Blood Life (21 page)

Several months passed since the night of Alethea’s first kill. Roman had witnessed the will of a woman change radically when faced with such an improbable change in her life. He remembered himself changing, and how he had felt once about the topic of killing for the Blood Life. He knew it was survival, and what was more, he had come to enjoy the wondrous feeling it filled him with.

Alethea had undergone the entire alteration and was able to experience it for all that it was; therefore, she believed, thrived for and accepted vampyrism entirely. She wanted to absorb and experience every facet of it, especially if she would be able to spend eternity by Roman’s side. Forever in her lover’s arms, safe and secure, as it was meant to be. At least, that is what she wanted, but she knew she was forcing herself to feel completely safe, trying to ignore the fact that Lokee followed her every move.

The major problem was that Lokee was a very old vampire. Not just old—ancient in comparison to Roman. Alethea was afraid that she would have Roman killed by provoking or not cooperating with Lokee’s wishes.

She could not bear to face one day without Roman now that they were reunited. It terrified her that she could end up losing him by Lokee’s hand.

Roman thought it was ridiculous, of course, but she still imagined and dreamt of it almost every time she slept. Lokee would come to her in dreams and tell her to follow him. He wanted her to go to him “where she belonged.”

No Roman, no protection.

Thirty One

“Roman,” Alethea said. She sat lazily on the sofa by the fire in his office at
Dusk
.

“Yes,” he answered over his shoulder. Lance, one of his employees, was sitting across from him at the desk. Lance stared at Alethea as though she had addressed him.

She didn’t answer, shifting her emerald gaze back into the vivid colors of the flames in the fireplace. She watched intently, with her new sight, as the flames danced, licking at the brick wall, blackening it more than it already was.

“That will be all then, Lance, thank you.” Roman stood up to walk him to the door.

“I’ll have those figures ready for you by Friday, sir.” Lance glanced over at Alethea. “We sure are happy to have you back, sir, and it was nice meeting you, Alethea.”

She turned and nodded to him. He was a short fellow with a round face and long, dirty blonde hair. He was the type of person anyone could feel comfortable around, but when it came to discussing personal matters, he was the mouth of the club.

“Friday will be perfect, Lance. Remember, you are always in charge of things in my absence, no matter how long.” Lance nodded, enthusiastically, as Roman smiled and shut the door after him.

He sighed and turned to face Alethea, changing his uptight, professional expression to one of love and affection. She giggled at the dramatic change.

“What?” he asked, defensively.

“I was just thinking,” she answered, running her fingers through her freshly curled hair, admiring the burgundy locks that glistened in the light of the fire.

“About what, may I ask? If I am the cause of your laughter, I deserve to know why,” he protested, grinning playfully.

“Please, Roman, stop wasting my time like this.”

He looked very confused. “What?”

“You know as well as I do that you can just read my thoughts. I can hide nothing from you and it bothers the hell out of me,” she snapped.

“Ooookkkkkaaayyyy,” he sang, sarcastically, “what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she countered. Roman cleared his throat patiently. She looked at him seriously, “Really, I was actually laughing at myself. The way I think.” She paused, reflecting. “Quite melodramatic,” she smiled, apologetically.

Roman’s smile lit up the room even more than the cozy fire. “That’s better. I try not to read your mind, if that is of any comfort to you. I do respect your privacy.”

“You don’t cease to amaze me,” she replied, rolling her eyes out of spite, then pushing herself up from the sofa.

She took slow, graceful steps over to his desk, feeling the pull of his curiosity. She always did feel his energy when she was close to him. He got up and walked over to her, luring her in with his wet, delicious lips.

“What did you want when Lance was in here?” he whispered, being sexy with her ear.

“I just wanted your attention,” she whispered back. “No, really, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.” He held her at arm’s length to look her squarely in the face.

“Last night—” she stopped, unsure of how to start.

“What about it?” He looked concerned as she tried her damnedest to cloak her thoughts from him. Since she so stupidly built this up by hesitating, he was sure to pry. “Well, Alethea?” He snapped her back from her tremulous thoughts.

“I . . . um, maybe you should sit down for this.”

He obeyed, maintaining eye contact.

“I had another dream last night.”

“You dream every night, Alethea,” he replied, “we all do.”

“You don’t have to be rude. I’m just having a little trouble with this one.” She went back to the couch and plopped down, sulking. He got up from his chair and followed her.

“You don’t have to sulk,” he retorted. “Now, what is the problem?”

He slid his hand over and rested it on her thigh.

She couldn’t bring herself to look up at him, so she fixed her stare into the fire again, allowing it to soothe her enough to begin. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to speak.

“Last night, I dreamt of a dark-haired woman with sapphire eyes. She was very beautiful and known but unknown to me. She spoke fiercely of Lokee and his intentions. Then, suddenly, he appeared and enveloped her, taking me into his arms, forcing me down beneath him.” She broke off, finding it difficult to swallow as she recalled the terror of it.

“What do you mean ‘he enveloped her’?”

“Well, she disappeared; he seemed to have overpowered her somehow. She was just gone. And I was his victim.”

“What did he do to you?” he asked, evenly, but she knew the rage that surfaced beneath his skin at the very mention of Lokee, especially in reference to Alethea.

She could feel his heat rising as she continued. “He raped me, violently. It burned, and foul smells filled my nostrils, smells of evil and deceit. He ravaged me, and I had no chance to escape.”

Alethea broke off to ease Roman. His face was so red she was afraid he’d explode. He motioned for her to continue. “Then the woman reappeared and tore me away from him.”

He lowered his head, gripping his hair in his hands and pulling it tightly. This was his release; his rage had no place to go now.

“And then I woke up.”

Alethea shook all over. To recall the nightmare was more than she wanted to do, but she knew Roman should know about it, especially since the woman was undoubtedly the vampire/witch he spoke so highly and fondly of: Devendra.

Thirty Two

“Why do you still torture her?” Devendra paced his dim bedroom with quick, tense steps. “Why did you kill her friend?” She stopped to face him, with her arms crossed and her face dark and sad.

“That blonde woman was her friend? I had no idea,” he taunted, rolling his eyes. He curled his fingers and wiped at alligator tears.

“Yes, Camilla was her best friend, the only person in her mortal life that she held dear. She will find out soon enough and then it will be too late—” Devendra stopped, sick with grief for Alethea. It would be too late to turn back the massive hands of Father Time and Sister Fate. Roman would declare war, and Devendra wasn’t sure he was strong enough to battle Lokee, who was, by birth, one of the Combined. He also held the shape-shifting gift, passed along through Devendra’s own rich heritage. It gave him so much supremacy.

Lokee shrugged and waltzed around the room, whistling a tune she wasn’t familiar with, reenacting the way he killed Camilla only hours before.

Devendra turned her head away from Lokee’s tasteless display of malice, balancing herself against a bookshelf. “Have you any reason at all, or is your reason for immortality only to break bonds and ruin lives?”

She pivoted around to face him. Moving toward him, gathering strength and fury from inside of her, she continued, “When I bore you, Lokee, allowed you to be born into this world, it was out of love.”

He made a spitting sound.

“Oh, but it was! I knew the consequences of having you, yet I did it against the will of Lillith—a price only I can pay. I begged her to give you a chance, to believe in your ability to cast away the evil your father instilled in you.”

He looked at her, unmoving. No expression animated his statue-like face.

“She was right. You only breed hate! Hate for yourself and everyone and everything around you!”

She stopped just short of him, her arms hanging at her sides; her hands were clawed and ready to attack.

Lokee cleared his throat and turned away from her, knowing she would not strike. Not right then. “You birthed me a long time ago, Devendra, and that motherly time has long since passed.” He paused, turning back to eyeball her for any sudden movements, any change in demeanor. “You have no control over me,” he continued, smugly, flopping himself down on a recliner and picking at imaginary hangnails on his fingers. “Besides,” he added, “my father was an incredible man. It’s really too bad you destroyed him before I got the chance to look up to him in the flesh. Didn’t he have Combined blood in his veins?” He thought for a moment, leaving a long, hollow silence between them. Lokee looked up from his nails and into Devendra’s eyes. “I’m sorry. My mistake. He was not one of the infamous Combined, but he was a very powerful vampire. I still cannot comprehend how you destroyed him.”

“Comprehend it. I will destroy you the same way.”

He gasped and then tsk’ed with his tongue. “Such harsh words from a mother, don’t you think.”

She didn’t answer him, instead concentrating on not making the mistake of starting their fight prematurely.

“What have you been waiting for all this time? Do I need to make the first move? I’m growing bored of your waiting game!” He unleashed a piece of his magic, sending the fire poker crashing through his bedroom window. She didn’t flinch. She smiled at him, her chin tilted down and her sapphire eyes looking up at him from beneath her long lashes, crucifying him where he stood.

“I wait for Lillith’s word. She will tell me when the time is right; until then, you are safe, but do not push your luck, Lokee. I warn you.”

He laughed. “Or you’ll do what? I’m so scared,” he said, biting his fingernails and giving her a feign look of horror.

She was unmoving.

“I’m not afraid of you, mother, and soon I will tire of playing this game. Alethea will be mine,” he tested. “But you already know that, don’t you? You are a witch, after all, and witches are smart.” He tapped his temple hard. “They can see into souls, can’t they?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Just like you could see into my soul when I was a child, couldn’t you, mother?”

Devendra was stricken, but used all of her will to remain calm and unresponsive to his prodding. “When I gave birth to you, you held a glimmer of light within you. I meant to nurture that light.” She paused, reflecting, but refusing to let her heart ache in the wrong way. “Your father’s blood was too strong—I could not have known beyond my heart. I was only half of what I am today!”

She looked away, stung from the memories of that night. Abel, Lokee’s father, had tricked her into bed with him and planted his seed deep within her womb. The seed had rooted so fast, it was instantaneous, and she was unable to do anything about it. It was only a matter of time before her motherly instincts took the better of her judgment, despite warnings from Lillith, who Devendra had only just become aware of.

“Oh, but then if you were able to read my father’s soul or intentions, I wouldn’t be here today, would I?” Lokee said, simply.

Ignoring his attempt to make her want to fight with him, she swallowed the lump of frenzy in her throat and held his stare.

“Our Mother,” she started, slowly moving toward him, “the one who bred and chose us all, has many negative intentions for you. You have created nothing but harm for Fate.” She stood upright again, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fate will tolerate your behavior no longer.”