The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) (15 page)

             
God, what was I getting myself into
?  "Look," I sighed, intuition shaking its finger at me in reproach.  "You've gotta promise not to mess with my head or cop a feel once I'm asleep."

             
He stifled a chuckle.  "I give you my word, darling, I'll do nothing to earn your distrust on this night.  Now relax."

             
For some reason,
and don't ask me why
, I decided to believe him.  Perhaps it was the sincerity in his voice, his
resolute demeanor, or maybe it was a signal from a deeper source.  All I know for certain is that curling onto his chest felt akin to coming home after a hard day's work. 
Relaxing.  Comforting.

             
And, while Adrian's heart beat methodically against my ear, he held to his promise.  He didn't cause disturbing electrified sensations on my skin or make me drift away from myself.  He merely provided a warm embrace which helped me feel protected for the first time in days.  My last memory before nodding off was of his hand lightly caressing my hair.
And, in that moment, I was thankful to finally be safe, absolutely safe.  Even if it only lasted for the briefest of instants.

Chapter
11

             
Suddenly alert, a strange and somewhat otherworldly experience began playing itself out before my eyes.  And, in spite of the darkness surrounding me, I used my night vision's cat-like precision to gaze down at a woman soundly sleeping several feet below me.  Floating there, I rapidly realized she was me and, surprisingly, felt no fear. 
Only curiosity.
  And, when my bedroom door opened with a creak, a dark figure stepping in seconds later, I watched the events unfold with an eerie sense of detachment.

             
It was akin to viewing a play from a first row seat, well, until I died that is. 
Yeah, yeah, I know.  I skipped ahead a bit. 
So, basically, my uninvited guest pulled out an
enormous butcher's knife right as he reached the edge of my bed.  And, of course, my stupid ass just laid there, immersed in sleep, allowing him to plunge the blade deep into my chest and skewer my heart in a single blow.  Immediately, I reworked my very definition of pain. 
Soul penetrating, gut wrenching.  Heart stopping.

             
Gasping for breath, my consciousness slammed back into my body and spurred my eyes open in a frenzy.  I hastily surveyed the room, seeing nothing unusual.
  Simply darkness.
  Soon after, the wondrous sound of my heartbeat registered in my mind. 
No intruder, no knife.  A dream, thank god!

             
Still gulping air and trying to rein in my overreaction, I touched the area of the bed where Adrian had slept.  It was completely cold, meaning that he must've left hours earlier.  And, since he'd kept to his word, neither molesting me nor screwing with my head, a part of me wished he would've hung around a little longer. 
Maybe I snagged a good one at last...

             
Just then, my door creaked softly and a shadowy figure walked in. 
Deshavu.  Desha fucking vu.  Shit!  Shit!  Shit!
  His approach slowed to a crawl and, even though his identity was hidden with a black cape and matching ski mask, he was unable to confuse my vamp intuition.  The guy was a human. 
Food.
  
Don't ask me how, but I knew with absolute certainty.

             
Honestly, it wasn't his smell because, so far as I could tell, humans and vampires shared the same scent.  I simply understood the reality of the matter. 
Some super vamp radar system in my frontal lobes?  A sixth sense?  Instinct?  Or a weirder explanation?  More questions about my mess of a life in need of answering.  Sigh.

             
As the mystery man stepped closer to my bed, eventually brandishing his large knife, I willed myself into utter stillness in order to avoid losing my advantage.  I went
so far as to close my eyes, leaving them open barely enough to peek through.  If he assumed I continued to sleep, it'd be easier to fight him off. 
And, yes, I'd fight.  I refused to lay there and die, definitely not my style.

             
Regardless, I'd never been in a scuffle before, especially with a person using a knife.  So, I totally freaked while I waited for his arms to raise above me and the blade to be brought toward my chest.  Then, with all the speed and strength I could bring to the table, I leaped up and punched the creep in the nose.  A muffled groan escaped him as he flew across the room, landing hard against the wall opposite me.

             
Without turning back to see if he was giving chase, I sprinted to the living room, slammed my bedroom door to impede his progress, and started screaming bloody murder.  "Help!  Help!  There's somebody trying to kill me!  Help!  I need help!"  Receiving no answer, I banged on the main door with my fists.  "You've got me locked in here and there's a guy with a knife!"

             
In a flash, Petrus rushed in, exploding onto the scene in a fury of defensive rage.  Although, despite the situation's urgency, he still made sure to shut the door securely. 
No freedom in sight.
 
They were gonna keep me trapped, even with a murderer on the loose.
The bastards! 

             
"Princess," he boomed, shielding me with his body.  "Stay behind me!  Come on, I must get you to a safer location.  Let's go to that corner."  He pointed to a relatively protected area on the other side of the bar, hurrying us over.

             
In moments, Lucien joined us.  "What's going on?" he asked, eyes hazy with sleep.  "I heard your call for help, Luna.  Are you alright?"

             
"There's, there's a guy in my room.  He attacked me and, um, the weird thing is, I dreamed of it ahead of time," I
stammered, balling my hands into fists to prevent their shaking. 

             
Unexpectedly feeling wetness, I glanced down and saw blood dripping from a gash in my bicep. 
The psycho must've stabbed me as I punched him.  Damn.
  I hadn't felt a bit of pain earlier, yet now it began throbbing sharply.

             
"Did you complete combat training?" Petrus barked, carrying on with his duty.

             
Abruptly, Lucien's child-like demeanor morphed into the cunning of an aged warrior.  "Yes, sir," he affirmed.

             
Seconds later, Amelia peeked out the servants' quarters and squeaked a shaky, "Is everyone okay?"

             
"Return to your room and close the door," Petrus ordered brusquely.  "If there's a lock, ensure its engaged."  And before he could say anything further, she promptly retreated to safety.  "Good.  Now, Lucien, take my place.  I need to apprehend our intruder.  Protect the princess and give your life if you must."

             
"Unfailingly, sir," he avowed, exuding strength.  After which, he briefly inspected my arm as Petrus stomped away.

             
"Here princess, um, sorry,
Luna
," Lucien muttered, sounding a little perturbed at the slip.  And, with the speed of a field medic, he ripped a piece of fabric from the hem of his white christening gown.  "Wrap this around your arm, tightly, above the wound.  It'll reduce the bleeding."

             
I attempted to follow his instructions, however, my hands were slippery and trembling too badly.  "I can't, I'm..."

             
"Oh, you're such a girlie girl," he jested, lips curling upward affectionately.  "Come here, I'll help." 

             
"Okay, but just so you know, I'm not a girlie girl," I grumped, begrudgingly moving closer to give him a whack at
the uncooperative piece of material. 
Seriously, I fought a knife wielding attacker a few minutes ago.  What was he thinking?

             
Chuckling and shaking his head, he finished tying my tourniquet.  "Definitely a girlie girl," he chided, pausing to meet my eyes.  "Remember ordering me to treat you as a friend?  Well, this is what you get, brutal honesty and
a lot of teasing
."

             
"Whatever," I groaned, feigning annoyance.  Admittedly, this was loads better than the groveling routine.  "So, um, how did I dream of the attack before it occurred?  It was strange, almost surreal."

             
"In school, they taught us that premonitions are one of the rarer powers of the moon..."

             
"All clear! He's dead!" Petrus announced, interrupting us as he vigorously strode toward the main door.  "Were you alone in the room when the assailant entered, princess?"

             
"Of course I was by myself," I lied, deciding not to mention Adrian's recent visit.  "Who else would be there?  My fairy freaking godmother?" 
At this rate, fairies probably were real.  Sigh.

             
"It'll be best to remain out here then," Petrus mused, hesitating in front of the keypad.  "There's no reason for you to see the body."

             
Jesus!  I was so sick of the controlling cloak and dagger bullshit.
  "Look," I hissed, unable to curb my outrage.  "I'm not some meek young girl.  I can handle examining a dead body.  And, anyway, why does being alone have even the slightest bearing on whether or not I'd wanna see it?"

             
He shot me a patronizing glance.  "I assumed you'd prefer to avoid seeing your first kill.  Less traumatic and all."

             
"But I only punched him once.  How'd that..."  My words trailed off as a salty taste invaded my mouth.  It supplemented the bile that'd inadvertently started rising in the back of my throat. 
I killed someone
.  Hands trembling, my legs gave way as I curled into a ball on the floor, successfully hiding my face a mere instant ahead of an embarrassingly snotty flood of tears.
I did the unforgivable thing, the worst of the worst.  I took a human life.

             
"Princess, you'll need to adapt to your strength..."

             
"Stop it, Petrus," Lucien commanded harshly.  "You're not helping her."

             
"You may be correct," he mumbled, finishing with the code and opening the door.  "I'll go find William so we can begin our investigation.  Stay with her while I'm gone."

             
Silently nodding in reply, Lucien waited patiently for the door's lock to engage.  Then he plopped down, pulled me into his arms, and spoke in a soothing voice.  "Hey, girlie, you're safe.  And, no worries, the guy would've died regardless.  If you hadn't killed him, Petrus would have."

             
"I didn't mean to, though," I sniffled.  "I swear."

             
"I know, hush, you're safe now."  Slowly, he rocked me from side to side, similar to how mothers quiet their young.  "You had no choice.  It was self-defense."

             
"Could he, um, could he have truly killed me?  I mean, vampires are basically immortal, right?  So, I might've lived through it without hitting him."

             
"No, your reaction was appropriate.  Vamps aren't death-proof.  A stab to the pulmonary cavity would've incapacitated you, giving him the chance to cut off your head and remove your heart.  And, once they've been separated from your body, well, there's no chance of recovery."

             
I burrowed my face into Lucien's chest, entrusting myself to his firm embrace. 
Where had this strong, wise protector come from?  Yesterday, he'd appeared as timid and malleable as Amelia.

             
"I was a tad nervous yesterday," he responded.  "The bonding has been an adjustment for me too."

             
Jeesh.  I knew he'd heard my thoughts during the feeding, but now?  Would I ever get privacy?  Sigh.
  "I assumed vampires were the only ones who could eavesdrop at will."

             
"No worries.  According to our instructors, it's quite rare for mind to mind communication to occur between slaves and their masters.  It's either facilitated by the blood link at feeding time or the vampire's adrenaline level in emergency situations.  Therefore, once your anxiety decreases, it'll end."

             
"Well, that's good to know." 
Note to self, remain calm at all costs.
  "Seriously, though, don't think of yourself as a slave and me as your master.  It doesn't feel right."

             
"Sorry, girlie, they kind of hammered it into us.  I'm trying my best."

             
"You keep mentioning a school, so your teachers tortured you?"