The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) (16 page)

             
"No, certainly not," he chuckled, amused by my speculation.  "I've watched movies portraying human schools and ours is fairly similar.  The difference is that we're taught skills to serve our vampires instead of preparing to work in human society."

             
"Were you kidnapped then?  And raised at some sorta vampire owned boarding school?"

             
"No, nothing like that.  My mother, father, brothers, and sister are all living on the compound.  In fact, my two
older brothers are Lord Adrian's personal blood slaves."  He paused momentarily, giving me an opportunity to reply.  However, when I simply gaped at him with an appalled expression, he continued unfazed. 
For real, what was I supposed to say?  It's cool you were raised at a vampire brainwashing camp, yeah sure.
"It really wasn't that bad, girlie.  I learned about the outside world from the internet and satellite television.  My teachers even encouraged hobbies.  And, considering my aptitude with computers, they arranged for me to take online classes from the University of Colorado."

             
"College?  How old are you?  I mean, you two can't be much over eighteen."

             
"True," he agreed.  "I'm nineteen and Amelia's eighteen, the average age for being bonded to, uh,
a friend
."  He raised his eyebrows and chuckled again.  "You see, I started college at sixteen which enabled me to complete my bachelor's degree in computer science two months prior to traveling..."

             
Without warning, the main door burst open and a group of guards marched in.  Quickly, I wiped the tears from my face and propped myself up against the wall. 
Out of Lucien's arms.
  I refused to let that asshole William see me being a sniveling baby, it was bad enough that Lucien and Petrus had seen me in such a state.

             
"Princess, are you well?" William asked, doing his best impression of somebody who actually gave a damn.

             
"Yep, no thanks to you," I sneered, rolling my eyes dramatically.

             
"Glad to hear it.  Stay here, we'll handle everything."

             
"Yeah right, I'll trust you when pigs fly.  We're coming."  And with that, I jumped to my feet and hurried toward my bedroom. 
If he wanted to keep me away from the
body, it definitely wasn't for my own good.  That loser'd be the first one to hide shit from me.

             
"As you wish," he answered, hot on my heels as I flung the door open and rushed inside.

             
Immediately, I was accosted by my attacker's body resting lifelessly in a heap.  A blood stain that began on the wall near the ceiling, slid disgustingly to the floor making the point of impact more than obvious.  And, as a result, I had to bite my lip to stave off another bout of crying.  Noticing my unease, Lucien grabbed my hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

             
"Petrus, did you permit anyone entry this evening?" William asked, removing the corpse's ski mask to reveal a seemingly average joe. 
Well, if you looked beyond the thick layer of congealing blood, that is.
  Our mystery man had short auburn hair, creamy white skin, a neatly trimmed mustache, and a hint of wrinkles.

             
"No, not since I came on shift," Petrus replied gruffly.  "Nonetheless, he could've gotten in earlier and waited to strike."

             
William rubbed his chin contemplatively.  "If that's so, it implies we've had a grave breach of security."  Punctuating his words with a grunt, he bent over to rifle through my attacker's pockets.

             
Meanwhile, Petrus pushed up the guy's sleeves and said, "He's not branded.  So, he didn't enter the facility using normal channels; every human's mark is checked at the gate."

             
"All except for the unbranded slaves that were intended for the princess," William added, placing his hands on his hips after finding nothing.

             
A twinge of shock slid across Petrus's typically emotionless face.  "You think Lord Adrian might've smuggled him in?"

             
"No, sir, Lord Adrian only brought Amelia and myself," Lucien interjected forcibly.  "No other unmarked humans accompanied us from court.  Plus, I don't recognize the guy and
I would
if he were from the compound.  I grew up there."

             
"Speak when you're spoken to, boy," William growled in harsh reprimand.  "Know your place!"

             
Oh, that's it.
  "Learn
your
place, you pathetic Tsedaka wannabe!" I exploded, promptly moving to my companion's defense.  "If Lucien has something to say, he's allowed to say it!"

             
"I'm sorry.  Forgive me, princess," William apologized, backpedaling into a deep bow.

             
"Whatever, you can quit the brown-nosing." 
God!  I despised the low-life
.  "Just explain to me how Adrian has anything to do with this mess."

             
"He's in charge of the blood slave operation which gives him the power to grant unmarked humans entry into high court.  And, princess, humans could
never
gain access on their own."

             
Instead of responding, I sneered at him hatefully while I analyzed my predicament.  Adrian had stayed the night to
supposedly
help me fall asleep, then he'd vanished before the attack. 
Convenient timing, if you ask me. 
On top of that, he could've used his freaky powers to poof the guy into my room unbeknownst to the guards. 
And he ran the slave operation?

             
I was absolutely disgusted with myself.  No, a better word would be, horrified.  Yep, horrified.
My intuition approved of Adrian and he wound up being a scummy slave
trader with a hit out on me. 
Fucking wonderful.  I sure can pick 'em!

             
"Luna, it's not as it appears,"
Adrian thought to me, invading my mind.
  "He isn't one of mine."

             
"All guilty people deny their crimes,"
I thought back to him.

             
"I didn't tell you about breeding the slaves because I figured you might not understand.  And, sadly, my assumptions were correct."

             
"Get the hell out of my head, you damn liar!"

             
"Luna, please, I'd never hurt you.  You must realize that, especially after last night."

             
"Go!  Now!  Or I'm gonna tell everyone how you've been coming around, acting like my friend, and using your powers to cozy up to me."

             
"No, please, don't do that.  I'll go.  One day you'll discover the truth, though.  And, when you do, my door will be open.  Merely think of me and I'll be at your disposal."

             
"Don't get your hopes up, buddy,"
I replied, ending our conversation.
  Seriously, no guy pulls this kinda crap with me and gets away with it.  No matter how dreamy and magical he is.  The sleazy jerk.

             
Despite my rage, I decided to keep Adrian's activities a secret for the time being.  I didn't know who to trust or, conversely, who not to trust.  And, until I came to some firm decisions, it'd probably be a good idea for me to keep my mouth shut. 
Having information that others lacked, might save my life.

             
Beyond that, the guards already suspected Adrian and would protect me from him, so I failed to see the benefit of incriminating him further.  Whatever happened, the need for a hasty escape was becoming increasingly apparent.  Plus, regardless of his motivations, Adrian had been correct about one thing. 
My life really was in danger. 

             
I wanted no part in these idiots' struggle over the throne.  They could take their stupid position of
princess
and shove it...

Chapter
12

             
"You need to feed," Lucien insisted, the moment we entered the bathroom.  You see, my sidekicks and I decided to hold up in the tiny space after William had finished inspecting the body.  He'd ordered a set of goons to constantly guard my main door, one on the inside in my living room and one on the outside in the hallway, before leaving with Petrus to do a bit of investigating. 

             
For security purposes, this new arrangement was quite prudent.  However, for my escape, well, it totally sucked.  And, in order to talk freely, I'd fibbed to the inside guard saying that my
slaves
were gonna assist me with a bath.  I only prayed that the closed bedroom and bathroom doors combined with the sound of running water would muffle our conversation.  It'd have to do, considering my ruse was the closest thing to privacy we were gonna get. 
Sigh.

             
"I
am
feeding," I protested, pausing to swig a little of the Mountain Dew I'd snagged from the bar prior to our sequestering.  "And Amelia made me a sandwich. 
See
, I'm eating."  For dramatic flair, I shoved it into my mouth and removed a chunk large enough to make chewing difficult.

             
"You're hungry because of your wound," Lucien argued, his face covered with tension.  "Eating regular food can be beneficial at times.  Nonetheless, drinking from us is the fastest way to heal yourself.  It's what we're here for."

             
Amelia nodded in wholehearted agreement.  "You really will need the energy our blood provides, Luna."

             
"Look, my cut's already beginning to scab over," I huffed, shifting to give them a good view of my arm.  "Seriously, I'm not chomping on either of you guys.  So, drop it, 'kay?"

             
"At least let me clean and bandage your wound," Lucien reasoned stubbornly.  "We
are
in the bathroom; we've
got the supplies.  Plus, if it gets infected, the healing will slow even further."

             
"Yes, mother!" I scoffed, rolling my eyes with the understanding that I'd better throw 'em a bone. 
Otherwise, they'd just keep harping on me. 
"Oh, I guess, since we're stuck in here and all."

             
Smiling like he'd won a great battle, Lucien rifled through the medicine cabinet, found the necessary accoutrements, and then delicately untied my tourniquet.  "This is going to burn," he sympathized, giving me hardly a second's warning before pouring a steady stream of alcohol over my wound.

             
"Crap!" I howled, jumping away from him.  "I don't remember a cut ever hurting so bad!"

             
"He stabbed you nearly to the bone; you've probably never had an injury this severe.  Come here, I'm almost done.  No more alcohol, I promise."

             
Reluctantly, I allowed him to resume his work as I swigged more pop and downed the last bite of sandwich.  And, sadly, my stomach kept growling long after it was gone. 
Surprise, surprise.
Regardless, I refused to share the news.  They'd want me to feed.  Shit!  What if they'd just heard my thoughts?  C'mon Luna, stay calm.

             
Inhaling several deep breaths, I quietly observed their hovering for any sign of comprehension.  Fortunately, Lucien continued unfazed, meticulously bandaging my arm while seeming absolutely clueless to my inner turmoil.  The same with Amelia, she simply stood there holding out pieces of tape in his direction. 
Thank god.

             
"So, um, the attack proved to me how dangerous this place really is," I whispered, moving on to more pertinent matters.  "I've gotta break out of here, asap.  You guys are
welcome to join me, although, you'll need to retrieve the pass code."

             
"It's not safe to leave high court without guards," Amelia murmured.  "What if
whoever's behind the attack
catches up with us?  We're human; we can't possibly provide you adequate protection."

             
"Amelia's right, girlie.  Guards are a must," Lucien affirmed, finishing with the cleanup and releasing my arm.

             
"But you told Petrus you completed combat training.  Isn't that good enough?"

             
"True, I've been taught defensive maneuvers," he replied, gazing into my eyes poignantly.  "Still, as a human, I don't possess the strength to fight a vamp attacker.  And vampires are most definitely the source of your problems."