June 2008
Disclaimer See Part 1
Feedback: This is my first try and not being a native English speaker, it's so much more challenging. Constructive criticism if greatly appreciated, so feel free to drop a line or two at steinwillard80@gmail.com .
PART THREE
Chapter 7
Jemima's footsteps slowed as she neared the kitchen. She knew what to expect. Her father would be in there reading his morning paper as usual while sipping on his third cup of coffee. That was how his day started, before he went to sit behind his laptop and type away until the cook had to call him for lunch. Afterwards he'd spent some time with her in her studio before going back to work on his book.
She stopped before entering the kitchen and leant with her back against the wall. She needed time to compose herself and she nervously rubbed over her hair. James Marsden was very observant and he would know if she's acting weird and the last thing she wanted was to tell her father about the strange dream she'd had last night. A shiver coursed through her body and her body heated up at the thought of the dream she had last night. It felt so real. After three years it had started again. She had dreamt of her again. Tahlia .
Last night after coming home from the bar, she'd grabbed two cans of beer from the fridge and locked herself up in her studio to work on the painting. It was already past midnight when she'd packed up her stuff and went to her room. After a quick shower she'd gone to bed and, surprisingly, fell asleep almost immediately.
She didn't know how long she been asleep, but after a while she'd found herself sitting up in her bed to find her room engulfed in total darkness. It was so dark she couldn't even make out the inside of her room. But what made her uncomfortable was the feeling that she wasn't alone in the room. The darkness hid something – or someone. She'd leant over to the nightstand where her bedside lamp was.
Before she could reach out to switch on the bedside lamp, she was pushed back against the pillows and then she'd felt the soft pressure of warm lips against her own. The kiss was so persistent that she couldn't help but open her mouth slightly and had to groan when she felt a hot tongue slip effortlessly into her mouth. Almost immediately the kiss became incredibly tender just as a hard naked body covered hers.
Strong purposeful hands joined the sensual ambush and she'd moaned softly as they slid under her t-shirt, stroking first her ribs and then moving up to cup her breasts. The lips were dragged from her mouth, trailed a warm path down her neck and had latched onto a hard nipple through the light cotton t-shirt. Gasping softly, she'd bucked her hips, pressing her pelvis into the hard body, urging her midnight lover on. She'd felt a cool breeze over her heated skin and knew that the T-shirt was lifted above her breasts, exposing her naked breasts. A hot tongue had circled first one nipple and then the other, nibbling and sucking them hard.
Her lips had parted in a silent scream when she'd felt a slender hand slipping down her shorts and cupped her mound. Slowly, the hand had rubbed over her swollen clitoris for a few seconds before a long finger had dipped deep within her wet channel. Painfully aroused by her dream lover's expert touch, Jemima didn't last long and came almost immediately after the finger had moved in and out of her a few times.
Her hands had grabbed the sheets on both sides of her head when the first series of shudders rocked her body and with her eyes closed she had gasped the name of the only person her mind and body could connect with at that moment.
“Tahlia…Tahlia…Tahlia…” Through dry lips she gasped the name until the shudders subsided and her spirit was floating back into her body.
Finally opening her eyes, she was shocked to see a tall silhouette standing in the shadows a few feet away from her bed. She had blinked to make sure, but when she opened her eyes again it was gone.
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She was brought back to the present by the shrill ringing of the phone and with a guilty start; she pushed herself away from the wall. She thought of the name she was screaming out last night and blushed. How will her father react if he was to find out that she was harboring sexual feelings for Tahlia? For all they know she was a ghost, a dead spirit.
She heard footsteps coming down the hallway and quickly entered the kitchen not wanting to meet with the servants and having to answer uncomfortable questions. Her father was reading his newspaper as usual, but folded it when she entered.
“Good morning sleepy-head. I know you for an early riser. What happened?” He took a sip from his coffee cup, put it down and moved his head to one side and grinned. “That explains it then.”
“What?” She asked softly while she reached for a slice of toast.
“That … that thing on you neck,” James' blue eyes were twinkling and Jemima could see that he was enjoying himself.
“What thing?” She raised her hand to her neck.
“You must have gone out late last night, because that hickey wasn't there when we were playing chess last night.”
“A hickey,” Jemima said weakly, the slice of toast dropping from her hand as surged to her feet. How the hell did she get a hickey? She didn't … Oh, no! It wasn't a dream. She actually did have sex with someone. But how? Who? The servants were all in bed already by the time she went to her room and she's personally checked the alarm before going to bed.
A servant came through the door holding out the portable phone.
“It's for you, Jemi.”
When she took the phone, Jemima saw her father winking at her before he drained his coffee cup and left the kitchen.
“Hello.”
“Hi Jemi, its Martina. Are we still on for tonight?”
Jemima pulled a face. She wasn't really in the mood for going out tonight, but having Martina on her side was career-wise a very sound idea.
“Yes, sure. Should I pick you up or would like for us to meet there.”
Martina laughing softly. “No way, and let some lusty hooch pick you up for the night before I even get there. You can pick me up from my place.”
Jemima wrote down the address and they hung up. Frowning, she went in search of breakfast.
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She stayed in her studio for the rest of the day painting furiously. It was already dark when she stood back and stared at the canvas. Turning away she hurled the brush across the room sending it clattering against the opposite wall and stomped out of the studio, up the stairs to her room.
She jerked off her paint-splattered and clad in only her jeans and bra, she fell back onto the bed, her thoughts on the painting she'd been working on. The bottomless black eyes that were looking back at her from out of the painting looked so real and it had rattled her. It was the woman form the Fire Stall.
Why couldn't she get the woman out of her mind? The woman wasn't really interested in her, because if she was they would've ended up in bed last night.
She briefly relived the three minutes they had shared together. She remembered the way those black eyes had look at her, the brief kiss and the way those strong hands had felt on her. Almost the same like her midnight lover's hands. But there was no plausible explanation to link the two.
Whoever came to her bed last night had to be resident of the mansion, because no one else entered the house after her. It must've been one of the servant girls. But there was none who was as tall as her late night guest. She rubbed over her tired eyes. She will come to bottom of this before the week was out. Sighing, she sat up and glanced at her watch. She had to get ready for her date with Martina.
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Tahlia's hands were shaking a little where she was standing in the corner of the room cloaked in an invisibility spell. Her eyes were running possessively over the tall frame of the blonde woman dressing quickly. Jemima was so beautiful it actually hurt to look at her. As of late it has become very difficult to keep herself from going to Jemima's room at night and not to seduce her. She was coping so well, until last night when she lost the valiant fight.
All she'd wanted to do was just to go to her bedroom and look at her while she slept. Something she'd done since Jemima was a baby in her mother's womb. But then she found Jemima moaning in her sleep and when she had gently searched her mind, what she'd found had almost rocked her off her feet. Jemima was dreaming about having sex … with her. It has been more than ninety years since she last felt the touch of her lover's hand on her starving body and she'd given in to her desire. Using the darkness as a cloak, she'd made love to Jemima. Her only regret was the hickey, but caught in an earth-shattering climax, Jemima had looked so beautiful that she couldn't resist leaving her mark. Jemima was hers after all.
She sucked in her breath when Jemima suddenly turned her head and stared straight at her. The blue eyes locked with hers and Tahlia stood as silent as a statue knowing that even if Jemima could sense her presence, she could not see her. Or so she prayed.
Tahlia felt Juan's presence outside the mansion and cast one last look at Jemima. She was shocked to find the blue eyes still focused on her. She stared back for a few seconds before rushing outside to meet Juan. She found him pacing up and down. She has never seen Juan so agitated.
“What is wrong, Juan?”
“Drake is back and this time he brought a huge army with him. I am sure the last time he was here was simply to confirm the birth of Jemima. This time he came to destroy her. I have contacted Pierre and Jonas already. They will be here shortly.” She could sense that there was something else he wasn't telling her.
“What are you not telling me, Juan?”
Juan swallowed.
“He has put a price on the head of Jemima and her father. Anyone who brings them to him alive will be richly rewarded.” Juan stared past her. “We will have our hands full, Tahlia. Gregor and the other hunters should arrive soon, but it might still be a while before they get here.”
For the first time in many centuries, Tahlia reached out and touched Juan's cheek gently. The bodyguard too was taken aback by the Vampire Queen's behavior. For as long as he'd known her she never crossed the professional barrier with him. He stared into her eyes and nodded, graciously accepting the gesture of friendship.
“Don't worry so much, Juan. I will not let anything happen to Jemima and her father.” Her black eyes filled darkened further. “Drake has gone too far this time and I will stop him and his children of death once and for all. Let's go and meet the others.” Sending out her senses, she zeroed in on the location of the other Royals.
Scanning the area to see if no one was around she took two quick steps and took to the air. Mid-air she transformed into a huge black raptor. She heard the flapping of wings next to her and knew that Juan was close by.
Pierre and Jonas were waiting for them in a deserted warehouse near the harbor.
“We have managed to track down, Drake. He is hiding in a heavily guarded underground chamber not far from here,” Pierre said with contempt in his voice. He was heavily injured during an ambush by a group of Drake's minions, more than twenty years ago when they drove them out of New York. Since then he was just as determined as Jonas to catch and destroy the renegade leader.
“His killers are spread out all over the town searching for Jemima. I suggest you bring them both to the safe house. There are enough rooms for everybody. We have called in all hunters to come to New York . They will be here before dawn.” Jonas looked at Tahlia. “We can all go together to collect your human chargers.”
“I first need to make one more stop before I go to the house. Go ahead and watch the house for me while I go and find Jemima.”
They dissolved in a vortex of mist.
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Chapter 8
Jemima threw her keys on the table and reached for the whisky decanter. She poured a stiff shot which she downed in one gulp. Reaching for the decanter again, she grimly relived the evening. It was a disaster and she and Martina never even got a chance to talk, because Martina had to rush home suddenly.
Downing the second shot she made her way to the stairs and with heavy feet climbed the stairs to her room. The house was quiet and she looked at her watch. It was ten o'clock on a Friday evening and everybody was sleeping already. It's times such as this that she missed her life as a student. There were always parties somewhere and beautiful girls to seduce. She took a quick shower and dressed in her favorite shorts and a white cotton shirt. She slid between the cool sheets and laid there staring at the ceiling.
Her thoughts were on what happened last night. It's sad really. To have sex and not know for sure if it really happened or not. All her instincts tell her that it was impossible that someone could have slipped into the house, make mad love to her and then dashed out again without anybody noticing or the alarm going off.
She felt a slight ripple in the air and instinctively turned her head towards the window. Stifling a scream, she quickly sat up.
Standing a few feet from her bed was a woman. A tall beautiful woman dressed in tight black pants, a black polo neck, long ankle-length black leather jacket and high black leather boots. She gasped when their eyes met. Calm black eyes stared back at her. Oh … It was her! How did she get in?
“What are you doing here? Who let you in?” She was still smarting from the blow-off she had suffered at the hands of this woman last night. Not even the thought of seeing Martina tonight could lift her spirit. The black eyes just stared back at her with a strange expression.
“You know who I am.”
This time the midnight black eyes were looking at her with infinite tenderness and love. It was so different from last night when she was looking at her with a strange mixture of longing and sadness. Frowning, Jemima searched her mind trying to remember if this woman gave her a name while they were in the bathroom. Nothing came up.
She took a closer look at the woman and then it struck her. The knowledge of who this woman was made Jemima's jaw dropped. It can't be.
Tahlia!
She was the only woman who would look at her like that. Last night already she was trying to figure out who she reminded her off. It was Tahlia. All this time she had been seeing Tahlia. She looked just like in her dreams.
“I'm sorry for startling you. It was not my intention.” The voice was slightly different than when she heard it in her mind. Hearing it with her naked ear, it sounded fuller, huskier and disturbingly sexy. She didn't even notice that last night, maybe because she didn't know she was standing face to face with Tahlia.
She felt her cheeks heating up. She'd made a pass Tahlia last night. No, they were both attracted to each other. She looked up and saw the soft glow in the black eyes. She stiffened when the Tahlia took another step closer and pulled away, forcing Tahlia to halt her advance.
“Please don't come any closer,” she said in a shaky voice. She saw the hurt in the dark eyes, but it was gone quickly and replaced by a blank look. “What are you?”
“I hope I could've warned you beforehand, but I need to talk to you and your father urgently. We need to leave here now. It is not safe for you to be here anymore.” Tahlia's intense eyes burned into hers. “Your father will be here shortly.”
Jemima looked at the woman giving her psychic abilities free reign. Studying and probing the enigmatic woman in front of her. A strong shudder went through her as she quickly withdrew her senses. This was a very, very dangerous woman. Jemima felt herself starting to squirm under the dark woman's intense stare. The air in the room was heavy with tension.
There was a soft knock on the door and her father entered, making Jemima sigh with relief.
James looked every bit of his forty four years. His blond hair with the grey at the temples was sleep tousled but his eyes were alert for a man who'd been fast asleep a few minutes ago. His blue eyes swept the room until it rested on the tall, striking woman standing near the window. His jaw dropped in shock.
“Tahlia?” he said incredulously, walking over to her. “Good heavens, when you said you were waiting for me in Jemima's room, I didn't know what to expect, but I never dreamt that you would be so … so magnificent.” He reached out his hand; his face split in a broad smile “We have never met officially.”
Tahlia stared at the hand and laughed softly, taking his hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you too, old friend. How the years have passed so quickly. Just the other day you were this very young handsome man who turned heads and now you are sporting grey hair already. You still look good though. ”
They shared a warm look. Both obviously glad to be able to finally stand there facing each other.
Jemima cleared her throat loudly, slightly irritated by the fact that since her father entered the room, she was ignored completely. “Tahlia wants us to leave here tonight. Apparently it is not safe for us to stay here anymore,” Jemima said in a surly tone and James frowned.
“What's going on, Tahlia?” After more than twenty years of friendship, James knew Tahlia well. She never panicked. Not once, since he knew her, had she lost her cool.
“There are people out there who are trying to harm you.” She sounded calm even though she could sense four renegade vampires approaching fast. Pierre, Jonas and Juan will have to destroy them. It was important to explain the situation to James and Jemima.
“Why? Are you involved in something illegal?” Jemima asked in a cold voice. James sharply turned his head and fixed Jemima with a hard stare. Jemima quickly lowered her eyes.
Tahlia gestured for James to take a seat. “We don't have much time. As we speak, renegades are approaching the house.” She purposefully took a few steps back until there was enough space between her and her human friends. Her human family . She didn't want them to feel threatened once she'd told them what she was. Jemima was looking at her with distrust whereas James was staring at her with mild curiosity. “There was a reason why I couldn't make myself known to you until tonight. I am part of a very old race with special powers. We have been around since the beginning of time and I am one of the oldest of my race.” She saw the look of distrust in Jemima's eyes being replaced by doubt.
Yes, now she's probably thinking I'm using drugs, Tahlia though wryly. She sought their gazes again before she revealed her true identity.
“I am a vampire,” she said and held their gazes, waiting for the storm to break.
She saw an instant look of horror cross James' handsome features as he sat on the bed, staring at her. He slowly reached for his daughter's hand, who was staring at her as if she was about to attack and eat them. The longer Jemima was staring at her the more ashen her face became. Tahlia waited until the news had sunk in before she continued. “I cannot tell you everything right now, but I promise that once I have taken you to a safe place, I will tell you the rest, but we need to leave here immediately. I can already sense more renegade vampires making their way towards us.”
“Do you think we're stupid or something? You just told us that you are a vampire …a monster …and now you want us to go with you into the night not knowing whether you are the enemy or not.” Jemima was almost hysterical with fear. Her blue eyes were swimming in tears and her lower lip was trembling uncontrollably. She looked to her father for his support, but he was just sitting there staring at Tahlia.
Tahlia closed her eyes quickly, but not before James saw the hurt in her eyes. He slowly came to his feet and Tahlia heard Jemima catch her breath. “No, Daddy, don't go any closer. She's dangerous,” Jemima cried out, but James ignored his daughter's warning and came to stand right in front of Tahlia.
Not sure of what he was about to say, Tahlia steeled herself. Never in the twenty two years of friendship had she tried to read his mind. She admired him too much to disregard his privacy like that. James' blue eyes were somber and she could clearly smell the fear he was trying so valiantly to hide, but she also saw the determination in his eyes.
“You showed me more love and compassion that any other human being I have ever met. You were there for me when I thought that dying was the only way out for me to cope with the pain of Jane's death.” His hand was shaking lightly when he reached out his hand to touch her hand and Tahlia had to steel herself not to flinch. “You were a friend to me, a confidant and my protector. When you say we are in trouble, then I believe you, because I trust you with my life. ” He looked into the midnight black eyes and found them soft and tender.
Tahlia was humbled by the gift of unconditional friendship from a mortal who can't even start to imagine the deadly power she wield.
She took his hand and brought it to her lips. “We need to get away from here, James, before it is too late. My friends outside are already engaged in combat with the renegades.” She turned to look at Jemima. She was sitting on the bed staring at them, her face very pale. “I don't know what I will do if anything happens to either of you, all I know is that the world will be too small for anyone who dares to try and hurt you.” The black eyes glinted with menace and both father and daughter swallowed heavily. “Please, follow me. I need to get you to safety.”
James nodded. “Get your stuff, Jemi. We are leaving now.”
“But…”
“No buts, Jemima. We are leaving now. Get your stuff.” He turned on his heel and rushed to his bedroom to get dressed and pack his clothes. Jemima was looking at Tahlia as if she was going to pounce on her the minute she turned her back.
“If I'd wanted to hurt you, Jemima, believe me you wouldn't be standing here right now,” she said gently and took a step closer. When she saw renewed panic in Jemima's eyes she stopped in her tracks. “Just delve deeper into your memory, Jemima. You know me very well. Your only problem is that you refuse to remember me. Once you embrace your psychic abilities, you will meet me in your past and your future. When you have the knowledge of our time together, you will understand why I am in your life.” Tahlia let her eyes move possessively over Jemima's body before she went to the door. “I will be waiting for you downstairs.”
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Chapter 9
When she stepped out of the house with James and Jemima close behind her, the scene that greeted Tahlia's eyes made her hackles rise and a sharp angry hiss escaped her lips.
Juan, Pierre and Jonas were surrounded by ten renegades, all dressed in black leather outfits, their fangs exposed. The arrogance of these second-class vampires was enough to want to make her shape-shift into a wolf and tear them each limb from limb. Could they not sense that the ones they are about to fights are the best of the best and that they stood no chance against them? She turned to James and Jemima who was staring at the scene in front of them in disbelief. She couldn't take the chance of leaving them in the house, sitting ducks for whoever can enter the house through the backdoor. She couldn't also leave her friends to fight off these renegades alone.
“Come with me and stay behind me. Don't think of getting involved.” She was glad when they didn't ask any questions and just followed her. “Stay close to me at all times.” She reached under her long black flowing jacket and slowly unsheathed a gleaming broadsword. Hard eyes sized up the growling renegades. “Before we destroy you, I would like for you to know who we are and why we cannot allow abominations like you to walk the earth.” Tahlia's voice sounded so icy that both James and Jemima felt their blood run cold at the deadly purpose in the voice.
This was not the Tahlia they knew. The woman standing in front of them was every bit as dangerous as she looked.
“Your creator, Drake was once a great warrior fighting alongside me. He was once also part of our race, but not anymore. He betrayed our vows of protecting the innocent and instead gave away his once noble soul and lived for the kill. You too were made to be like him and because of that your destruction is inevitable.”
Without any warning, the four master vampires burst into action. They were moving so fast, it was near impossible for the human eye to follow.
James tightly clutched his daughter to him at the suddenness of the attack, but both of them couldn't take their eyes of the fight, in particular Tahlia. All they could make out was a blurry vision of her as she glided alongside the other vampires. The fight seemed long but in fact only five minutes had passed before everything went eerily silent. It was so quiet than you could hear a pin dropped and even after their exertion, the vampires' breathing didn't sound labored.
Tahlia turned sharply to look at her human charges; her eyes still glittering in anger, making James and Jemima take a quick step back. Seeing the fear in their eyes, Tahlia quickly blinked and the cold look was gone, replaced by a flat expression. She wiped her sword on the grass and sheathed it in one fluent movement. She slowly walked towards them.
“We need to go. More renegades will follow shortly.” She turned to Juan. “Get rid of the bodies.” She turned quickly and walked towards the garage. “We will need one of your cars, James. Hope you don't mind.”
James simply nodded, struggling to find his voice. After the deadly display, he silently thanked the Lord that he was on her side. Beside him Jemima was walking on shaky legs, finding it almost impossible to belief that this was the woman who gently sang to her as a baby and who tenderly comforted her father. Tahlia herself slid behind the wheel and with screeching tires pulled out of the garage.
It was short, hard drive and James and Jemima were staring at each other when the car pulled up in front of the Melton Hotel. Tahlia got out of the SUV and waited for them to follow suit. Out of nowhere the three other vampires suddenly appeared behind them and totally spooked, James and Jemima rushed closer to where Tahlia was standing. Together they entered the plush hotel lobby, with Tahlia walking ahead. Her attractive black-clad figure was attracting a lot of attention, but she simply ignored the stares. They reached the elevators and Tahlia led them to a private elevator which was marked ‘private' with large golden letters. She held open the doors for them and it was only once they were in the lift, that she spoke again. Her black eyes were soft when she looked at them.
“You will be safe where I'm taking you. The hotel belongs to a Consortium of human vampire slayers who's working for us. We have put safeguards in place to prevent any renegades from entering the hotel.” Her eyes rested on Jemima, who still looked pale. “I want to make it clear that you are not our prisoners and that you can come and go as you. All I ask is that when I can't go out with you that you that you take one of the bodyguards with you.”
Emotionally depleted by what they've seen and heard tonight, James and Jemima was so drained that they just nodded meekly. The elevator alarm sounded and the doors slid open revealing a very luxurious lobby, decorated with antique furniture and art pieces. The floor was covered in expensive-looking Italian tiles. Tahlia stepped out and they followed suit and as they crossed the wide tiled expanse of the room. The place seemed to be deserted. They came to a stand in front of a wide oak door which Tahlia pushed open. Jemima and James quickly stumbled back.
The place was bustling with action. A large group of dangerous-looking men and women dressed in ancient leather battle armor turned to face the door. Tahlia turned to them, blocking their view of the hunters.
“These are the finest vampire hunters from across the globe and they are here to protect you. Please do not feel alarmed by their presence.”
When Tahlia entered the room, everybody bowed. She acknowledged their greeting with a brief nod and went to stand right in the middle of the room.
“Please be seated.” She gestured for Jemima and James to join her. “These people are under my protection. Meet James and Jemima Marsden. I want to make sure they are comfortable first before I address you. In the meantime I'm sure Pierre and Jonas will fill you in on our plans. Please excuse me.”
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They were walking down a long corridor and came to stand in front of a huge oak door. When Jemima turned to look at Tahlia, she found those unsettling black eyes already resting on her.
“This is your room. Your father is just down the hall.”
Looking past Tahlia, down the corridor, Jemima swallowed hard. She was in a house filled with vampires and her father's room felt like it was light years away for hers.
Reading her mind, Tahlia smiled gently. “If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can bunk with him for the night.” She was looking deep into the blue eyes and shamelessly planted a refusal in her mind. She wanted to come to her young lover's room later tonight and having her sleep in her father's room would only complicate the situation.
“No, I'll be fine. Thank you …Tahlia.” Jemima felt like she drowning in those black bottomless eyes.
Tahlia suddenly smiled and turned to leave, but stopped again. It wasn't easy walking away from this woman. And it will never be easy.
“I want to make sure you are okay with your room. Do you want me to check if there are no vampires lurking in there?”
Jemima heard the teasing edge in the dark husky voice, but still she couldn't get herself to say no. What if there were really blood-thirsty vampires hiding in her room. She nodded quickly and stiffened when Tahlia leant over her to push open the door. The Vampire's arm brushed against her right breast and Jemima heard the sharp intake of Tahlia's breath. A quick look to her chest showed the hard tips of her nipples pressing against her t-shirt. Their eyes met and held for a few seconds before Tahlia pushed open the door.
The room was beautiful with high ceilings and a huge four poster bed occupying the centre of the room. Tahlia followed her in and made a great show of looking under the bed, opening and closing closets and walking into the adjourning bathroom. Jemima was looking around the room when Tahlia suddenly spoke from behind her. She spun around to find the Vampire standing very close to her and a shiver of fear ran down her spine. The expressionless black eyes just stared back at her.
“I will leave you now. You can speak to me using our mental link if you need me. I will not be far away.” Tahlia took a quick step closer and gently rubbed over Jemima's full under lip. “I've wanted to do that for a while now.” The black eyes turned smoky hot and Jemima quickly looked away. The desire blazing in those dark eyes were literally scorching her.
The door clicked shut behind her and Jemima let out an audible sigh.
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The conversation in the room died down the minute she entered. Pierre and Jason were standing in the middle room with the arms folded. When she joined them, they turned solemn eyes to her. Tahlia turned to face the group of men.
“This is perhaps the only chance we'll ever get to destroy Drake. His minions are weaklings. They are not skilled in the art of warfare, but what they lack in skills they make up for in numbers. So do not underestimate them.”
She looked at each of the hunters in the room. They were all very good friends and she would hate to lose any of them to Drake. He was not worth their lives, but then they are all men and women of noble character. They would not want to be sidelined when the pure existence of their race was threatened.
“We will wait for Drake to make the first move. When we go around town tonight, make sure that you are on the lookout for any treachery from them.” She turned to leave the room, but stopped at the door and turned. “Thank you all for coming to our aid at such short notice. My brothers and sisters, your assistance is greatly appreciated.”
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The moon was hanging high in the sky, bathing the urban landscape in a bright silver glow. Pierre came to stand next to her while the other hunters silently moved out into the night.
“Jonas and Juan are waiting for us.”
They both dissolved and streaked across the sky. A few minutes later, they landed on the roof of a huge warehouse complex. Juan, Jonas a group of hunters were already busy scanning the area.
“There were no sentries, maybe this is an ambush.” Jonas's dark eyes were glowing red in the moonlight. “The audacity of the man to think that he can best us.”
As if of one mind, they all dissolved and materialized inside the dark interior of the warehouse.
Yes , Tahlia thought, sniffing the air, Drake's scent was very strong here. If she has her way, the traitor will not live to see dawn break. Slight movements to her right made her take a quick step back to analyze the sound before reacting to it. Just as well, because the sharp smell of gasoline filled her nostrils.
“Everybody step back, the floor is doused in gasoline.” She had barely uttered the words when bright flames engulfed the warehouse, surrounding them all. A collective growl sounded from the hunters standing guard outside, at the threat against their Royals. They all filed into the warehouse, not caring that the interior was almost totally engulfed in flames.
Hissing his anger, Pierre stepped closer and pulled Jonas and Tahlia closer to him and together they dissolved into tiny molecules. The corrugated iron sheets of the roof were pulled away allowing them to slip through the opening. Once outside, they took on human form.
Tahlia's eyes were glowing deep red now, her anger and hatred visible for all to see. Their haste in trying to get to Drake almost cost them their lives. She snapped a mental order to the hunters to retreat and waited until everyone had joined them outside. A quick headcount confirmed that everyone was still accounted for. Drake's scent was still hanging in the air and leading a small group of hunters, Tahlia re-entered the warehouse.