The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (29 page)

            “You’re damn right. He’s
using dark, no, demon magic in order to steal souls of other witches. When he
does that, he gains a fraction of their power. It allows his to increase. He is
a necromancer by birth but with his ambition and willingness to deal with
demons, he has become a witch that can use earth magic, elemental magic,
healing, and many other gifts that should not be his to claim. ”

            Selene stops in her tracks
and covers her mouth. “Oh my God.”

            “What is it?” I ask,
leaning forward.

            “Then, you’re wrong on
your timeline. He hasn’t been doing this for fifteen years. He’s probably been
doing it for hundreds.”

            “Shit,” the vampire says,
now pacing back and forth, rubbing her braids.

            “What are you saying
Selene?” I ask, feeling as though I got lost somewhere in the conversation.

            “I’m saying that if he’s
this proficient at demon magic or even forbidden witch magic, then, he’s
probably been transferring his own soul into other witches in order to sustain
his own life. He could be at least 500 years old then. It’s because demon magic
has a deadly cost and the user usually doesn’t live longer than a couple years
because demons come to collect their souls after being used for an extended
amount of time.” Selene bites her lip and then snaps her fingers as if having
an epiphany.

            “I bet that he’s been
feeding these demons other’s souls as payment to keep himself alive. He has
probably gone through thousands of trial and errors when learning how to
control his new powers and keeping himself able bodied enough to do something
with them. If you said that he’s gotten stronger exponentially over the past
couple years, then it must be due to something on the witch’s calendar. He’s
aiming for a specific date isn’t he?” Selene guesses.

            “Dies sol solis cado ex
divum,” the vampire says grimly.

            “Meaning?” I ask.

            “Roughly: The day the sun
falls from the sky. It is prophesized that an eclipse will black out the sun
and that the boundary between our world and the other planes will be at its
weakest. He will be able to move his armies and if he is truly in league with
demon kind, they will break the plane and walk the earth in numbers not seen in
thousands of years. Once they’re here, I don’t think they’re going back.”

            Selene lets out a big
breath and plops down next to me. “You need to contact Diana.”

            “What’s going on?” I ask.

            “We need to find out just
how much time we have, and see if they’ll be of any help.”

            “The Immortals? Don’t
waste your time. They won’t help.” The vampire barks a laugh.

            “How can you be so sure?”
I ask.

            “I just know. Anyway, if
you do, contact them away from here. I am not allowed in their presence.”

            “What do you mean? And
just who are you anyway? You seem to know so much about me, but you haven’t
even told us your name.”

            “It doesn’t matter why,
it’s unimportant to what’s going on right now… My name is Zara Drake.” She bows
with one arm across her chest, upper body perfectly parallel to the ground.

            “You can’t be serious
right now,” Selene interrupts, putting her hands over her face. “You are a Drake?”

            “I am. So you must know
what that means then priestess.”

            “Well I sure as hell
don’t, so why don’t the two of you stop talking above me and fill me in,” I
say, snapping on the both of them. My heart begins to pound wildly and Zara
gives me a look that says cool it. I forgot that we have a blood link now and
that she’d be able to feel my heart beating, my emotions changing.

            “I apologize, Rayne. Allow
me to continue. My family is pureblood. I was born a vampire over three hundred
years ago and am the youngest in my line. Each line of purebloods possess
special gifts. My family is known especially for our extraordinary talents,”
Zara tells me, clearly trying to explain without explaining.

            She doesn’t want to tell
me what her ‘talents’ are, that much is clear. “I myself am an Enforcer for the
Nine. The Nine are the original pureblood families that all who are of the
blood originate from. They call me the Blade of the Night.”

            “Yes, or the Crimson
Princess. No wonder why you had no chance Rayne. This one was a trained killer
before she could even speak,” Selene jabs.

            “Do not pretend that you
come from an innocent upbringing witch. We all do what we must to protect our
own. I do not kill on order unless it is necessary, and I have done more to
protect each of your kind than you will ever be able to accomplish. The last
thing you want is to make me angry. I haven’t fed in a week,” Zara warns, and
as if to prove her point, her eyes become redder.    

            Purebloods didn’t have to
feed the way that turned vamps had to, so if her need to feed was threatening
her, it must be because of stress. They could even eat normal food on a regular
basis. It didn’t sustain like blood, but it helped them keep up the human
charade and push blood cravings away. They could also walk under the sun with
no restrictions unlike made vamps that can’t manage durations of sunlight
longer than forty five minutes and that is during times when the sun isn’t high
in the sky. It weakened them and could also mean death if they weren’t careful.
Summertime must be hell.

            “Would it help if  you fed
just a little from me then?” I ask, the words fumbling out of my mouth before I
even realize it.

            Selene smacks her lips and
rolls her eyes, clearly not liking this one bit either, but knowing that my offer
is a practical one. Our blood link may become more profound, but that would
also mean she’d know when I was in danger, and that could help save my life.

            “Don’t worry Selene, even
though Rayne here has grown incredibly attractive, I can feel the love between
you two. I will behave myself,” Zara promises.

            “That means you won’t
glamour her or me ever.”

            “If I see you as friends
or allies, you have my word on that. I will not force my will upon you.” Then,
she continues, “Rayne, a feeding can be a very sexual experience, but I don’t
want it to be something uncomfortable for you. Open your mind up and do not try
to struggle because then, you may trigger my need to kill. Priestess, why don’t
you hold her hand,” Zara suggests.

            Selene scoots on the bed
next to me, while Zara crouches down before me. We lock eyes for a second
before I blink and turn away. For her to be over three hundred years old, she
doesn’t look a day over twenty three. I wonder when she stopped aging.

            “Thank you Rayne for your
blood. Now, are you ready?” I nod slowly and grip Selene’s hand tighter as Zara
gently grabs my wrist and turns it up towards her. Her fangs elongate, sharp
and intimidating. I swallow hard. With one last glance at me, she unhurriedly
brings my wrist up towards her mouth and licks a small x as if to signal to me
where the bite will occur, then, my skin breaks and she catches the runoff with
her quick tongue.

            My breath catches as tiny
surges of pleasure ripple through my body from the pheromones in her saliva. As
she sucks my life force from my vein, I try to force a moan back down my
throat, but as my head falls back, the sound escapes my body and I find myself
not caring how much blood she takes from me. With each suck of her lips, pulses
of pleasure ripple through me. How can feeding feel so much like great sex?

            As my mind goes cloudy,
somehow I find Selene’s lips. At first, she’s hesitant, obviously not
comfortable with the circumstances, but sure enough, her lips press harder
against mine as I open my mouth to let her sweet tongue in. My tongue roams,
enjoying the feel of her soft lips. I bite gently down on her lower lip as
Selene presses closer to me, rubbing her hand through my hair. Zara slowly,
purposefully continues to feed from me as the feeding sparks the flames of my
growing desire. Then, far, far too soon, it’s over.

Chapter Twenty Five

           
Z
ara closes my wound with her saliva and smiles at both of
us, who are now breathing heavily.

            “I didn’t take much, but
you’ll need to eat and drink something just in case since it was your first
time.” Then, she looks at Selene slyly. “You know, a feeding mixed with magic
and sex is absolutely the best feeling in the world.” She winks then leaves the
room, searching for food for us.

            “Oh my, now that was
something,” Selene says, surprising me.

            “Yeah, it was,” I agree,
pulse pounding down low.

            “I think she pushed her
aura on me while feeding from you. Behave herself my ass,” Selene says trying
to sound incredulous, but not succeeding.

            “I think she was just
teasing you for being so uptight,” I tell her, already seeming to know her
personality.

            “You may be right, but I
know vampires, and they’re always up to something. Don’t get too sucked in by
her charm. She’s comes from a powerful line and we are absolutely disposable,”
Selene warns.

            I remain silent as I think
about what I just learned and how Zara had apparently saved my life when I was
a young child. Did I really have that much impact on her way of thinking? Did
her glamour on me help me to be as fearless as I am today? Maybe I owed much
more to her than I knew. Whatever the case, I need to know more about this
tattooed vampire.

            After a short while, Zara
comes back to the room and tells us that the food she prepared is ready. I have
to travel down the stairs and around to a hallway to get to the kitchen. She
has some expensive Moscato on the glass table with three filled glasses. I take
a seat in a black cushioned chair under dim lights and look at the food as Zara
sets it in front of me. Selene takes the seat next to me and Zara serves her as
well.

            She baked some tilapia
with baked potatoes and broccoli. I thank her for the food and hesitantly dig
in as I feel her watchful eyes on me. It isn’t anything like my cook at home
used to make, but it isn’t what I expected either. I find myself eating faster
than normal, realizing how drained I feel. Then, I top it off with the wine
before I look at Zara once more.

            “So, can you tell me what
the point was in almost killing me, instead of just telling me what was going
on?”

            She sets her own drink on
the table after taking a long sip, then grabbing the bottle and topping it back
off. “I needed to know where your skills were. If you knew that I was not going
to really kill you, then you wouldn’t have fought me seriously. I needed you
desperate so that you could reach for more of that power inside of you. And
it’s just like I suspected, the Immortals taught you how to fight, how to
survive most situations, but they didn’t teach you how to truly use your power,
they didn’t teach you how to call for it or what sets you off. You are expected
to learn that on your own.”

            “And how do you know so
much about the Immortals, Zara Drake?” Selene asks curiously. Hell, I’m curious
too, but I already know that I won’t be getting a real answer from her.

            “We purebloods have long
known the Immortals. After all, we both share a common bond: extreme longevity.
You could say that we are cut from the same cloth,” she simply says, sounding
as if she’s open to this conversation, but truly isn’t. I’ll have to watch what
she doesn’t say more than what she actually reveals.

            “So, have you ever met
them? What about someone like Rayne?”

            “Ah, I have much that I
could tell you, but I am not ready to share my entire background with people I
have just officially met. When the need arises, I will tell you what’s
important. The only thing that is important right now is that we need each
other or else we will both not only fail in our personal goals, but we will
fail most of the world too,” Zara says with a sense of finality that I’m not
about to argue with.

            “I’ve already made my
decision to go after Namen, that hasn’t changed. Just remember that trust is
earned vampire and even though I want to like you, I not let my guard down so
that you can screw us over,” I tell her.

            “You will learn to trust
me Rayne. Both of you will,” Zara promises. “And I will keep you safe; you have
my word on that.”

            We shall see.

◊◊◊

            Finally, we drive home.
Altogether, the whole ordeal lasted about fourteen hours, so it is about four
p.m. when we get back. I am still a little sore so my shower lasts a lot longer
than usual as I let the hot water pound me. When I get out though, the water isn’t
the only thing that wants to batter my body. Selene ends up giving me a rough
session of lovemaking that concludes in both of us having to shower again. It
is nice to know that even when the world is going to shit, I can still find
time for an orgasm or two, or four.