Eternal War Rising to the South: The Beynok Vampire Series (10 page)

“My craving for blood isn’t as strong as most vampires my age. But I am still a vampire.” He stared at me, giving me a look that said, “Do you want me to go further?”

“Yes, Sorin. I want to know how you feed.” I really didn’t, but at the same time I felt compelled to know.

He moaned and looked down. “It was hard for me to accept, and I know it’ll be even harder for you to accept. We have donors in cities like this one. They’re not slaves, but their lives aren’t great. Most of them were homeless or drug addicts before they reached here. Either way, it’s a better life than the one they had, but not a great one.” He paused. He was trying to read my reaction, but I wasn’t going to give one until I knew he was finished. “When I’m not near a city, I have to feed in other ways.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Other ways?”

“I don’t kill anyone. Let’s leave it at that.” His eyes were growing darker, and his voice was harsh.

There was a knock at the door; my food had arrived. Sorin only opened it enough to sign and slide the tray in. I could tell he didn’t want anyone to know I was there. He took the tray to a beautiful dinette set just beside the balcony doors. The chairs were heavy and dark mahogany. When I sat down, I almost felt underdressed for the occasion. Sorin lifted the top from the plate and my eyes shot open wide at the sight of pancakes—tasty, golden, fluffy, yummy pancakes. He had ordered my favorite food in the whole world.

“How did you know I loved pancakes?”

“Good guess.” He grinned.

I had almost forgotten that he’d been so obsessed with me he should know all sorts of things about me. I shoved the fork in my mouth and hit heaven. It has been almost two days since I had eaten food. “Where are Corbin and Serenity?” I couldn’t believe it, but I rather missed having them near. I felt safe.
Strange.

“They’re staying in the room beside us. Why? Do you want to see Corbin? Did you grow an attachment to him while riding him?” His jaw tightened and his mouth creased straight across his face. Apparently, he was still upset about me choosing to hitch a ride from Corbin instead of him. “You should have figured out why I let him carry me,” I said. Think about it while I finish my pancakes.” I gave him a few minutes to stew over that and then asked, “So how long have you been a vampire? That’s not rude to ask, is it?”

“I’ve been a vampire for only twenty-five years.”

“What?” I was definitely confused now. His strength, ability to fight, and his claim to a small consumption of human blood were all traits of a much, much older vampire. “No really, Sorin, you can tell the truth. I don’t mind the thought of being with an older male, even hundreds of years older.”

“I am telling you the truth. I was twenty-six when I was turned, and that was twenty-five years ago. Corbin and Serenity were traveling through Russia visiting friends when they found me.”

“What, you were in Russia?” I knew I had spent most of my first rise in Russia.

“Before I was turned I spent most of my twenty six years in Russia. It’s a beautiful place.” A slight hint of sadness fell on his face. I wanted to take advantage of his vulnerable side if I could.

“How were you turned?” I figured I better keep going while the spigot still had its leak.

“Gallagher.” His eyes turned black and his lust for vengeance replaced the sadness on his face.

“The same vampire we fought the other night? The one that wanted to kill me so badly?”

“Yes.”

We heard another knock on the door, and Serenity asked, “Are you two decent? Can we come in?

I heard Corbin say, “Oh for fuck sake, love. I told you, we should just leave the damn bag by the door.”

Sorin was at the door in less than a heartbeat.
Twenty-five-year-old vampire, my ass. He moves as if he has the power of an ancient.
He let them in. Serenity was carrying a bag with words in a foreign language written all over it.

“Were you able to find what I asked for?” Sorin took the bag and was rifling through it. “Good … Looks good. Thanks.”

“So are you going to let her see it? I want to know if she likes it. I’ve never picked out clothes for another girl before. It took much longer than I expected.” Serenity sounded a little troubled by her task.

Sorin handed me the bag just as I was shoving the last bite of pancakes into my mouth. I reached in the bag and pulled out black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. My usual apparel from what I could tell. The bag still felt heavy so I reached in again and pulled out a black leather jacket. It was hooded and knee-length just like Sorin’s. “I love it. Thank you,” I said.

After they left, Sorin said, “I figured you’d like it. You looked comfortable in my jacket earlier. Serenity did well.” He took the jacket from me. “I had her get a tailor to slit the back for your swords, but I don’t want them to show. In the bag, you’ll also find a new set of sheaths. They’ll keep the swords low to your back. When you need them there is an adjustable strap to pull on, and they’ll lift through the slit. Do you understand?”

I rolled my eyes. “I think I can manage to figure it out. What I don’t understand is why go through all the trouble to hide my swords; many of us carry them. It’s not unusual.”

“No, it’s not unusual to carry them, but your swords are unique, and you can easily be identified through them. We need to keep your identity a secret if possible.” He glanced over at them on the nightstand.

“Fine.”

Sorin’s eyes were turning the darkest amethyst color possible before reaching black, and he was closing the distance between us. I didn’t need to open myself to him to feel the cravings he had for me. “There’s something I didn’t do to you the other night, and I’ve been craving it ever since.” His devilish smirk caused his dimples to show. “We have a couple hours until dusk, and I’m going to use every minute I can to ravish you.” He swept me up in his arms and threw me on the bed. “Take off your robe.”

“Is that a command or a request?”

“I don’t care what you take it as, but I do care about that robe coming off.”

I slid the robe off and watched him undress as well. God, his body was even better than I remembered. His shoulders spanned about three feet apart. Steel muscles were embedded in his arms. His chest was hard and defined, leading down to his abdomen, which rippled with ropes of muscle. I looked between his legs and saw that his manhood matched the rest of his magnificent body. He hadn’t even touched me, and my body was already on a rollercoaster to pleasure.

He climbed onto the foot of the bed and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t taste you the other night. Let me make it up to you now.” He lapped the top of my clitoris a few times and then slowly moved his tongue in circles over it before plunging his tongue deep inside of me, and then even further when I didn’t think it was possible. I wrapped my legs around his shoulders and gripped his wavy, dark hair between my fingers. I was determined to keep him there as long as I wanted.

I felt him replace his tongue with two of his fingers and return to the circular motion on my clit with his tongue. Oh, my God. He was wonderful. His other hand was exploring my breasts, never spending too much time with just one.

Little twinkling lights came into vision. My legs started to cramp and the rest of my body stiffened. Then the roller coaster began. My body loosened, and all of my womanhood throbbed, and I pushed in the direction of his tongue and fingers. He kept up with the pace of my body, pushing harder and harder. The lapping began again when the roller coaster ended.

“I have two more hours to do this to you over and over again.”

His eyes were still the darkest amethyst color, but this was not caused by his hunger for blood, but by his hunger for me, and boy, did he use every minute possible during those next two hours to ravish himself with my body.

Sorin was truly a remarkable male. His body exuded strength defining the way he fought and made love. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as we dressed. We had just enough time to take showers before meeting up with Corbin and Serenity downstairs. Taking a shower with him was much harder than dressing next to him. I was thankful he was covering his masculinity up with clothing because I was having a hard time controlling my urges. We would have had to stay another day if I’d had my way, which was impossible because Gallagher could track us here, and we weren’t ready to fight him and his followers yet. Sorin explained this to me while we were in the shower and I was pawing at him and pleading to stay another day. Time with him in bed and more pancakes sounded wonderful, but it was not in the plan for me. There is always fighting and survival to think about in our world.

Corbin and Serenity were waiting for us by the front doors in the hotel lobby when we walked out of the elevator. “I must admit the clothes and jacket look good on you,” Serenity said. I could tell she was proud of herself. “Are you rested up enough for another friendly jog?” I couldn’t believe it, but she was making conversation with me.

“Oh, Serenity, stop teasing the fucking princess. We don’t have much further to go until we reach the vehicle’s location.”

“Wait. What did you say? You guys have a vehicle?” I was a little pissed. “Why didn’t you drive it? You enjoy running through the woods at top speeds for hours and hours at a time?”

“On foot was the best way to track you. When I sensed you in Colorado, we had to dump the vehicle. It was the only way to track you, Anya. It’s right over the Colorado border. We only have a few hours of running.”

Okay, I could handle a few hours. “Well, what are we waiting for? I can’t wait to see our means of transportation.” I really wasn’t ready, but the others looked eager to get out of the city as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. I wished I could stay and learn more about how the other side lived.

We headed out the lobby doors onto the busy streets of the amazing city. I wondered if all the other cities looked like this one. My hood was up as Sorin directed me through the crowd. I could only see what was in front of me. I wanted to look into the windows and at all the beings around me. I wanted to watch them in this setting.

“Leaving so soon, Sorin?” someone asked. The voice was familiar and the undertone was raging for death.

Sorin whispered for me to keep walking forward before he turned. Corbin and Serenity were walking in front of me, but they turned and followed Sorin. As they walked past me, they acted as if I didn’t exist. I hoped Sorin had a plan. This was his world, not mine, but I was used to calling the shots in the field. I walked forward a little way and stepped into an alley. I could hardly hear Sorin’s conversation given the distance.

“Gallagher, you know this is a place for peace. Leave us, and we’ll fight at another time and place.”

“All I want is your princess. I don’t wish to fight you. You’re my creation, and I don’t wish to destroy you unless you stand between me and what I want.” I could picture Gallagher’s black, evil eyes without seeing them. His eyes went deep like a black hole, never going anywhere except deeper and deeper into hatred.

“Anya ran from us when we took her from the house. We’re searching for her as well. So you see, there’s no need for a battle tonight.”

Gallagher laughed. “My young boy, I know you’re lying for two reasons. For one, you would never allow yourself to be far from your precious Anya now that you’ve found her, and two, my people said they saw you carrying a limp body into the city. Now give her to me.”

I heard growling, but I couldn’t figure out if it was coming from Sorin, Gallagher, or both.

By now, they had earned the attention of other pedestrians. I slipped out of the alley into the crowd, walking in the direction of Sorin and Gallagher…I wanted to see what was happening. I knew I would blend in if I kept my hood on, so I watched with the surrounding spectators farthest from them. What was I to do? Sorin had told me to go, but I couldn’t. I remembered him telling me it was hard to know your friends from your enemies down here. What if we were surrounded by nothing but our enemies? I knew he would want me to get out, but avoiding a fight wasn’t in my blood. I was to serve the good and protect from evil, and running would accomplish neither.

I could tell Gallagher was an ancient vampire by the way he moved. It was almost as if he didn’t even need his legs to walk. He glided. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of Sorin, holding him in the air by his neck. Sorin looked at ease about his position. Not an ounce of alarm showed on his face.

“Stay back,” he said to Corbin and Serenity. “Are you going to kill me, Gallagher? You think you’ll have better luck finding the Beynok princess if you kill me?” The crowd whispered to one another at the sound of the word Beynok.

Gallagher dropped Sorin to the ground and raised his sword. “No, I won’t kill you, but I’ll maim you so it will be difficult for you to fight in the future.”

Gallagher raised his sword even higher. He was going for Sorin’s leg. I threw back my hood, reached for my swords, and raised them in one motion, bringing Gallagher’s attention to me. I leapt through the air and landed on my right knee and placing my left hand sword between Gallagher’s sword and Sorin’s leg. The right hand sword was pointing up just reaching Gallagher’s heart. He was a giant so the reach between the two distances was quite a stretch for me. I wasn’t sure if I should kill him or not. Don’t get me wrong, the desire to kill this bastard was there, but a rational thought had passed through my head as I went through the air. If I killed him, what kind of fight would I start? Would we be outnumbered by the enemy or would we have a fair fight? Plus, this was my first time in one of their cities, and I wanted to show some kind of respect for their laws.

“Sorin, get up,” I said. I wanted him out from under Gallagher’s blade faster than he could move, and he could move pretty damn fast.

“Is that a request or a command, Princess?”

“It’s a command. Now move!”

Sorin was standing by my side in a fraction of a second with a grin on his face, showing off his perfect dimples. What was he so damn happy about?

We slowly took a few steps back putting a decent amount of space between Gallagher and us. My swords were still drawn, and I was standing in front of Sorin, Corbin, and Serenity. If Gallagher wanted to hurt them, he would have to go through me.

“So, Princess, I see you’re learning your new role well. I’ll have to give you a few lessons myself.” Gallagher was slowly moving towards me.

“I was told this is a place for peace. You haven’t brought peace with you. Do you wish to break one of your own laws and tear the peace from the beings that dwell here? What do you want from me?”

“Well, well. I see Sorin hasn’t told you about the prophecy you are to fulfill.” He shook his head back and forth, looking between Sorin and me. “Sorin, what has kept you from enlightening the princess here? Scared of the inevitable? You know she’s going to die. I would like nothing more than to be the one to kill her.”

I gasped, wondering what sort of prophecy he meant. Sorin took my face in one hand while holding a sword toward Gallagher.

“It’s true, Anya. I’ve kept many things from you. The time and place to tell you has not yet come. Please trust me and know I love you with all that I am. I would never keep something from you unless I thought it was in your best interest.”

All of a sudden, my swords tingled in my hands. I gripped them harder and fought for understanding. The amethyst stones became the color of crystal-clear diamonds, and an amethyst-colored shadow filled the air around me. A strange new power pulsed from my swords into my hands and traveled through my body. Then, as quickly as the unexplainable haze came, it was gone. My stones returned to their normal color, but I could still feel the odd power inside of me. I had no time to question what had happened.

Words like, “She’s here … She has risen … Our Princess … Our leader,” escaped the mouths of the spectators. I even heard expressions of awe from the windows and balconies of the surrounding buildings.

In slow motion, as if I were in a fiction movie, many of the spectators dropped a knee, knelt before me, and bowed their heads. Their gracious bows appeared to be filled with love and hope. My amazement and shock, as I watched creatures I would have fought to kill as of yesterday fall to their knees, was quickly erased by the sight of those who did not fall. The ratio was about fifty-fifty, and I could tell both sides knew it. The fight between Gallagher and me was not going to take place in this city. It would be too much of an even fight for a deviant like him.

I took the lead. “We will not fight tonight, Gallagher, but we will fight soon. Peace will remain in this city.”

The creatures who knelt before me and who would have fought for me rose, making it hard to tell who was friend or foe. Sorin nodded at Serenity, and she took the lead through the crowded street. Sorin and I followed, while Corbin watched our backs. If I had opened myself up, I would most definitely have been overwhelmed by the hatred and the love. What a crazy thought.

As I walked past the pedestrians, I saw vampires, werewolves, witches, Vendennares, and so many other beings. Some gave me a look of respect and graciousness, others, a look of war. I had never thought the very beings I hunted and killed could have this kind of forgiveness towards me, but then again, I had only killed the ones that were out killing humans.

We passed with no harm and made it to an exit door, which opened into a small room. All four of us barely fit inside.

“Hold on, Anya,” Sorin said, and he wrapped an arm around my waist and gripped hard.

The small room was an elevator. We shot up, defying gravity at an enormously fast speed. Sorin’s grip tightened when he felt my shock caused by the speed. His lips touched my ear, and I heard him say, “You are even braver than I imagined.” He left his lips on my ear even though he didn’t say another word.

The upward motion stopped, and the door slid open. Corbin and Serenity took a fighting stance right outside the doors to make sure we were alone in the small abandoned house. We were. There was no sign of anyone else inside or outside. Sorin told me to run, and he followed close behind. Corbin and Serenity stayed back to jam the elevator that was so cleverly hidden inside the house.

Corbin and Serenity caught up with us thirty minutes into our escape. They bowed their heads with one nod to greet me, and both wore smiles. Sorin came along side of me, and pulled me onto his back. The three vampires ran at full speed for another few hours.

I had a lot to think about, but the images of the faces kneeling down before me and the faces of the ones left standing clouded any thought possible. There was no escape. It was truly a war between good and evil, love and hate, and it was written on every face in Salvuswy City. What had I gotten myself into?

The three stopped on a gravel road, and Sorin let me slide off him. I followed, not saying anything. I had too many things I wanted to say and couldn’t choose which to start with, so I just kept my mouth shut. I could see that vampires really didn’t get tired. There was not an ounce of sweat on them, and of course, they weren’t out of breath. Some only breathe when they are emotional, and some vampires breathe only out of habit as a carryover from human life.

The silence was killing me. I was about to ask where the damn vehicle was when we turned a corner on the gravel road. “You have got to me kidding me. Where did you guys steal this?” Impossible. My life was supposed to go from riches to rags, not from riches to riches.

“What? You don’t like our damn Hummer? Is it not good enough for you, Princess?” Corbin was hopping into the driver’s seat as he taunted me.

“You guys are vampires. You’re not supposed to have nice things. You’re scavengers.” I couldn’t believe I’d let that last one slip through my teeth.

“Hmm … Thanks, Babe,” Sorin said. “I’ll remember that on your birthday.” Sorin was teasing, of course. I’m sure he knew Beynoks don’t celebrate birthdays or holidays, and we certainly don’t give gifts.

Sorin opened the back door for me, and I hopped in. He slid in beside me, and Serenity took the seat next to Corbin. The Hummer was fully loaded with every computerized component imaginable. I was able to experience the navigation system before Corbin put the Hummer in drive. The small screen on the dash projected to the windshield, mapping out our journey and letting us know how many hours before daylight and how many hours of night we would have once we arrived at our destination. Corbin put the Hummer in drive, and the navigation system disappeared from the windshield and reappeared on small screens on the dash and the backs of the driver and passenger seats. Sorin pointed out a few other features and told me the Hummer was safe to drive even during the day because the sun caused the glass to tint to the needed degree for their protection. Plus, it was bulletproof.

“This is great. The Hummer is better than most of the tools and weapons we Beynoks have.” I received dagger eyes from Corbin and Serenity, and I think it was for the use of “we Beynoks.” “Sorry, you guys. You know what I meant.”

Sorin grabbed one of my hands and said, “Anya, you have to understand. They’re protective of you now. You’re one of us now, not one of them.”

“I have to understand, really? Why don’t you explain what I have to understand because I think I missed it the first time you explained it. Oh, wait. You never really explained anything, did you? Why were they kneeling to me back there and what prophecy was Gallagher talking about? And what was that purple haze from my swords?”