stop myself. I hit the
dance floor hard enough to feel the wind rush from my lungs, then
there was nothing.

When I opened my eyes, the only thing I could
see was the grass that grew in front of me. I turned, slowly, from
the fetal position that I was laying in. All of my muscles were
sore, as if I had just finished a five-mile run in record time and
it took quite an effort to stretch out and begin to move.