Pink Petal Books Pink Petal Books, an imprint of Jupiter Gardens Press, publishes romance novels where the relatio...
81 downloads
964 Views
2MB Size
Report
This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!
Report copyright / DMCA form
Pink Petal Books Pink Petal Books, an imprint of Jupiter Gardens Press, publishes romance novels where the relationship is primary. It doesn’t matter if you want to read super erotic or sweet inspirational books. Pink Petal Books believes that love is a beautiful thing, no matter what form it takes. For more information about Pink Petal Books visit http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/.
Additional Titles by the Author The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Permission is granted to make ONE backup copy for archival purposes.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
IMMORTAL DEATH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright © LAUREL O’DONNELL, 2011 Cover Art ® 2011 by Valerie Tibbs Edited by Julie Trevelyan ISBN# 978‐0‐9848970‐0‐1
Electronic Publication Date: December 2011 This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Jupiter Gardens Press, Jupiter Gardens, LLC., PO Box 191, Grimes, IA 50111 For more information to learn to more about this, or any other author’s work, please visit http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/
Immortal Death Laurel O’Donnell
PPB
CHAPTER ONE "You’ve been exposed.” The startling words halted Demetrius Mercer for only a moment before he threw himself onto the leather couch in the den, placing an arm over his eyes. "Impossible,” he groaned. It had been a long damned night. He didn’t need this too. "You know it is our custom to keep hidden. The last thing we need is for the Malachite to be able to trace a bloodline.” "I know the rules,” Demetrius growled. Knew them and had them ingrained in his mind since the time he had been turned immortal. Damn, but his side ached. He lifted a free hand to run it beneath his blood spattered black cotton t‐shirt, moving his fingers over his healing skin. Three long gouges. A gift from the Malachite bastard he battled in the alley on the south side. He ran his fingers over the cuts, inspecting. Not too deep. Even though his blood had saturated his shirt before his body began healing, there wasn’t enough blood to drip onto the street. Not even a drop. There was no way he could have been exposed. "It’s right here. Your full name. Take a look.” Demetrius lifted his arm to glare at Chip. Sitting behind his beloved large cherry wood desk, Chip’s face glowed in the white light of his computer screen. His blonde hair, pulled back tight and tied with a coif, seemed to form a halo around his face. No expression reached his black eyes. He was so computer‐like that Demetrius’s family called him Chip, even though his true name was Adonis. Demetrius stalked to the desk. He crossed his arms with an impatient sigh and began to read the words on the computer screen. Disbelief furrowed his brow, and by the time he finished reading the page he was leaning into the screen, devouring each word in utter astonishment. This was more than just his name. It was the story of his life, starting centuries ago in England when he had been a knight. "How?” he gasped, staring raptly at the words. "The author posted it to this website for reader comments. Apparently, she is some sort of writer.” Demetrius couldn’t take his gaze from the screen. Damn it. His brow darkened. “Who is she? How does she know me?” Chip shrugged. “I was hoping you could answer that.” "The only ones who know my history are family.” "Family would never endanger disclosure by doing something like this.” Demetrius scowled, narrowing his eyes at the screen. “Do you think it’s a ploy to draw me out?” He was a powerful hunter, a killer. The Malachite wanted him dead more than anyone else in his family. It would not be beyond them to pull such a stunt to lure him into a trap. Chip shrugged and stretched back in his chair. “These three chapters were posted to the internet this morning. It’s your history. How you met Rosaline.” Rosaline. An ache of longing pierced his hard demeanor as her image came to mind. Dark wavy hair so lustrous as to rival moonlight; a smile that brightened his soul as only an angel could
have. He walked across the room to the large windows lining the far wall of the den. The crescent moon dipped low in the night sky, thin clouds stretched across it. Demetrius thought he had fully buried Rosaline’s image, hoping to ease the ache of missing her. But at the mere mention of her name, everything, every feeling, returned as if it had all happened yesterday, especially the pain that wrenched his heart when he realized he had been too late to save her life. He remembered holding her in his arms, feeling the warmth of her blood on his hands. "You have to take care of this,” Chip said quietly. “Have no doubt the Malachite will have read this.” Demetrius’s jaw clenched. “Can’t you delete it? Remove it?” "I’ve already blocked it. But if my search engines found it, so have theirs. It won’t take them long to find her.” Demetrius rubbed his side again. The lines carved in his skin were healed. The marks of the Malachite were gone. "If the Malachite learn anything about you, you’ll be sent into hiding.” "Like hell,” Demetrius snarled. He was a fighter and to be banished into hiding, even for his own good, was like a sentence of slow death by boredom. “I’ll take care of it. Keep it off the web for three days.” Chip sighed. “She’ll try to post again.” Demetrius took a breath to steady his impatience. They were immortal! How hard could keeping the post off the web be? "Keep it off for three days.” Chip shook his head, his gaze shifting back to his computer screen. “A good hacker could trace my block. You’re risking our family.” Demetrius turned to him, his fists clenched at his side. He would not be denied. “Two days.” "The Council still might send you into hiding.” Demetrius ground his teeth. He was the best killer the de Nouviant had! And here he stood negotiating for time with a hacker. He turned away from Chip, staring out at the moon. Rage swirled in him like a whirling tornado. His lips thinned, his eyes narrowed. It took all his will to tame his anger. "Demetrius?” Chip called. "What is her name?” "Jade Smith.” "This girl, this Jade Smith, knows about me,” Demetrius whispered harshly. “Somehow. Someway, she knows. I have to find out how.” Chip sighed and shook his head. “Two days, Demetrius. No more. After that, I go to the Council.”
CHAPTER TWO What had she done? Jade stared at her trembling hands suspended above Trina’s stomach, untouched by the blood just inches from them, blood that moments before gurgled out of her friend’s side in an unrelenting gush. Jade pulled her hands away. Trina’s wound was smaller now and the flow of her blood had dried to a mere trickle. Jade felt the sharp pain in her own abdomen. It took her breath away and she sat back on her heels, instinctively clutching her side. Wetness soaked her hand. She looked at her side to see blood soaking her cotton tank top. She was bleeding. A lot. Had she taken too much? She looked at Trina. Confusion marred her friend’s sweat soaked brow and she began to sit up. “What…?” Her unfocused eyes dipped to Jade’s side. Jade knew what would come next. She had experienced it before. Her foster mother had the look Trina wore, and so had Kimberly, a girl from the second grade. Jade’s heart ached almost as much as her side and she curled her arm around her stomach. She tried so hard to fit in this time, being careful not to give into the temptation to help those who were hurt. It wasn’t fair. And it hurt. This time, it really hurt. "What did you do?” Trina gasped. It wasn’t her words, so much, as the tone in her voice. Condemnation. Horror. Jade stood, slowly. The look in Trina’s bright blue eyes made Jade stumble back. Repugnant. Repulsive. Reprehensible. Jade shook her head, silently begging Trina not to look at her like she was a freak. She and Trina had not been friends for long. A month, maybe. But there had been an instant bond between them. Or so Jade thought. She wanted a real friend, a friend who could understand. Tears rose in her eyes, blurring the image of Trina lying on the dark sidewalk. Was that too much to ask? Sirens blared in the distance, the piercing sound drawing closer. Jade backed away. She knew Trina would be all right. She knew she had taken a large portion of the gunshot wound away from Trina and into her own body. Trina would survive. Jade swayed beneath the onslaught of a wave of lightheadedness. She had never taken this much. Her foster mother had sliced her finger with a knife. Kimberly had fallen from the monkey bars at school and tore up her knee. But neither one of those times had been this bad. There had been others. Others who had never known what she had done. A touch had taken a paper cut away or soothed a bump on the head. But nothing like this. Jade staggered through the dark street, away from Trina. She had to get home, back to her apartment. She wondered if her body would be able to heal itself as it had those other times. Jade glanced one last time at her friend. Trina would tell them what happened. She would tell them of the mugger and the gunshot. There was so much blood on the pavement, they wouldn’t believe it was all Trina’s. Any DNA testing done would show it wasn’t only Trina’s. She would tell them what Jade had done. They wouldn’t believe her, but they would still want to talk to Jade. And they would come for her.
Jade doubled over, using the wall of Yen Ching’s Chinese food to hold herself up. Pain spiraled up her side like liquid fire, immobilizing her. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. Would she make it back to her apartment? She could feel her blood leaving her body between her fingers. So tired. But she had done the right thing. She had saved Trina’s life. She used the walls of the closely built shops as supports to get her through the streets. She wasn’t far from her apartment building. She never went too far. Just in case…just in case she had to leave quickly. She stopped and leaned her head back against the bricks. So tired. She looked down at her wound. Even now, it was closing. The amount of blood running through her fingers had let up. If she could only rest. Just for a little while. Prickles suddenly raced across her neck and she looked up. Dark sky greeted her. Distant muffled voices floated through the night. She scanned the sky between the tall buildings above her. What was it that set off her alarms? She shook herself. She was bleeding. She had to get home. Again, she lurched forward. Just make it to your apartment, she told herself. Her chills wouldn’t ease. Was it the mugger coming after her? Why had her instincts caused her to look up? It was the strangest thing. Barking dogs sounded in the distance. Not strange in Chicago, certainly, but the way they grew louder was. Like an approaching tsunami, their barking swelled. Jade turned and ran. Whatever it was, it was not good. She stumbled, weak from blood loss. The barking was only blocks away. Whatever was coming was coming fast. She had to get home. Jade sprinted across the street. A loud noise jarred Jade and a bright light blinded her. She stopped in the middle of the street, her arms raised to block the light. The honk sounded again from the car before her. “Ya dumb bitch!” a voice shouted. “Watch where you’re going!” Shaking, Jade staggered to the curb. She watched the car zoom off down the road. Her gaze shot to the sky as if she expected something to fall out of the darkness onto her head. Nothing appeared. Nothing swooped down and snatched her from the street. She moved to the door of her apartment building, staring at the sky. The dogs stopped barking. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She swung open the door and entered the lobby with a sigh of relief, slamming the door behind her, sealing out whatever it was that had her so unnerved. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. So tired. She went for her purse, only to realize the mugger had taken it. She swore softly and pressed a button on the row of mailboxes on the wall, holding her breath. She hoped her neighbor Mr. Wheeser was home. He would buzz her in. "Yeah. Who is it?” "It’s Jade, Mr. Wheeser,” Jade answered. “I forgot my purse. Can you‐” The buzzer sounded, making Jade jump, but she grabbed the door and swung it open, stepping through. She carefully closed the door behind her. That sense of unease was still with
her. She paused on the ground floor, glancing up at the three flights of stairs. She didn’t want to alarm Mr. Wheeser by the blood on her shirt. "That you Jade?” he called down. "Yeah, Mr. Wheeser. Thanks,” Jade answered. She looked at the door to the lobby. "I can’t be ringing just anyone in, ya know,” Mr. Wheeser called down. “These streets are unsafe nowadays. You’d better be careful.” "I know, Mr. Wheeser.” She waited until she heard his mumbling disappear behind his closing door before she sat on the stairs. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t usually this jumpy. Maybe the mugger and the gun… Jade groaned. She had every right to be jumpy. Lord, he had appeared out of nowhere. She stared down at the blood on her shirt. It glistened in the dim hallway lighting. She lifted her shirt to inspect the wound, gently probing her bloody skin. The gash was almost completely closed. Her swollen skin, covered in blood, had only a cut remaining from the wound. The pain had dulled to a constant throb. She pulled herself up with the help of the railing. Something moved in the lobby. Jade froze. Was it the mugger? Had he followed her? Did he have her key? The handle on the entrance door moved. Jade spun and fearfully bolted up the three sets of stairs. She paused before her doorway and looked over the railing. No one followed her. Turning to her apartment door, her hand instinctively reached for the handle, but stopped cold. No purse. No key. Jade recalled the spare key at the top of the doorframe and reached for it, running her fingers along the edge, until they found the cold, dusty metal. She grabbed the key and shoved it into the lock. Jade bolted inside and slammed the door shut behind her. She turned the deadbolt and leaned against the door to listen. Nothing. No sound. Her heart pounded in her chest. What was going on? Was she hallucinating? Her side ached, a dull reminder to flee. If the mugger had her purse he would know where to find her. If the police recovered the purse they would come here looking for her. She had to leave immediately. Jade raced into the bathroom and turned on the faucet in the sink, rinsing her hands clean of blood. Despite the blood being wet, it took a vigorous scrubbing to remove all traces of it. Lifting her shirt, her gaze traveled to the wound on her side. It was almost completely healed. A quick splash of water cleansed the blood from her injury. Her skin was slightly swollen and only the barest of cuts remained. After drying it with a towel and wiping her hands clean, she dashed down the hallway to her bedroom, flicking on the one table lamp, and continued to the closet. Her room was barren, nothing on the walls, nothing on the desk except for her laptop. Jade threw open the closet door, grabbed a duffel bag and tossed it onto the bed. She encircled all the clothes hanging in her closet and yanked them from the hangers. There wasn’t many. There had never been enough money for extra clothes and buying them had not been important to her. Shoving the clothes into her duffel bag, she scooped up her laptop from the table beside the bed. “You must be in a lot of trouble.” Jade jumped, spinning, holding her laptop to her chest like a shield, her heart nearly exploding out of her chest.
He stood in the doorway, framed by the lamplight. He leaned his shoulder casually on the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. A cynical twist curved his lips and lent an air of arrogance to him. His dark hair fell to his shoulders in waves. He was tall, about six feet, well over Jade’s head. His sharp black eyes warned her of danger. A danger she knew. A danger she wrote about. "Demetrius,” she gasped, stunned. His brow furrowed and he pushed himself from the doorframe. His hands dropped to his side. “How do you know me?” Demetrius. How could she not know him? He was the hero in her story! But it couldn’t be. This was madness. The entire night. She didn’t know him. She couldn’t. Oh, how she wanted to believe her Demetrius actually stood in the doorway. She needed a hero right now. The room swam and shook her head to clear it. He wasn’t her Demetrius. It was the mugging, the gunshot, all the blood loss, all the pain fogging her senses. "Who are you?” he demanded. "Me?” she managed to croak. She grabbed the lamp from the table and held it before her, still holding her laptop tightly to her chest with her other hand. A silly gesture, but at least if he attacked her, she could get in a good smash to his head with the lamp. “I should ask you the same thing.” He entered her room, taking a step toward her. “You seem to know me already.” Jade retreated. Sheer black power emanated from his menacing movement. “What? No. No. I was confused.” She held the lamp out before her. “Don’t come any closer.” He looked at the lamp and then his eyes slid up to hers like a languid caress. A tingle raced through her body. Those eyes, they were mesmerizing. She shook her head slightly. It must be the loss of blood creating these outrageous thoughts and feelings. “What are you doing in my apartment? Was that you following me?” He straightened. “Was someone following you?” "I think so. I don’t know! Stop playing games. Just leave!” He stood absolutely still for a long moment. His gaze met hers and she could feel him all around her, powerful, dominating, and very sensual. This was madness. "You’re hurt.” "It’s nothing,” she snapped quickly. She shook the lamp as if it were a weapon of importance. “I want you to leave, now.” He took a step closer. Jade brought the lamp up, but the electrical cord pulled taut and she couldn’t quite position it before her. "I am here for answers, Jade.” She gasped. “How do you know my name?” "How do you know mine?” Jade opened her mouth to answer, but her answer was impossible. He was just a fictional character. He was her hero in a story she made up. But it was him. He stood before her as surely as if he materialized from her written words. "You posted some chapters to the Internet and left your name,” he said.
Oh, his voice was so soft. It did explain how he knew her name. Surfing the Internet. But it didn’t explain how he knew where she lived. She kept the lamp between them. “Are you following me?” "No.” "What do you want?” she demanded. "Where did you hear that story?” "Hear? I made it up.” He took a dangerous step toward her. “How do you know me?” Oh God, he was some kind of lunatic. And she must be just as mad, because for a moment she had believed him. “If you leave now, I won’t call the police.” "What else do you know?” Jade took another step away from him. She had to get to the door and escape. Suddenly, he stiffened. His head tilted to the side, and his long, black hair fell over his shoulder. He moved without her seeing him, snatching the lamp from her hand and turning it off. "I’ll scream,” she promised, backing away until the wall came up behind her. “I swear.” He was before her, a dark silhouette, tall, powerful. “You are one of them,” he whispered, his voice coming out in a growl. Jade lunged toward the door, but he caught her wrist in a crushing hold. "Where did you hear that story?” he demanded. "I told you,” she insisted, tugging at her wrist. He pulled her close to him. “I don’t believe you,” he growled. He looked at the door. “We have to go. Now. There is someone else in your apartment.”
CHAPTER THREE Demetrius hoped Jade would listen to him without a fight. The sickly sweet scent of the Malachite overpowered him and he grimaced. They were near. Maybe in the hallway, maybe outside the building. He didn’t have time to persuade Jade to do his bidding. Even in the darkness, Demetrius had no trouble seeing the fear in her eyes as she shifted her gaze to the doorway. Then, her brows scowled and she looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head and put a finger to his lips. The furrows in her brow deepened. “I don’t hear anything,” she insisted. He took her arm and guided her to the window. With one hand, he slid it open. The creaking protestation of the wood made it apparent she had not opened it before. He signaled to the open window with a nod of his chin. She glanced back at the doorway for a moment, clutching her laptop to her chest. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said firmly. Demetrius’s brows rose in surprise. He wasn’t used to having his order be questioned. He gazed at the doorway. He was sure the Malachite were in the apartment. Every fiber in his body wanted to face his enemies and do battle. He wanted to rid his family of their adversaries. He was a fighter. And he hated turning his back on any battle. But he knew his priority was to discover what this woman knew about his family and how much of a danger she posed. He would have to keep her from the Malachite. “I don’t have time to argue with you.” He picked her up easily enough, she was a small girl, petite, and pushed her through the window, setting her on her feet when she was out of the apartment. Demetrius stepped out onto the fire escape and closed the window, then scoffed at his own actions. As if that would slow the monsters. “Move,” he whispered, gently shoving her down the fire escape. She moved down the stairs in front of him. They circled around to the second story landing to the next set of stairs and raced down. They reached the first floor landing when the window above them shattered. Jade stifled a scream, and Demetrius pressed his body to hers, protecting her from the flying shards of glass. He glanced down over his shoulder and saw the Malachite land lithely in the alley below. Demetrius pushed Jade back up the stairs. “Go back,” he ordered as the Malachite ran to the bottom of the fire escape ladder, one story below them. Demetrius stood over the ladder, blocking his enemy’s way as Jade began her hurried ascent. The Malachite wore his blonde hair cropped as close to the skull as he could get it so it wouldn’t get in the way of his fighting. Demetrius had encountered a few of them with the same cut, in stark contrast to his long hair. The Malachite narrowed his eyes, eyes that upon seeing Demetrius began to glow red. The Malachite seized hold of the ladder, shaking it. The metal structure rumbled and creaked in protest. Demetrius grit his teeth. All he wanted was one good kick to the bastard’s smug face. Just one kick. He had no doubt he could defeat the Malachite, but that was not his goal. He had to
protect Jade. No matter how much he wanted to battle. He glanced up at Jade. She slowed her upward ascent as the fire escape shook and groaned in protest. A loud twisting creak was the only warning before the whole fire escape jerked sharply. Jade’s body flung from one side of the stairs to the other. She held onto the edge of the fire escape with one hand while she gripped that damned laptop with the other. Demetrius scrambled up the ladder. He helped her up the stairs to the second story landing. His foot no sooner cleared the first story stairs than the metal structure disappeared beneath his boot. With a horrible snapping and grinding of metal, the Malachite tore off the bottom half and threw it aside. Demetrius cast a glance over his shoulder at the Malachite. Every muscle in his body coiled, demanding he fight. Destroy the monster. But he couldn’t. He heard Jade’s footsteps as she continued up toward the third floor and her apartment. Demetrius lifted his lip in a silent growl of promise, allowing his fangs to lengthen for just a moment, as he watched the Malachite dart toward the front of the building. He would cut them off in the lobby. Maybe I will have to fight after all. On the first floor, someone opened the window with a startled exclamation. The fire escape creaked and Demetrius looked up. Jade was at her window. She hooked one of her hands on the wrung of a ladder leading to the roof. Demetrius scowled and followed her, quickly catching up. “Where are you going?” "He’ll be coming through the lobby,” she explained quickly. She climbed the ladder, reached the roof and swung over the edge. Demetrius followed her, jumping over the ledge of the building onto the roof. Jade raced along the flat roof surface to the opposite side. A metal ladder lay along the far edge of the roof. She ran over to it, put her laptop down and picked up the long ladder. As Demetrius grabbed one side of the ladder, Jade shifted her eyes to him. “He snapped the fire escape off like it was Legos.” Demetrius shrugged nonchalantly. “They don’t build them like they used to.” Together they began to feed the long, three‐story ladder over the side of the building. “Do you always have escape routes out of your dwellings?” "It helps,” she said. Jade grabbed her laptop and, with a supporting hand from Demetrius, swung her leg over the side of the building and began to descend the ladder. Demetrius held the ladder still, watching her. Agile little minx, he thought with a hint of admiration. Curiosity tickled the back of his mind. Why would she make sure there was a hidden escape out of the building? As she reached the bottom, Demetrius boosted himself over the edge of the roof and easily and quickly covered the distance to the ground. He landed quietly, then reached out and grabbed her hand. Her small hand fit snugly in his large one. Startled at the warmth and comfort of her hand, he looked into her blue eyes. Anxiety and trepidation nervously danced in her glittering orbs.
He nodded his acknowledgment of her accomplishment. It wasn’t every day a mortal outwitted a Malachite. He led her down the alley. They didn’t slow their run until they were a good three blocks away. They had escaped the Malachite. She had escaped. It was no easy feat for a de Nouviant, let alone a mere mortal. The street was too crowded with shops and night travelers for any kind of pursuit. There would be no fight tonight. Still, it wasn’t until they had covered three more blocks that he slowed his hurried pace to a leisurely walk. He looked at Jade. Her shoulders were hunched. She held her black laptop against her chest, shielded by her crossed arms. Strands of her long dark brown hair had come loose from her ponytail and fell over her shoulders in riotous curls Demetrius found strangely alluring. His eyes swept her body. She was tiny, very small in stature. And thin. Just below the laptop, he could make out blood. “Are you hurt?” "Hurt?” "When we were on the ladder, I saw the blood.” It was only a partial lie. He smelled the blood in the apartment, too. She looked down at her shirt. Then, she lowered the laptop so it covered the bloodstain near her lower stomach. “No. I’m fine.” "That’s a lot of blood. It should be looked at.” Demetrius studied her for a long moment. Jade stared at the ground, her arms crossed over her laptop. She chewed her lower lip lightly. She certainly wasn’t acting like she was hurt. Still, it was enough blood that Demetrius was certain it wasn’t a minor cut. "Who was that guy?” Jade demanded, stepping around an elderly woman moving too slowly in front of them. Demetrius knew exactly who he was. Ronald McColl of the Malachite. But what could he tell her? That he was a vampire from a rival family? "Did you see him pull off that fire escape?” she asked. "Like I said, porches and fire escapes are not up to code in Chicago anymore.” Jade cast him a sideways look. Demetrius hoped it was enough to cast doubt in her mind. It was either that or admit the Malachite had super strength. Jade stopped suddenly. “Look. Thanks for…helping me, I guess. But I don’t…I mean…” She shook her head. “You should leave now.” "I have no intention of leaving you until I know where you heard that story.” Someone brushed past her, startling her. She sighed in exasperation. “Are we back to that? I already told you. I don’t know you. It is just a coincidence your name is the same as the hero’s name in my story. That’s all.” Demetrius felt his anger rise. And that was a dangerous thing. He couldn’t tell her that her story was his life. He couldn’t tell her how much danger she put him or his family in. Was she working with the Malachite to get information about his family? “What’s on that laptop?” She looked down at the shield she held before her and then tenderly stroked the side of it. “My story,” she said softly.
His eyes narrowed. Her precious story. Maybe there was another way to find out what she knew. “I’d like to read the rest of it.” Her eyes flashed to his. Stark, brilliant blue eyes. They swept his face, assessing. She began to shake her head. "What I read online was very well written and I would like to read what happens next.” "No,” she insisted convulsively. “It’s not ready for others to read. I rewrote those first chapters over and over. I polished them.” She shook her head again. “No. The rest is nowhere near ready. Besides…” She lifted her chin slightly. “I’m not giving it to someone who broke into my apartment. Someone I don’t even know.” It did look suspicious. But what was he to tell her? That if she didn’t tell him, he would have to kill her? Oh, that would get her talking! Demetrius stared at her. She didn’t look scared enough to bolt, but she certainly wasn’t relaxed. Her knuckles were white around the laptop. His patience waned. Dawn was getting too close. “I came to find out where you heard that story. Did you read it somewhere? Did someone tell it to you when you were a child?” Her brows furrowed and she whirled away from him, stalking down the street. Demetrius followed her. Suddenly, she stopped and turned on him. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you where I really heard the story if you tell me your real name.” Demetrius stood still, debating. He could tell her the truth. That his name was Demetrius Mercer. But she would never believe him. Not when she wrote that very name in her story. He could lie. Demetrius grit his teeth. If he lied, he would get the information he sought. Information vital to his family, to him. But he had never lied in his long life. Not once. “Demetrius Mercer.” Her eyes flashed, narrowing with disbelief. “The same as the hero in my manuscript.” Demetrius nodded. “Do you see why it is so important that I know where you heard the story from?” "You’re a crazy stalker,” she said in exasperation and turned, storming away from him. He started after her. Did she think he would just let her walk away? Did she feel safe in the crowd? She shouldn’t. He could end her life before anyone knew what was happening. She whirled, stopping again. Her lips came apart slightly in a silent gasp of realization. “That other man in my apartment.” She took a step back. “You’re working with him!” Demetrius couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of her comment. “Never.” She took another step away from him. Now, she was going to bolt. He saw fear and distrust in her eyes. Then, her gaze shifted to something behind him. A frown flawed her brow and she stepped past him. Demetrius turned with her. In the window of an electronics store, a television set flickered with the image of an excited newsman standing in an alley. "Young woman brutally murdered. The police are not releasing her name, pending the notification of her relatives.” The newsman, a young man with a receding hairline, looked over his shoulder as a policeman ducked beneath the crime scene tape stretched across the alley. “Excuse me!” The newsman stepped toward the police officer. “Can you give us any more information on how the woman was murdered?”
The policeman shook his head and continued walking up the street. "Was this a mugging?” the newsman persisted. "This was no mugging I ever saw,” the policeman responded. The camera panned to a stretcher being pushed from the alley by two paramedics. A white sheet covered the victim. Yellow hair hung off the stretcher beneath the blanket. "Trina,” Jade whispered. “It’s Trina.”
CHAPTER FOUR Demetrius escorted Jade to a small coffee house without a word, sitting her in a corner booth. He pushed a cup of coffee at her and sat across from her. Jade cradled the cup gently between her curved hands, but the warmth did not reach her soul. Trina should be alive. Jade stared down at the black liquid. She had saved Trina’s life, took the wound from her. Trina should be in a hospital right now, speaking to the police. Who could have done this to her? Jade shook her head. Madness. All of this was madness. “She was my friend,” she whispered in an anguished breath. "The woman on the news?” "Yes,” she replied. "What happened?” Demetrius asked quietly. Her throat closed and for a moment she couldn’t speak. She swallowed. “We were mugged. And Trina wouldn’t give up her purse. He shot her.” Jade flinched as she heard again the pop of the gun in her mind. "Who shot her? Who was it?” Jade shook her head. “I don’t know.” She had never seen him before. "You just left your friend in the street?” he asked. "I did everything I could to help her.” Except stay until the police arrived, an inner voice scorned. She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. She had taken the wound from Trina. “She was going to live when I left.” "Are you sure?” Jade nodded. The image of Trina lying helpless on the sidewalk made Jade’s stomach twist. Maybe the man who robbed them didn’t want witnesses. Maybe he came back to make sure they were dead. Jade closed her eyes again. Maybe she hadn’t taken enough of the wound away. Maybe it was her fault. She never should have left Trina. "It wasn’t your fault, Jade,” Demetrius said softly. Jade shook her head, refusing the comfort of his statement. She wouldn’t let herself off the hook that easily. She knew what she should do, what she had to do to make sure justice was served. She didn’t want to, everything about cops and law set her survival instincts on edge. “Maybe I should go to the police. Tell them what I saw. Give them a description of the guy.” "Maybe you should rest the night and decide in the morning. You look exhausted.” Jade took a sip of the coffee. The bitterly strong brew washed down her throat. The familiarity of it calmed her. “Every moment I don’t go gives Trina’s murderer that much time to escape.” "The police will wonder why you didn’t come forward when she was shot.” Shivers of trepidation started in her stomach and spread through her body. He was right. "I’m assuming that’s her blood on your shirt.” Jade looked down at the stain of brown on her white tank top. She shifted her laptop to cover the blood. Most of it was hers, but she couldn’t be sure Trina’s blood had not spattered her tank top.
"That might make you a suspect.” Her eyes widened and her lips parted in a silent gasp. The police would think she shot Trina? "Why did you leave her?” Why had she left? Because she was afraid. Afraid of the way her friend was looking at her, afraid of what she had done. She had saved her life, but she had also revealed her power to Trina. Jade’s eyes filled with tears. She was a coward. “I had no choice,” she said desperately to herself as well as him. "It would have looked better if you came forward immediately to give a description.” Jade swallowed. Her thin fingers gripped the cup as if her life depended upon it. “I thought she would live. I thought she would be able to give the description.” His silent perusal of her face peppered her arms with tingles. "It’s the police. You have a problem with the police.” Jade nodded, rubbing her suddenly cold arms. While legally she was an adult, she had been a runaway and in foster care for as long as she could remember, so she had a file. She wasn’t sure what was in the file. She imagined it was her entire life, highlighted with instances of unexplained incidents, especially the car accident. She broke her arm and leg from the impact. The doctors took x‐rays and put casts on. By the next day, both her arm and leg had healed. That’s when they started running tests. She shouldn’t have healed that quickly. It just wasn’t possible. And they wanted to know why she had. The police would see her file and bring her back to those doctors. To the needles and the endless x‐rays and the unstoppable questions. Silence. She could feel Demetrius’s eyes on her, thoughtful. She looked up at him. “I didn’t kill her,” she whispered desperately. His gaze moved slowly over her face, a languid caress of evaluation. His eyes, so dark she could not tell where the iris ended and the pupil began, met her gaze. His face was stone, emotionless. Would he stay with her now? Would he stay and think she killed her friend? For some reason, it was important he believe she could never do that. Some part of her wanted his friendship, his acceptance. But another part of her was suspicious. Why would he want to become involved with someone like her? She was nothing but trouble. More questions arose. What was he doing in her apartment? How could his name be Demetrius Mercer? How could he look exactly like what she pictured her Demetrius looking? It was unnerving. Even now, the way he leaned back in the chair exuding confidence was so like her Demetrius. The way he focused on her, as if she were the center of his universe… You don’t know this man, the cautious part of her reminded. He did help her escape from the lunatic in her apartment. And that lunatic was another unanswered question. What did he want? To rob her? He must have been the one who followed her home. He was not the mugger who had shot Trina. What did he want from her? The whole night was just too much. Everything came swirling around her, the shooting, Trina’s death, the crazed attacker, this Demetrius apparition. It all made her head spin. She abruptly rose from her seat. “I have to go.” Demetrius reached out and seized her wrist. “No, Jade. You should not be alone right now.” Jade looked at his strong hand encircling her wrist. Another image flared to the front of her mind. Foggy, like a distant memory. Another hand, much like his, holding hers. She looked up at
him, but there was no recognition, no similarity of thought. Jade wrenched her hand free. “Why should you care? Who am I to you?” "A puzzle,” he admitted, standing. Strength and self‐assurance radiated from him like cologne. And Lord help her, but it was a fragrance she couldn’t get enough of. "Take the night,” he said. “I’ll make sure you’re safe. You can think about what you want to do.” Jade stared. There was something very alluring about the shimmering darkness of his eyes. Something vulnerable and powerful. A contradiction. Jade was drawn to it, and she leaned toward him. “Why would you do that for me?” she asked, confused. No one had ever offered her a place of safety. Demetrius’s brows slanted in confusion over his dark eyes. “Because you are exhausted. Because you need the time to clear your mind.” "Why would you involve yourself with what is happening to me? Are you some kind of good Samaritan? My angel of mercy?” He laughed a low deep rumble. “Hardly.” Jade swept his face, his chiseled good looks, his strong jaw, his perfect aquiline nose. He belonged on the front of some magazine, not here with her. And then it struck her and she straightened. “You’re still trying to find out where I learned my story.” All humor drained from his face. “Yes.” "I’ve already told you. I made it up. I don’t understand why you won’t believe me.” She lifted her chin and shook her head, pulling her laptop closer to her chest, almost protectively. “No. I appreciate your offer of protection, but I can’t.” He sighed. “You are so stubborn.” There was no recrimination in his statement, just fact. "Thank you for your help,” she said softly, meaning it. She owed him at least that much. He didn’t move, didn’t blink. Just watched her with those amazing dark eyes. Odd, she thought. Not even a goodbye. Or a good luck. Nothing. She scowled slightly and took a step away from the table. Part of her wished he would stop her, part of her wanted to stay with him, but she knew how crazy this was. She knew nothing about him except for the fact he had broken into her apartment with some twisted belief she had not written her story. Did he actually think she stole it from someone else? She turned her back on him. It took much more willpower to leave him then she would have liked, but she forced herself to do it. She crossed the coffee shop and pushed the door open. The cool air wrapped around her as she stepped into the night. A woman passed her, huddled deep in her black sweater. She did not look up. At this time of night, you did not make eye contact with anyone. A sudden breeze brushed by Jade, lifting the ends of her hair. Prickles peppered her skin as the feeling of being watched came over her. She scanned the street. A drunken homeless man lay in the doorway of the church across the street from her. Two men, deep in conversation, passed her and continued down the street. One of the street lights down the block was out. There was no one there. No one watched her.
She huddled around her laptop as if it were some kind of protective charm and moved down the street. She would have to start over in another town. Maybe another state. Another breeze swept past her and that same feeling of someone watching her returned. She glanced over her shoulder and quickened her step. She had been a fool not to return to the coffee shop and the safety it offered. She had been a fool to go off by herself knowing whoever killed Trina was still out there. Had that man at her apartment followed her here? The street was empty, but the feeling didn’t abate, it grew. Panic swelled inside her. She scanned the street for an open store or door, somewhere she could seek shelter. The shops and homes were closed for the night. Footsteps echoed behind her and again Jade turned to look down the street. A dark figure was about half a block away, keeping pace with her. Oh God, her mind screamed. She watched the figure for a moment before whirling and running. Suddenly, a car pulled up to the curb. The door swung open. "Get in.” Demetrius’s voice was so welcome Jade all but threw herself into the car, slamming the door shut behind her. With a quick, precise jerk of his hand, he shifted gears and they sped down the street. “I’m glad you changed your mind,” he said softly without looking at her. His voice sent chills through her body. Despite being soft and seductive, there was a menacing tone beneath his words. Jade shifted in her seat, looking out the rear window. The streetlight that had been out was now illuminated. And whoever had been following her was gone. ~* * *~ "Where is she?” How had the old woman heard him? Bastian entered the room with the stealth of a tiger. Silent. Deadly. But she was The Matriarch. She knew all. She heard all. Bastian moved through the dark room toward the cold, dead fireplace where the Matriarch sat in a wheelchair. Her short silver hair was cut just above her hunched shoulders. Her black dress was plain. Her wrinkled hands rested on the arms of the wheelchair. He bowed to one knee at her side. “Demetrius was there.” The Matriarch hissed a silent fume of rage. "They got away,” Bastian admitted, keeping his head respectfully bowed. "You will find her,” the Matriarch insisted. “She is the key to their downfall. It was careless of you to let her escape.” "I was unprepared,” Bastian admitted. True. He wasn’t expecting Demetrius to be there so quickly. "You were not trained to be unprepared,” she snapped. “Your arrogance has placed our family in danger. One more slip up, Bastian, and you will be removed.” Bastian swallowed. Removed. From the Malachite family. From the world. “Aye, madam,” he whispered.
"Find her.” Recognizing the dismissal in her voice, Bastian rose and walked stiffly out of the room. He didn’t like to be threatened. He was unaccustomed to people speaking to him like she had. He moved through the large wooden doors at the end of the room and closed them softly behind him. Ronald McColl waited for him outside the doors with a knowing, yet unsympathetic, grin. Bastian ignored him. He was confident he would find this Jade Smith. He picked up the duffel bag he removed from her apartment and unzipped it, fishing out a small, black cell phone. He answered Ronald with a slight lift of his eyebrows and an upturn of his lips. He was confident indeed.
CHAPTER FIVE Demetrius sat in the dark hotel room, listening with his keen hearing to Jade’s slowing heart rate in the next room. She had refused to share a room with him so he got them adjoining rooms. She had fought sleep for a while, watching the boring garbage on TV that filled the airways at the crack of dawn. The sun had rose, but Demetrius fought his own call to sleep. He waited. The thick curtains of the hotel were drawn closed, cloaking the room in a comfortable darkness. Finally, in the next room, Jade’s breathing became deep and heavy. Even then, he waited a few minutes more before rising and going to their adjoining door. He grabbed the lock separating their rooms and ripped it out. He listened for a moment as she turned slightly in the bed and then settled back to sleep. Demetrius turned the handle, eased the door open and stared at her in the flickering light of the television. Who was this woman who wrote of his life? And where had she learned his story? He should take her blood; just a drop of the precious liquid would reveal everything to him. Her past, the origins of the story. And while it would save his family, he hated the thought of being reduced to a common thief, a stealer of memories. He was ageless, had lived centuries. He was a skilled vampire, a trained fighter. If he could not persuade Jade to reveal the origin of the story, then he was not as strong nor as talented as he believed. The problem was that thus far, she was resistant to his persuasion. He found her entertaining. He found her a mystery. And nothing had interested him in so long that he relished the challenge. Demetrius flipped open his cell phone. It had been vibrating incessantly for hours now. He leaned back in the chair and pressed a button to dial the number. "It’s about time, Demetrius,” the voice on the other end greeted. "I have her, Chip,” he said quietly, so quietly his lips barely moved. He didn’t want Jade to hear him. “The Malachite know about her. They were at her apartment.” A moment of silence. “Then they’ve seen the story.” Demetrius watched Jade’s chest rise and fall with each intake of her breath. "You have to end this before it goes any further,” Chip said in a whisper. “If the Malachite find us…” "I know,” Demetrius answered firmly, watching Jade. She lay on her side, her fingers curled near her face. Even though her face was in the dark, Demetrius had no trouble seeing her slightly parted lips, the way her long lashes rested on her cheek. "Have you discovered anything? The origins of the story? Where she heard it?” Demetrius’s gaze shifted down over her arm. She lay in a half circle, curled tightly around that damned laptop. “No,” he said. “She says she made it up.” "You have to finish her,” Chip ordered. Demetrius straightened at the order. Only Jupiter ordered him. “Not yet,” he said instinctively. The thought of draining her of her blood, the thought of hearing her heart slow and then stop altogether, made Demetrius clench his teeth. "Demetrius…” Chip warned in a hiss. "She’s stored the story on a laptop.”
"Destroy it. Immediately.” Another order. Demetrius fought the urge to flip the phone closed and cut off the conversation. He couldn’t afford to alienate Chip. Not when he knew so much. He might go to Council. “It might hold something of value. Research from the novel, who she spoke to. I can’t destroy it yet.” Chip sighed. “Council should be brought in on this.” "Not yet. You gave me your word. I still have a day and a half.” "You have her right there! Take her blood.” Another order. That did it. “I’ll get the information,” Demetrius growled and snapped the phone shut. He knew Chip was right and that made him even angrier. If he drank her blood, he could discover everything about her. But something inside of him resisted the thought. He didn’t want to kill her. Not yet. ~* * *~ Jade turned over. Something tugged her sleepily from her slumber. She opened her eyes slightly to glance at the clock beside the bed. A half hour. Only a half hour of sleep. The dim light of the sunrise edged the dark curtains. She turned over, ready to go back to sleep…and froze. Swiftly, her hands roamed the surface of the bed, searching desperately. It was not there. She sat up, whipping the covers aside. It was impossible to steady her erratic pulse as desperation swept over her. Leaning over the bed, she checked first one side of the floor and then the other. Her laptop was gone. Panic gnawed on the edges of her sanity. Her story. Where was it? And then she stiffened. Demetrius! She bolted from the bed, and raced to the door adjoining their rooms. Jade banged her open palm on the door. “Demetrius!” The door swung open and he stood in the shadows of the dark room. Jade pushed past him into the room, her gaze immediately drawn by a glowing blue light at the table in his room. Horrified, angry, she ran to the laptop and snapped it shut, gathering it protectively to her chest. She whirled on Demetrius. “How dare you?! I told you not to read it!” He stepped into the room, into the darkness that surrounded her. “Who are you?” he asked in a subdued voice. Jade’s heart pounded in her ears. She had never been so angry. She knew she had to get out of that room, away from him. She stepped around him. Demetrius moved into her path. “How do you know these things?” Jade brought her head up fast, her teeth clenching tight. She locked eyes with him, searing boiling fury raged inside her. "How do you know this story?” Jade was too angry to be rational. “Do you always take things that are not yours? Do you always go against what others tell you? Get out of my way!” He drew up to his full height and his chest seemed to widen, if that was possible. His eyes narrowed. “You will answer my questions.” Jade knew he was too big to fight, as much as she would have liked to peg him a good one on his chin. She would have to use a different tactic to get by him. She gritted her teeth and sighed,
leaning against the wall. She ran a hand through her hair for good measure. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” He relaxed. His chest deflated slightly. He nodded in satisfaction. He took a step past her. Jade whirled and raced to the hallway door. Demetrius suddenly stood before her, perfectly unruffled at her attempted escape. “Where should we start?” Shocked, Jade pulled back. She glanced over her shoulder, into the room, certain she would find two of him. No one could move that quickly. She looked back at him, taking another step backward. Then, she shook her head. She must be more tired than she thought. “Let’s start with the fact you stole my laptop.” "I had every intention of returning it,” he said. "You took it without my permission. You read something that was personal.” Demetrius stepped toward her. “The things you wrote. How did you know? Where did you hear them?” Jade snapped her mouth closed. There was true awe in his voice. She understood his wonder. The words were too good for her to write. She, too, had reread them and thought the same thing. She could never have written them because every time she read them, they rang true. They were perfect. Too perfect. Had he read the entire story? Suddenly anxiousness started melting away her anger and her ego began overtaking her outrage. “Did you…did you enjoy it?” Not a muscle moved in all of Demetrius’s body. His black eyes remained empty and emotionless. Frustrated, she waved a hand. “Forget it,” she said. “You shouldn’t have read it. It wasn’t for you.” She turned away from him, stroking the laptop lovingly. "I think it was written entirely for me.” He stood very close behind her. Shivers raced along her spine and into her hairline. His voice was a soft blend of velvet and chocolate. If she closed her eyes, she could believe for just one moment he was her Demetrius. "By someone wishing to find me.” Yes. She had wanted desperately to find him for so many years. A knight in shining armor. Not any knight, her knight. The one she dreamt of every night when she was alone in her bed. Her Demetrius. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Who put you up to this?” His voice had lost its seductiveness and there was a hint of danger in it. She didn’t answer, still enthralled by the timber of his voice, the way it rippled throughout her body. "Who told you what to write?” Told her what to write? His insinuation slowly filtered through the haze his voice created in her mind and insult replaced the thrall his voice had created. "Which characters to use? The plot?” Offended and shocked, Jade whirled to him. “You think I plagiarized this?” "No. I think someone told you about the characters, the time period, the dress, the action, the names.”
"These are my characters,” she insisted. “These are my ideas. My words.” Her knuckles turned white against the edges of the laptop. “No one told me what to write. No one told me about my Demetrius.” "What of research?” Jade stiffened. She didn’t like his insinuation that this was not her story. That these were not her words. “Yes. I did a lot of research, so what?” "Someone told you this story. Someone told you what to write. How to put it into the correct order, the proper words.” "Look.” She put her hand on her hip. “I thought of this story. It’s an original work. It came from my mind. From my fingertips. From my blood and tears. It is my story.” His eyes narrowed slightly, flashing in a lightless room. “Then you are Rosaline.” The reverent way he said the name caused Jade’s lips to part in a silent gasp. She blushed slightly and looked away from him. “I suppose somewhere inside, I am. She is a part of me.” "How does it end?” he asked. Jade heard the hidden anguish in his tone and it confused her. But that wasn’t what startled her. The ending of the manuscript had always been problematic for her. She rewrote it three times and still hadn’t gotten it right. She wanted desperately for it to end happily, where the two lovers remain together. But when she wrote that ending, the triumphant trouncing of the villain, the joyous reunion of Demetrius and Rosaline, she knew it was not the right one. She never wrote the ending she thought was right. She had been afraid of it, afraid of where her writing was taking her, where instinct told her the story ended. “I…” she looked away from him. “I don’t know.” His lips clenched tightly, thinning to a slash on his face. “Enough,” he commanded. “Tell me. Who are you? Where did you hear this story?” Rage burned in Demetrius’s eyes, almost making them glow. “Who sent you to find me?” She stared at his perfect chiseled face, a face so much like an ancient god. No one was that perfect or that good looking. He fit her description of Demetrius exactly from the square jaw to the penetrating dark eyes. But the things he said, the manner of menace dripping from his being… Oh no, he was not her Demetrius. He was not her savior, and she had to remember that. He was a robber, breaking into her apartment. He was a thief, stealing her laptop. And now…now he wanted her to tell him she did not write this story, that she plagiarized it from somewhere. She shook her head. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I’ve already told you this is my story, my characters. I’ve never read anything similar to this. I’ve never researched Demetrius or Rosaline. I made the entire thing up.” He seemed to float across the floor, moving with an ease and grace that belied his height and strength, until he stood just before her. A soft glow lit his eyes, a piercing, penetrating glow that made Jade’s pulse race. The room seemed to shift and suddenly she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. "Then, I have no choice,” he whispered.
CHAPTER SIX Demetrius stared down at her slightly parted lips and further to her white throat. If this was her story, in her imagination, then all he had to do was eliminate her. This would all be over and the Malachite would be no closer to finding him or his family. Yet, how could she know? The things she wrote about…only he and Rosaline knew about them. They were personal. Intimate. And she knew. Somehow, she knew. Like the time Rosaline had secretly met him at the shoreline and they had gone swimming naked. No one else knew that. No one! He smelled the blood still staining the front of her shirt. Her blood, he knew instinctively. Sweet and intoxicating, just like she was. He placed his hands on the wall beside her, his muscular arms forming the walls of a cage, and leaned closer to her. She stared up at him with large blue eyes, eyes as blue as the very center of the hottest part of a flame. The beat of her heart sounded in his ears, growing faster, her blood hummed through her veins like a pulse of life. His hunger for her grew. Her hands came up beneath his shirt, her fingers touching his healed wound. The feeling of her skin on his made him gasp. No one, human or immortal, had touched him so tenderly in such a long time. His fangs lengthened instantly, but he kept his lips together so she wouldn’t see them. Hunger flooded through him. He nuzzled her neck, forcing her to turn her head to the side, baring her throat. She stiffened suddenly, turning her head back to him. Her cheek collided with his temple. Demetrius raised his head to gaze into her eyes, sending waves of reassurance through her. No need to fear, he thought. It will all be over in a moment. She resisted, her tiny fists balling at his sides. “You’re hurt.” Hurt? Unconsciously, his mind probed his wounds, but they had healed. There was no trace of the wounds from his earlier battle with the Malachite. He concentrated on sending comfort to her. He gazed into her blue eyes deeply as he shook his head in denial. "Inside,” she whispered, a last attempt at resistance. "No,” he assured her, lowering his head toward her neck again. She opened her hands and laid her palms flat against his sides. Somehow she was tenuously squeezing the laptop between her arms to keep it from falling. Demetrius opened his mouth and pulled back slightly for the penetration. Suddenly, he froze and his eyes opened wide. It wasn’t agony spearing through him. It was like a doorway leading straight to the sun opened and he stood directly in its path. Intense light blasted him in the eyes, overwhelming his senses. ~* * *~ It opened its eyes as a wave of power washed through him, waking him, giving him the needed energy. Weak. Dark. It struggled to see where it was. But complete darkness surrounded it. A violent, silent scream erupted from its mouth, sending dirt spraying, sending the sharp stake through his heart exploding out of his body. A hole opened before him and fresh air washed in. ~* * *~
Jade watched Demetrius drop to his knees before her. She had only touched him once, but her body shook at the contact. She hadn’t even gotten to the source of the damage she felt inside him. She had not been able to heal him before the intense flare of light left her breathless. She had never felt anything like it. It was a fierce jolt, a sharp inhale of fresh air, an awakening. It made her want to cry. It made her want to throw her arms around Demetrius, and hold him. She was trembling, fearful of the feelings coursing through her. Warmth and protectiveness. Relief and familiarity. It was as though she had known him all her life. And she was finally home. Afraid of what it meant, afraid of what just happened, Jade stepped back toward the door. Her laptop fell from her arms, forgotten. It crashed to the ground, snapping her out of her stupor. She bent, seizing it in trembling hands, and pulled it against her heart like a shield. Her eyes lifted to him. To Demetrius. He was blinking, seeming to come slowly out of whatever happened when she touched him. The flash lingered in her, making her sluggish. She took a step toward the door. And then another one. She had to get away from him. She had to move before he tried to stop her, before he came fully out of whatever happened. Jade held her hand out toward the door and lunged against it, thankful for the support. Her legs trembled as she turned the doorknob and threw the door open. "Jade.” He whispered her name like a breeze, a weak caress. She froze. The familiarity in his tone startled her. She knew the soft whisper, had heard it before. She didn’t dare turn to him. She didn’t dare look at him because she knew if she did she would go back to him. How could she leave him? How could she not? He wasn’t her Demetrius, her knight. He wasn’t the man she wrote about. He was a real man. Not a man of her imagination. He was a man of flesh and blood. A man she didn’t know and shouldn’t trust. But her soul ached to return to him, and she fought the impulse to surge toward him. Without a backward glance, Jade moved into the cool hallway. The space she put between them with every footstep seemed to clear her mind, to replace her sluggishness with purpose. She moved faster now, almost running. What had happened? What had she done to him? He’ll be fine, she reasoned. But she wasn’t at all convinced. There had been something black inside of him. She had sensed it, but had gotten nowhere near it when that bright blinding light had speared her. She looked down toward her hands and noticed her laptop. The familiar feel of it calmed her. She stroked it. And then she remembered the sickening crash when it hit the floor. Panic churned inside her. Was it broken? Would she be able to retrieve her story? It was the only copy she had. The backup USB had been on her key ring in her purse. The mugger had taken that. The doors to the elevator opened and she stumbled inside. She hit the first floor button. For a moment, the elevator didn’t move. She stared anxiously at the hallway, afraid Demetrius would appear before the elevator at any moment.
Finally, the doors slowly began to shut. She didn’t relax until they closed completely and the elevator started its descent. Where was she going? She sighed, resting her chin on the cool top of the laptop. The jolt that scorched her body still lingered like the effect of a drug. She felt groggy, as if she were in a daydream. She glanced up at the roof of the elevator. Demetrius, an inner voice cried. She should return to him. She wanted to. She wanted to go back to him. Because of that strong pull, she knew she had to get very far away from Demetrius, far from Chicago. She couldn’t be tied down. It was too risky. If they found out about her, about what she could do… She couldn’t risk getting close. Not after Trina. She opened her eyes. At least she still had her story. Jade put the laptop on the floor, flipped it open and pushed the ‘on’ button. She held her breath. Nothing happened. Panic swelled all around her. She pressed the button again. Still, nothing. Her story! Demetrius. Jimmy. He could get her story back for her. He had helped her once before. He was a genius with computers. But she didn’t really remember where he lived. And she didn’t have any money to give him. The doors to the elevator opened and Jade raced out into the dim sunlight of the morning. She didn’t have a choice. ~* * *~ Demetrius sat back against the bed, trying to regain his wits. The residual of the light burst still blinded him. The warmth that flooded through him, lingered like the setting sun. But it was so much more than that. A blast of power. Incredible power. It had brought him to his knees. He had seen the way Jade stumbled from the room. Whatever it was had affected Jade, too. His cell phone vibrated. Demetrius reached for it. “Yeah,” he greeted gruffly. "Did you feel that?” He straightened at Chip’s greeting. “You felt it?” "Yeah,” Chip said. “All of us did.” All? So then, it wasn’t only him. Had it just been coincidence Jade touched him at that exact moment? “What about the mortals?” Demetrius asked. “Did they feel it?” Chip mumbled a question at the other end of the phone. Demetrius heard the television click on in the background. Demetrius grabbed the remote control from the night table and turned his television on. He scrolled through the channels until he found the news. "Not as far as we can tell,” Chip answered. "Where are my brothers?” "They’ve returned. We were preparing to close down for the night. And then…” Demetrius was relieved his brothers all made it safely back to the house. He thought that maybe it was one of their passing that triggered the flare. He looked at the open door. Jade. "It doesn’t appear to have affected the mortals at all,” Chip said. Except for one. Demetrius knew better then to tell Chip Jade felt it. It was going to be hard enough telling him he lost her.
Demetrius rubbed his eyes, trying to clear them, and eased himself up onto the bed. “What does Jupiter say?” Jade, apparently, was the only mortal to feel it. And she had felt it. He was certain. He heard her gasp, had seen the way she could barely walk. "He has no idea. No one does.” "Whatever it was, it was very powerful,” Demetrius said. The lingering flare of sun still sung through his veins, glowed. It was like an aftereffect. "Are you all right?” Demetrius shook his head for a moment, trying to clear it. He had to find Jade. “Can you trace a computer? A laptop?” Silence greeted his request for a long moment. “If it is connected to the Internet. And it has no firewalls.” "It doesn’t. If Jade logs onto the Internet, can you track her?” An uneasy silence came from the phone. Muffled talking from a television sounded in the background. "A day and a half,” Demetrius reminded Chip. “I’ll find her. Just monitor the website she posted my story to. See if anything comes up.” More silence. Chip was not happy. It didn’t matter. Demetrius knew he would keep his word and give him a day and a half more. "Tell me if anything more comes up,” Chip snapped and the phone went dead.
CHAPTER SEVEN Jade watched the two apartment buildings across the street through the window of a coffee shop. She wasn’t even sure this was the block Jimmy lived on, but she thought the coffee shop looked familiar. "Can I get you anything?” a waitress with a cold slash for a mouth and hard hazel eyes demanded. It was the fourth time she had asked and her tone had gotten progressively snobbish. Jade looked at the cup of coffee she had taken from the table next to her at least three hours ago. “No,” she whispered. “Thanks.” With a huff and a roll of her eyes, the waitress stormed away. Jade had sat at the table in the coffee shop all morning. It was almost noon and she knew she would have to move on, otherwise the waitress might start drawing attention to her. She stood, kept her head bowed and walked out of the coffee shop. She crossed the street and stood beside a dry cleaners, watching down the sidewalk for Jimmy. The greasy aroma from a McDonald's around the corner made Jade’s mouth water. She hadn’t eaten all day. The last thing she ate was popcorn with Trina. She quickly pushed the thought of Trina out of her mind and leaned back against the stone building. The day stretched on and Jimmy didn’t appear. As the sun set, Jade began to doubt either building was Jimmy’s. Anxiety filled her. What if this wasn’t Jimmy’s block? What if she was wrong? If she had money, she could take her laptop to a repair shop, but she didn’t have a dime on her. The thought of her story being lost, of trying to re‐create those perfect words, that special magic on the pages, made her want to cry. She would never get it right again. Whistling caught her attention and she straightened. Strolling up the street, carrying two bags of groceries, marched a tall, skinny man with thin‐rimmed glasses. Jimmy. Relief gripped her so powerfully that her legs almost gave out. She moved forward to greet him. Jimmy’s eyebrows rose and he smiled at her approach. “Problems again, Jade?” he asked as he took his keys and inserted them into the keyhole of his door. "I dropped it,” she said, her voice heavy. "No worries,” he said. “I’m sure I can get it going for you.” He opened the door and held it for her. Jade hesitated. “I don’t have any money, Jimmy,” she said softly. Behind the square frames of his glasses, Jimmy’s eyes swept her. He shrugged. “Looks like you could use a break. I’ll do it for free, just this once.” Jade bobbed a nod and averted her gaze as tears of gratitude flooded them. “Thank you.” Jimmy shrugged. “You’re just lucky I don’t have a date tonight.” Jade entered the lobby of the apartment building. After Jimmy retrieved his mail, he unlocked the door and led her up three flights of stairs. “Are you hungry?” Jimmy asked. He slightly lifted one of the grocery bags. “I have a ton of Hot Pockets.” Jade grinned. He would be a Hot Pockets man. “I don’t want to inconvenience you.” "No problem,” he said. When they reached the third floor, Jimmy unlocked his apartment door. Jade followed him in. It looked exactly the same as it had the previous time she had been here. Clothes strewn about on chairs and couches, as well as the floor, obviously he was
unconcerned with appearances. She walked past his messy bedroom, a mirror of the rest of the cluttered apartment. The skinny hallway opened up into another room. This room was alive, the heart of his apartment. An array of computer screens peppered the myriad of desks lining the walls. Their screens showed various views outside Jimmy’s apartment. For security, he had told her before. She paused in the room while Jimmy went into the kitchen with the bag of groceries. She scanned the computer screens, checking every dark image thoroughly until she was sure there was no one lurking. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, the darkness made her uneasy. "You okay?” Jade jumped at Jimmy’s kind voice, clutching the laptop against her heart as if it were her lifeblood. “Oh. Yeah. I’m okay.” She looked away from the computers to find Jimmy eyeing her shirt with concern. She lowered the laptop to cover some of the blood on her tank top. “I had an accident. But it’s fine now.” Jimmy hmmed and turned away from her. “Well, you could certainly use a shower. Why don’t you take one and I’ll see if I can get this going for you.” He held out his hand. Jade handed the laptop to him and hesitated. While the allure of a shower called to her, the thought of bathing in a strange man’s bathroom made her pause. Jimmy bent over her laptop. He flipped it open and grabbed a screwdriver from one of the desk drawers. He began unscrewing the back and whistled. A shower. She so wanted to take one, just to wash away the blood. He pulled the back off the laptop and stared keenly into it. "Can you fix it?” Jade asked. Jimmy looked up at her, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “You doubt me?” His gaze dropped once again to the blood. “You want one of my shirts to wear?” She paused and looked down at her shirt. It was covered in dry blood. There was no mistaking what it was. She brushed at the blood subconsciously. “Yeah. That’d be a good idea.” "I’ll leave the shirt on the handle of the door.” She nodded and proceeded to the shower. The bathroom was what she would expect in a bachelor’s apartment. Not very clean. Hairs in the sink from shaving. The toilet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. Even the tub could use a good scrubbing, but that wouldn’t stop her from using the shower. “Hey, Jimmy?” she called. “Do you have a towel?” Jade waited a moment. Nothing. She poked her head out of the bathroom. “Jimmy?” There was no sign of him. She moved into the computer room and found it empty. She expected him to be leaning over her laptop, working. “Jimmy?” she called more quietly. She headed back toward the front of the apartment, toward the door. Had he left? Tingles of warning shot up her spine. “Jimmy?” she called again, very quietly. The hallway was empty and silent. Suddenly, a shape appeared in the bedroom doorway. Jade pulled back, crying out. Jimmy yanked a t‐shirt over his blonde head, pulling back. “Geez! Don’t scare me like that.” Jade’s heart pounded in her chest and she took a deep, cleansing breath. “Sorry,” she mumbled, trying to still her own mad breathing. "Here,” he said, shoving a t‐shirt into her hands.
"Towel?” He paused to open a closed door and pulled out a wrinkled towel, handed it to her and shut the door. His movements were hurried and Jade could tell he was anxious to get to work. Jimmy brushed past her and moved to the computer room. “I’ll get that Hot Pocket, too.” Jade entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She took off her shirt and inspected her side. The wound was gone. She ran her fingers over her skin. Nothing. Not even a scar. She looked around and found a garbage can near the toilet. She tossed the shirt into the small, metal can. She turned on the shower and waited for it to get warm while she took the remainder of her clothes off. She tried to rearrange her thoughts, to grasp how much time had passed. Had it only been the night before when she and Trina had gone to the movies? Trina. Was it her fault Trina was dead? Jade shook her head. She had left her alive, with the sound of police sirens in the distance only minutes away. Jade stepped into the shower. She adjusted the water and leaned her head forward, letting the water wash over her. And Demetrius. Lord, how he looked like her hero. Dark hair, dark, dark eyes. Strong. So amazingly powerful. She could still feel his hands brush over her skin, the instant awareness that tingled through her body still lingered. His breath on her neck. Who was he? What were the odds his name would be the same as her hero’s? Why had he been in her apartment? And that other man. The man who had chased them at her apartment. What was going on? Was he FBI or CIA? Someone who wanted to run tests on her? She had expected the police. But they never came. Jade lifted her face to the water. She let the water splash against her cheeks, clean off the dirt and guilt. She reached for the soap and lathered it up in her hand, then washed her entire body. She shampooed her hair. There was no conditioner. Leave it to a man. She rinsed her hair, letting the clean feeling of a shower improve her mood. As she stepped out, one more thing struck her, something she didn’t want to consider. She had felt something inside Demetrius. Something dark. Potentially deadly. No, definitely deadly. Had it been cancer? Or some disease? She couldn’t be certain. Her power hadn’t reached it. She saw it. Felt it. She should have warned Demetrius to have it checked out. She would probably never see him again. A great sadness weighed heavily on her chest at the thought. Still, what had followed frightened her even more then her weird power ever had. When she touched him, opened her hand and laid her palm against his skin… That power, that blinding blast of light, of warmth and breathless joy that shot through her, leaving her weak… She remembered Demetrius on his knees in the room. Whatever it was had affected him, too. Jade stared at herself in the mirror, looking deep into her blue eyes. What was happening? All these questions, all these incidents. Trina. Demetrius. That man in the alley. She had to get far away from this city. She pulled on her jeans and slipped into Jimmy’s black t‐shirt, then stepped into the hallway, toweling dry her hair. She was overjoyed to find Jimmy surfing the web on her laptop. She grinned. “You did it!”
Jimmy laughed. “Did you doubt me? It wasn’t bad. Some wiring was knocked loose. I tightened it up and voila! However, I have to tell you again, like I told you last time, you should really back up your story.” "I did. On a USB just like you said,” Jade admitted adamantly. “But I lost it –” Something on the Internet news page caught her attention. She leaned forward, reading. ‘Grave robbers hit English cemetery.’ She pointed to it. “Click on that.” Jimmy moved the mouse and clicked on it, the story appeared before her. “I didn’t know you were so morbid.” Jade read the story. Grave robbers dug up a grave in an English cemetery. She leaned in to look at the accompanying picture. It wasn’t a grave, there was no markings, no tombstones around it. It was a hole in the ground. She frowned at the picture. An exploded hole. It didn’t look like someone was trying to get in, but that something had gotten out. An alarm made her jump. Jimmy scanned the monitors on the wall. Nothing was there. The alley, the front door, back porch, all registered empty. Jimmy scowled. “Must have been a stray cat.” Jimmy flicked a button and the alarm was silenced. “Those damned cats will set off the alarm all the time.” Trepidation wrapped around Jade like a snake and refused to release her. She stared at the screen, shivers racing up and down her arms. She instinctively reached for her laptop, logging out and shutting off the power. She gathered the portable computer to her chest. “Thanks, Jimmy, but I should go.” "Don’t go yet,” Jimmy moaned. “You haven’t had that Hot Pocket.” Jade backed toward the door. “No thanks. Another time. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.” Jimmy shrugged. “It was nothing. Really.” Suddenly, another alarm began beeping. Jimmy looked at the monitor, but there was nothing outside. Jade stared at the screen showing the front of the building. The outside door was closing. “We have to leave,” Jade whispered. “Come on. Hurry.” Jimmy began to stand, hesitantly. “What’s going on, Jade?” And then, everything happened at once. A crunching noise from the front door. A dark movement out of the corner of Jade’s eye made her shift her gaze to the hallway. There was nothing there. A slight breeze blew her hair and when she looked back at Jimmy, a man stood behind him. A beautiful man with cropped blonde hair, a square jaw and a face that could only belong to a model. The man from the alley. Jade gasped and barely got out a warning, “Jimmy!” The model’s hands gripped Jimmy’s shoulders, holding him. In the flash of a second, the model turned into a monster. His eyes glowed red and he opened his mouth to reveal long, sharp fangs. He dipped his head, biting into Jimmy’s throat. Jade gasped in terror, backing up until she hit the wall. Jimmy stood for a moment, a look of confusion on his face, before he slowly went limp, his eyes glazing over.
Fear held Jade immobile for what seemed like an eternity as she watched the monster feed. This wasn’t happening. These things don’t exist. Her mind refused to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. She took a step toward the door. The floorboard squeaked and the monster looked up at her, his eyes still glowing, blood dripping from his bared teeth onto Jimmy’s neck. The monster released Jimmy, carelessly tossing him aside. Jimmy slammed into one of the desks and fell like a rag doll to the floor, his glasses askew on his face, his eyes open and glassy. Jade would never forget his blank stare. She took another step toward the door, shifting her gaze to the monster. He stared at her, his lips lifting to bare his fangs in a gruesome grin. “Your turn.” Jade pulled the laptop against her chest and mustered her courage to ask, “What do you want?” "Your blood,” he whispered playfully. A cry issued from deep in Jade’s mouth and she turned to run, fleeing down the hallway to the front door. It was ajar, the handle gone. Before she reached it, the monster suddenly blocked her way and she slammed into his chest. He laughed as she pulled back. “It’s useless to try to escape, child.” Jade whirled and ran for the back door. The monster stood before her again, his red eyes sparkling with excitement. He seized her wrist and dragged her to him. Jade struggled, pulling her arm, twisting to free it, but his grip was firm and unrelenting. He lifted his free hand to run it over her cheek to her neck. Suddenly, the back door exploded with enough force to send Jade flying through the air. She landed hard against the wall. For a moment, there was complete silence. Through her darkening vision she saw the most glorious sight. Like a dark angel come to sweep her from the arms of the monster, Demetrius stood over her. He stretched out his hand toward her. Jade tried to lift her fingers to touch his, but agony speared up her hand and the blackness sucked her away from him.
CHAPTER EIGHT Rage swirled about Demetrius as he rushed up the apartment stairs, almost flying. He grimaced at the smell of the Malachite, an overpowering stench of sweetness. It smothered Jade’s coffee and soap fragrance. Just the thought of the Malachite close to Jade, threatening to take her life, sent waves of fierce fury crashing through him. He barely touched the door and it splintered. The sight that greeted him sent a moment of raw fear through his body. The Malachite held a limp Jade beneath him on the ground, his teeth extended for feeding, his head lowering for penetration. "No!” The cry rose up from the very depths of his soul as he surged forward, ripping the Malachite from Jade and tossing him across the room. Demetrius bent over Jade, his gaze sweeping her flawless throat. The Malachite had not touched her. She whimpered and slowly opened her eyes. He instinctively reached out to her. She tried to lift her right hand. A strangled cry of agony rose from her lips. "Jade,” he gasped. She slumped back and her eyes closed. Demetrius heard the shift of the air, the hum of movement. He whirled and caught the Malachite as he lunged at him, standing his ground before Jade. He would never let a Malachite have her. Not ever. Demetrius held him back, his face so close to the Malachite he could smell the fresh blood on his breath. The Malachite snapped his teeth, pushing in towards Demetrius. Demetrius grimaced, and with a surge of power shoved the Malachite back. He slammed into one of the computers, but didn’t pause. The blonde monster used the movement to circle the room and come at Demetrius from the side. Demetrius bent slightly, grabbed the Malachite by the shirtfront and flipped him, flinging him across the room. He slid through the room, slamming into the leg of a desk. The desk collapsed and the computers on it crashed to the floor in a cacophony of breaking glass and metal. The Malachite exploded from beneath the desk, shards of glass flying out with his attack. Demetrius stood his ground as the monster came at him with bared teeth and curved claws. He was a fighter. A destroyer of the Malachite. He had killed so many of them he had lost count. He braced himself, and when the Malachite slammed into him, the impact slid his foot back to Jade’s body. A fierce protective surge blasted through him and he drew power from it, pushing the Malachite back, but keeping his fingers curved in his shirt. He wasn’t letting go this time. The Malachite’s face twisted and his teeth ground as he attempted to stop Demetrius with firm footing. His eyes glowed bright red. The Malachite grabbed Demetrius’s arms and placed a foot behind his legs to topple him. Demetrius acted first, swinging him over his hip, and slammed him onto the ground. He pulled back his fist. The Malachite twisted and rolled out of the way. He shot to his feet and Demetrius lashed out with his foot, catching him in his stomach. The Malachite flew back into the wall. "Hey!” a voice called. “What’s going on up there?”
Demetrius didn’t dare look away from the Malachite. The blonde beast glanced at the door and then at Demetrius. He hissed once and dashed for the back door, fleeing the apartment. "Jimmy?” Demetrius turned to Jade. She lay very still near the wall, one arm wrapped around that damned laptop, the other limp at her side. Something very unfamiliar stirred in his chest as he gazed at her. The need to see her safe, a feeling of protectiveness and possessiveness. He didn’t like the feelings and quickly pushed them aside. He bent to pick her up, careful of the precious laptop, and dashed out the back door. ~* * *~ The dark mausoleum sheltered him from the world, keeping him safe from the bright sunlight. It had finally faded with the sunset and he knew it was time. If he hadn’t used all of his power escaping his confines, his prison, he would have feasted that night. He hid behind one of the coffins. He waited. Mentally, he called out, drawing creatures to him. He remained absolutely still. The first one got away because of his slowness, but the second one he caught. A rat. Fat and well fed. His first taste of blood in a century was rushed. It only whet his appetite. He needed to get his strength back before he could truly hunt. And so, he called others to him that night. One by one he ate. And then slept. He heard whistling once when he woke, but other than that, it was silent. He bided his time. He was, above all things, patient. He had waited an eternity for this moment. Surely, a few more days would not matter. By the second night, he was able to stand, hunched. Still weak, he knew he needed mortal blood. He needed to regain his strength. He needed to regain his power. He left the crypt, an apt place for his home, to emerge into the night, ravenous. He sent out his silent call. It was not long before it was answered. The whistling returned. He sat at the front of the mausoleum and watched the man approach. He was old and his blood would not taste as good as a young man, but it would do. It would sustain him. It would nourish him. He waited patiently until his victim saw him. The flash of light blinded him for a moment. It was like daylight focused and concentrated into a beam. He huddled away from the light. "Hey,” the man called. “How did you get in here?” As if he belonged anywhere else. "Are you lost?” The man moved up to him and put a hand about his shoulders. “Come on. I’ll show you the way out.” He whirled and pushed him back up against the stone wall of the mausoleum. The man’s wrinkled eyes widened in shock and realization, but it was too late. His fangs flashed and he ripped into the man’s jugular before he could utter a sound. He drank. The mortal’s lifeblood flowed through his veins. Images of the man’s life flashed through his mind, giving him newfound knowledge. When he drank the life of his victims, he saw their triumphs, their weaknesses, their desires. Their entire life was laid bare before him. He was too thirsty to stop. He drained the father of two, the groundskeeper for the English Cemetery, the man who loved to play poker on
Sunday night with his buddies. He drank every last ounce of his blood and then paused to listen, relishing his favorite part. The beating of the man’s heart slowed and then stopped. ~* * *~ Demetrius pushed open the front door with his shoulder, entering the home with intent and purpose. Jade had not awakened, which worried him more then he cared to admit. She was so tiny, so light. He couldn’t stop himself from looking down at her closed eyes and wishing them open. He could hear her heart beating, hear the soft intake and gentle exhale of her breathing. His jaw clenched in fury. If he had just gotten to her moments earlier. Chip stepped out into the hallway and his eyes widened. “You can’t bring her here!” Demetrius didn’t even bother arguing with him. “Where’s Apollo?” Chip straightened, following him down the hall. “Are you hurt?” "No.” He kicked open the door of his room and entered. All the fighters resided in this house. They came here during daylight hours to rest and to sleep. They would scent her immediately. “Are any of the fighters here?” "No. They’re out.” Demetrius knew he couldn’t allow Jade to stay for long. He just wanted Apollo to check her out. If the fighters came home, they would think she was a late night snack. Demetrius laid Jade carefully in his bed. He stared down at her for a moment. She was a tiny thing, lost in his large bed. "You can’t keep her here,” Chip reiterated. Demetrius picked up the laptop and tossed it to Chip. “I brought you a present.” "Her story?” Chip asked, staring in disbelief as if it were the Holy Grail. Demetrius nodded. “Where’s Apollo?” He sat beside Jade. She seemed so at ease, so…peaceful. He forced the word beautiful from his mind. She was mortal and he learned long ago never to involve himself with mortals. "I’ll send him to you and get to work on this,” Chip said, distracted. The door opened and closed, but Demetrius didn’t move. Jade’s eyes, those deep blue eyes like the very deep depths of the Atlantic Ocean, were still closed. Mortals were so fragile. How badly had she hit her head? "Who is she?” Demetrius stiffened slightly. He hadn’t even heard Jupiter come in. What was it with this woman? Why did she intrigue him like this? Why did he feel drawn to her? “Her name is Jade Smith.” "You look at her with wonder.” Jupiter was beside him, staring down at Jade with sharp eyes. His dark hair was neatly tied back in a coif. As usual, he was dressed in impeccably fitted jeans and a white shirt. "It’s not wonder,” Demetrius defended softly. What then? Amazement? “More like intrigue.” "Intrigue? What kind of mystery could a mortal pose to you?” He had said far too much. Jupiter would never allow Jade to live if he thought she posed a threat to the family. Jupiter was on Council. He was one of the oldest of the de Nouviant family, but he was also Demetrius’s friend. He had been the one to offer immortality to Demetrius so
long ago. Demetrius trusted him. And more importantly, Demetrius owed his loyalty to him. “She knows my story.” Silence. Condemning silence. "Not just knows it…” Demetrius narrowed his eyes, without taking his gaze from Jade. “She knows details about the time I spent with Rosaline that no one except Rosaline and I would know. It’s as if she were in Rosaline’s mind.” "Maybe she wants you to think that. Maybe she made it up to get you to trust her. To get you to bring her to the family.” Demetrius considered this. “She was attacked by the Malachite. Twice.” "Could the attacks have been staged?” Demetrius’s jaw clenched. Maybe. But the fear he saw in her eyes could not have been staged. Or could it have? Was she that good of an actress? “I don’t think so.” The two stood together, staring down at Jade. Demetrius was grateful Jupiter didn’t state the obvious. Take her blood, it was the only way to be sure. Jupiter knew how Demetrius despised taking blood from mortals to read their lives. He felt it an invasion of privacy. "How does she know your past?” Demetrius inhaled slowly. “I don’t know. That is the puzzle. Chip is working on her laptop now. She says she made the story up.” "Do you believe her?” Demetrius shook his head. “The story is too precise. It’s as though she were there.” "Were you exposed?” Demetrius was silent for a long moment, weighing his answer. “My name was in the story. But it is not the story of me becoming a de Nouviant. It is the story of Rosaline and I. I think the Malachite are after her because they think she knows me.” There was laughter in Jupiter’s voice. “And you are after her because you think she is in league with them.” Demetrius wasn’t finding this amusing. “My blood brothers are the only others that would know my story in detail. But not like this. Not this detailed.” Jupiter sobered. “Have you spoken to Luther?” "He would never do something like this.” "So you believe Bastian is behind this?” Demetrius shrugged. “I don’t know who else it could be.” A slow grin spread over Jupiter’s lips. “You were always the one to push the rules.” He slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what I like about you. Still…you should probably have her out of here before the rest of the fighters return.” Demetrius nodded. “I just want Apollo to look at her.” The door opened and Demetrius glanced over his shoulder to see Jupiter leaving the room. Jupiter paused. “I trust you to keep the family foremost in your decisions.” "As always,” Demetrius responded.
CHAPTER NINE Warmth and comfort surrounded Jade. She snuggled into the thick blankets and her eyelids began to close. Through the haze of sleep, she saw something move near the curtained window. She froze, coming instantly awake, and tried to see into the consuming darkness. She clutched the blankets closer to her neck, straining to see. Nothing moved. An image of red eyes and sharp, bloody fangs came to her mind. "How do you feel?” She jumped at the voice. "Jade?” A light turned on, illuminating the room. Dark wood lined the walls in elaborate molding. Slowly, she sat up. Her entire apartment could have fit in this single room. Thick, warm rugs lay on the wooden floors. She lay in a four‐poster bed, surrounded by layers of soft comforters and pillows. The room was beautiful and elegant and all things Demetrius. Demetrius sat on the edge of the bed. She sighed slightly upon seeing his familiar handsome face and put a hand to her chest. “You scared me.” "As you did me.” A question slanted her brow. "Do not leave me again.” The command was a request at the same time. Jade dropped her chin, guilt settling across her shoulders, and looked at the beautiful deep red velvet comforter. She ran her hand across the fabric. "You are in danger, Jade. Those…men…will not stop until they have you.” At the mention of her attackers, she looked at Demetrius, anxiety swirled about her in thick clouds making breathing difficult. “It was the man from the alley. Only…” She stopped stroking the fabric and swallowed hard. What to tell him? If she told him the man in the alley had glowing red eyes and long sharp fangs, Demetrius would think she was out of her mind. “Did you see him?” she asked hesitantly. "I saw him.” "Did he…look strange to you?” "You mean other than being incredibly ugly?” "I mean…” Jade fumbled for the right words. She didn’t want Demetrius to believe she was out of her mind. “Was there anything weird about…his eyes?” Demetrius scowled. “You mean like having a patch over one of them?” "No. I mean…I guess…damn it.” She locked eyes with him. “Were they red?” Demetrius paused. The play of humor at the corners of his lips vanished. Instead of reaching for the phone to dial the authorities, he said simply, “Yes.” Oh God, Jade thought. It was real. It had happened. “And his teeth?” Demetrius’s stare was not condemning, but measuring. He neither confirmed nor denied. He didn’t have to. If the monster’s eyes were red, it meant his teeth were fangs. Long, sharp incisors he sunk into Jimmy’s neck. “Did you find Jimmy? Did you get him to a hospital?”
Demetrius shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jade.” Jade sat back against the headboard, stunned. It couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t. “Why was he following me? What does he want?” Demetrius turned to look at the window. “Me.” Jade gazed at his strong profile. He could have been a model for one of those Greek statues. “I don’t understand. Why would that guy attack me if he was after you?” "He thinks you know me. Or more precisely, he must think you know how to find me.” "Because the hero in my story has the same name as you?” Or because you look exactly like I would have pictured him? She didn’t say it, but the thought flickered through her mind. "Because he’s seen me with you. I’m afraid I’ve condemned you more then I’ve saved you.” "Why does he want to find you?” Demetrius stood. He moved to the window and peeled back a panel of the curtains to look out at the moon. The soft light touched his face like a gentle caress and a stirring of familiarity tingled across Jade’s neck. "Let’s just say we are not the best of friends.” "What kind of trouble are you in?” Amusement turned up the corners of his lips. “I can handle him, Jade.” He looked at her with those dark, dark eyes. “That is why it is so important that you tell me where you heard your story. He must not find me.” Jade sighed in frustration and shook her head. “I made it up.” He walked across the room and stood beside the bed. “Perhaps someone told you the story when you were young and you just don’t remember.” Jade shook her head. “No. And even if I heard it, I wouldn’t have remembered the emotions, the details…” She scowled and looked away as angry tears burned her eyes. “No. I won’t let you convince me that it isn’t my story. I didn’t hear it. I made it up.” Demetrius sat on the bed, reaching for her. She pulled away from his touch. “Why can’t you believe I made the story up?” "Because so much of it is true.”
CHAPTER TEN The tears shimmering in Jade’s large blue eyes made Demetrius stop. He lowered his hand slowly, hating that he was causing her so much agony. Was he wrong? Maybe she did make it up. No. It wasn’t possible. “The story…your story…is the story of… my ancestor.” Jade stared at him with those glistening eyes, her lips slightly parted. “It’s a true story?” Demetrius nodded. Very true. When he read her story, it broke his heart to remember the images and feelings so vividly. "How does it end?” she asked breathlessly. "How does your story end?” She looked away. “I told you. I’m not sure. I never wrote the right ending. You see…” She smiled solemnly. “I always wanted Rosaline and Demetrius to live happily ever after.” She shook her head. “But every ending I wrote seemed wrong. Forced.” A lump rose in his throat at the remembered ending. His beloved Rosaline. Jade looked up at him. “I somehow think that the ending to my story is not a happy one. I have this feeling…that Rosaline…” She shook her head. “…doesn’t live. I’ve never written that ending. I refuse to write it. Because I want Demetrius to be happy.” Demetrius stared at her in shock, in pain. He remembered holding Rosaline in his arms and an agony he had not felt in many hundreds of years swept over him. "Is that how the story ends?” Jade whispered, hesitantly. “Does Rosaline die?” Demetrius pressed his lips together and looked away from her, nodding. "I don’t want my story to end that way,” Jade said, her voice thick. “My Demetrius would be…destroyed. He would…” Demetrius looked at her and was shocked to find glistening tears ringing her eyes. "He’d be devastated.” Jade looked at him, her eyes tormented with anguish. He reached out to her, taking her face in his hands. His fingers stroked soothing circles over her temples. “He would not have wanted to go on,” he said gently. He didn’t like to see her tears. He didn’t like her sadness. It made his own anguish worse. He pulled her close to him, holding her. “Don’t be sad. It happened a long time ago.” "But he’s my Demetrius. If I can’t make him happy, who can?” Her words shocked him, confused him. His gaze dropped to her lips. She was so beautiful. So very mesmerizing. It was so dangerous to be this close to any mortal, yet alone Jade. So dangerous. He couldn’t help how he was leaning in toward her. Just one taste. Just one touch of her warm skin. He had been so cold since Rosaline’s death. "Rosaline would have wanted him to be happy,” Jade said softly. Her words halted him a mere inch from her lips. “Happy?” he whispered bitterly. “Without her? It wasn’t possible. She was so vibrant and so full of life. When she died, she took his life with her. His heart died when that dagger was plunged through hers.” He stopped cold, but did not pull away from her. Her eyes were like a sea of blue, consuming, compassionate. And he needed that retribution. Absolution for not being able to protect Rosaline. "She couldn’t help it,” Jade whispered. “She would have stayed with him if she could. She would never have left him. But there was betrayal. And–”
"Betrayal?” Demetrius demanded, his gaze sweeping her face. “What do you mean by betrayal?” "Didn’t you tell me that? Someone close to her…” Her hand brushed across his arm. “I don’t know. I feel like it was someone she trusted.” "Trusted?” he echoed, disbelievingly. It had been a Malachite. There was no way Rosaline would have trusted one of those monsters. No way. Maybe Jade didn’t know the story as well as he thought she did, as well as she pretended. Her hot breath fanned over his face and the story became less and less important. All that was important was the feel of her in his arms, the need to have her lips against his. "Sometimes, I feel the story,” she whispered. “Not the way I want it to be, but the way that feels right.” Demetrius stared down into her eyes and then moved his gaze languorously to her lips. She was so lovely. So enticing. A longing and need rose in him like he hadn’t felt in all the years since Rosaline. The first touch of their lips was tentative, testing, as if he were giving her a chance to escape. But she didn’t pull back. A taste, he reminded himself. Her lips were hot, not just warm. It wasn’t enough. He wanted a larger taste. More. Demetrius pressed his lips to hers, fully. With a gentle stroke of his tongue across her mouth, her lips parted. And he couldn’t help himself. He was lost. He swept his tongue into her mouth, pulling her against him. For the first time in centuries, he hardened. It was sweet, sweet ecstasy to feel her against him, to touch her face, her lips. Lord, he’d forgotten how absolutely breathtaking it was. She pressed her tongue to his and he almost exploded. He wanted her. He leaned into her, pushing her back against the bed. She was so small beneath him and he felt a sudden need to protect her. His emotions…yes, emotions, churned. He had been dead for so long he barely recognized the passion. But now, now it was as if he were given a second chance, a bolt of powerful desire shot through him and he crushed her to him. She tasted of coffee and strawberry ice cream. Demetrius knew this was wrong. She was a mortal! She was not like him. And yet, he could not stop. He didn’t want to. He wanted to feel her. All of her. He wanted to touch her. She warmed him, touched him inside, made him feel alive again. He ran his hand through her long hair as he tasted her, sweeping his tongue possessively around her mouth, touching every corner, every inch. He brushed the hair from her neck instinctively. Her neck was pale and Demetrius could smell the sweet, intoxicating scent of her mortality. Her hands reached up into his long hair, her fingers pulling him against her, urging him on with insistent caresses. He kissed her neck, pressing his lips to her soft skin. His tongue swept the long indentation at the side of her neck from jaw to collarbone. She groaned, turning her head, offering her neck to him. It was too much. He pressed his lips against her skin and the pulsing of her heart beckoned him. It was a constant, enticing beat in his mind. Her blood. He breathed in her scent again, gently nipping her chin. She pulled him close, demanding more. Demetrius kissed her soft skin again. God, he wanted her. All of her.
His fangs lengthened. He jumped back from her as if she had burst to flame, leaping clear across the room. His fists knotted and he turned away from her, desperately trying to control his need. "What is it?” she asked. He couldn’t answer. He needed to get his hunger under control. In another second, he would have had her beneath him, feasting on the blood running through her delectable body. "Are you hurt?” She moved toward him. "No!” His shout was a warning as well an answer. Startled, she stopped and even retreated an inch. He began to pace again. It had been too long since his last meal. His fangs had lengthened and he knew if he didn’t feed, she would be his victim. He started for the door. “Stay here,” he ordered. “I have to…get something to eat. Don’t leave this room.” "Demetrius!” Her call, half plead, half cry stopped him. Silence should have been his warning, but it couldn’t have prepared him from her next question. "What happened to Demetrius?” she asked softly. Demetrius’s jaw clenched. Her story. Always her story. “He became a monster.” And then he left.
CHAPTER ELEVEN A monster? Like the one that killed Jimmy? No. Jade wouldn’t believe it. Not ever. Her Demetrius was not a monster. She would never let him be a monster. There had to be more to the story. Jade stared at the cherry wood door for a long moment. What had she done? Why had he bolted away from her like he did? She looked at her hands resting in her lap. Had she touched him without knowing? Had her freakish powers done something to Demetrius? What if through her kiss she harmed him? She touched her lips. She hadn’t felt that…jolt from the first time she touched him. She had not tried to heal him this time, had not tried to find the sickness in him. She simply enjoyed his touch, his kiss. She stood and paced the elegant plush carpet. She had to know if he was hurt because of her. I should never touch anyone. Not ever. Jade took a step toward the door, but then stopped. Demetrius told her to stay in the room. Jade began to pace again. With each step, his touch returned to her memory. So soothing. So familiar. Jade groaned softly and threw herself onto the bed. She was having these feelings because he looked like her Demetrius. And his kiss…it was everything she had written about, everything she had ever fantasized about. Stop it! she chastised. He is not your Demetrius. He is a flesh and blood man. She had to stop putting the characteristics of her made‐up hero onto the real man. It wasn’t fair to him. It wasn’t fair to her. The door opened and Jade sat up, her heart quickening at the thought of Demetrius’s return. It wasn’t Demetrius who stood in the doorway. A tall man filled the frame of the doorway with his hard, sculpted body. His clothing fit like a glove from his snug jeans to the form fitting red t‐shirt he wore. His entire body seemed menacing, from the thin line of his mouth to the hulking way he stood. He looked very much like Demetrius with his long black hair hanging to his shoulders, yet somehow he had an ugliness to him. Chills of warning shot through Jade’s body. "Who are you?” he demanded. His eyes flashed darkly. She didn’t know him, certainly had never seen him before, but he was familiar to her. Dangerously familiar. Run! a voice in her mind screamed. She curled her legs beneath her just in case she needed to dash from the bed. “I’m here with Demetrius.” She tried to keep her voice level, but it wavered with trepidation. He approached slowly, stalking like a giant cat. The danger in the air was tangible. It prickled her arms, made her breathing shallow. Run! the voice in her mind exploded. There was nowhere to go. She backed across the bed and put her feet on the floor of the other side, keeping the bed between them. “What do you want?” He reached the bed and stopped. His eyes were narrowed and black and so very cold. He stared at her with a predatory glint, hunger in his eyes. "This is Demetrius’s room,” Jade protested weakly. "You shouldn’t be here,” the man purred.
Jade glanced over his shoulder at the door and her escape route. Could she make it past him? She glanced back at the man. His lips lifted in a silent snarl. "Leave her alone, Luther.” Jade glanced toward the voice. Even though she hadn’t heard the door open, Demetrius stood there, filling the doorway. Relief flooded through her. "You’ve broken the rules, Demetrius,” Luther said quietly, never taking his dark stare from her. “You know better than to bring them into the house.” Demetrius didn’t respond. Jade glanced once at Luther and then across the room at Demetrius, at her savior. Her movement further narrowed Luther’s eyes. His body coiled as if he were going to spring. And then, just like that, Demetrius was before her, blocking her from Luther’s view with his body. “She is under my protection,” he said tonelessly. Luther laughed, a slow menacing chuckle. “Make sure you keep your pet from the others. They will not be as restrained as I.” For a moment, nothing happened. Jade couldn’t see past Demetrius’s broad shoulder. She huddled behind Demetrius, safe from Luther’s view. She wanted to stay there, protected by Demetrius. He turned to her and she saw Luther was gone, the door closed. Beneath Demetrius’s intense gaze, Jade explained, “He just came in. I didn’t leave the room.” Demetrius grinned. “I know.” Jade stared at him for a long moment. His chiseled chin, his perfect nose, his piercing eyes. He was gorgeous and alluring and seductive. Just a grin and her knees were soft. She blushed, unable to stop her body’s instant reaction to him. She clenched her hands before her as if praying. “He is right. I don’t belong here.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I brought you here. I take full blame for his intrusion. You are not at fault.” She looked up at him again. She didn’t belong with him. A girl like her didn’t get guys like him. A girl like her couldn’t form long‐term relationships. Not even with him. No matter how her heart ached to be near him. She glanced at the door. It would take courage to leave. But she had to, to get those monsters looking for her away from him. “Who was he?” "My brother.” Brother. She glanced at the door again, picturing Luther in her mind. It didn’t surprise her. He looked like Demetrius. “You live here with your brother?” she asked. Demetrius ran a hand along her arm. “Don’t let him scare you.” "Oh, no,” she said sarcastically. “Mr. Doom and Gloom is a model of sunshine.” A rumble of laughter escaped Demetrius’s throat. She smiled in response to his warm laughter. She dipped her head, suddenly shy. “Did I hurt you?” "Hurt me?” he echoed. "You ran out of here like…” She searched for the right word, but he answered before she could find it. "I was hungry.”
Jade scowled, but didn’t lift her head. “That must be some appetite you have.” "You don’t know the half of it,’ he said. Hungry. But not for her. Oh, this was wrong. It was dangerous to depend on him, to like him. She stepped away from him. “I really do have to go.” Run. Get far away from him. His dark eyes dipped to her bare feet, as if assessing them. Then he looked back up at her eyes. “Where will you go?” "I’m not sure,” she said softly. As a matter of fact, she didn’t know. She only knew she had to think about what was happening, put some sort of order to it. And with him so close, that was impossible. He seemed to add more mystery and more confusion. “Don’t think I’m not grateful...” "You don’t have to go.” She looked into his eyes then, his deep black eyes, and her heart ached. “Yes, I do.” "I don’t want you to go,” he whispered. Startled, she stared at him. She wasn’t sure if he said the words or if it was her own heart murmuring them. She didn’t want to go. “Demetrius,” she said softly, kindly, shaking her head. “I…” She swallowed. What she wouldn’t give to stay with him. To pretend he could possibly feel for her what she felt for him. “I…I can’t stay here.” "Where do you want to go? I’ll take you there.” "Why? You’ve seen that monster. He found me at my apartment. He found me at Jimmy’s apartment. I don’t want to lead him to you.” A small smile formed on Demetrius’s sensual lips. He lifted a hand to cup her chin. “No one else can protect you.” Tears sprang into her eyes. It was exactly what her Demetrius would say. She was going mad. That must be what it was. How could he be so exactly like the man she wrote about? “I don’t want what happened to Jimmy or Trina to happen to you,” she whispered in an agonized breath. "I go where you go.” She knew arguing was useless. He would simply contradict her at every turn. Besides, she wanted him with her. She relented with a nod. He smiled one of his heart melting smiles and brushed his lips against hers. ~* * *~ Demetrius sat in his black Ferrari Enzo in silence, Jade beside him. He drove away from the house without a backward glance. He wasn’t about to lose her. He needed to know where she heard his story. Not just for his family’s sake, but for his own. Every time he read her story, it was like reopening a wound. Some of the passages were exactly the same words he and Rosaline had whispered to each other. There was no way Jade could have known those words of love. The thought that someone might have been listening, that someone had heard the words meant only for his beloved Rosaline’s ears, angered him. Where had Jade heard the story? "Where to?” Jade shrugged, still looking over the interior of the car with wide eyes. “A motel?” she asked, but then quickly shook her head. “I don’t have any money.” "Money is not a problem.” Jade whipped her head around to look at him. “No credit cards,” she ordered.
"You’ve disappeared before, haven’t you?” She licked her lips and turned to look out the window. "Who are you running from?” Demetrius asked, turning the corner. She didn’t reply and he glanced at her. Her dark reflection in the window was the only answer he received. He changed the topic back to a familiarly comfortable one. “When did you start writing?” Jade relaxed back into the leather seat. “When I was in junior high, but I knew the characters long before then.” Demetrius made a right turn. There was a motel on the edge of the town. He never used it, but it might appease Jade. "I guess it was Demetrius that saw me through…” "Saw you through what?” "I used to move around a lot. I was always in foster homes.” "No family?” She shook her head. “I was abandoned when I was a baby. At the door to the police department, or so they told me.” She laughed but it was humorless. “I guess no one wanted me.” Instinctively, he reached out and touched her hand. It must have been a hard childhood for her. Tracing where she heard his story from was going to be just as hard. “Do you keep in touch with any of the children you grew up with?” "No,” she said quickly. “When I was eighteen, I left my last foster home for good.” Demetrius’s hand tightened around hers as a dark thought came to his mind. A strange churning of anger and apprehension erupted inside of him. “Were you abused?” "No. No, it wasn’t anything like that.” She looked at him. Demetrius’s gaze swept her, from her long brown locks past her scrumptious breasts to her tiny waist. “Why did you switch foster homes?” She scowled slightly, mulling his questions over in her mind. Then, she shrugged. “I ran away a lot.” "Why?” Demetrius asked, shocked. Again the slight rise and fall of her shoulders. “I was afraid.” Something was not making sense. She wasn’t telling him the entire story. “What were you afraid of?” "Doctors, mostly. And police.” "Yes. I know you don’t like the police. But why?” She touched the car seat she sat on, running her hand over the leather. “They ran tests on me. They drew my blood all the time. They wanted me to stay in the hospital. And I was afraid. And alone. And they wanted more blood and hair samples. They wanted to stick big needles into my spine and put me in this tube and…” She inhaled deeply and shook her head. “I ran away.” "What did you have?” She blinked and looked at him. “What?” "You must have been pretty sick for them to want to run all those tests. What did you have?” "They couldn’t find anything,” she admitted. “They didn’t know what was wrong with me.”
"What were you in the hospital for?” Demetrius asked as he pulled into the motel parking lot. There were two other cars parked there. It was a dilapidated old place that probably had bugs and toilets that didn’t work, but he knew Jade would feel more comfortable here. "That’s the whole thing. Nothing was wrong with me. It was things like…” She began to fidget and rub her hands together nervously. “I fell and had to have stitches. Six stitches. In two days the cut was gone. Healed.” Demetrius scowled. “In two days?” "I’ve always been a fast healer. But they couldn’t understand that.” Demetrius parked the car before one of the rooms, shut the engine and turned to her. He studied her. She was such a small girl. She seemed delicate somehow and vulnerable. He reached out to her and noticed she didn’t flinch away. “How’s your head?” he asked, running his fingers over the spot where the bump had been. It was gone! Completely gone. "Fine,” she said, distracted. "You should have been out for at least another day, possibly longer.” She nodded, a crooked grin curving her full lips. “Like I said, I’ve always been a fast healer.” Demetrius nodded in agreement. “Apparently.” But it was not her head he was looking at. It was her lips. They were so tempting he couldn’t help but reach out and run his finger over them. He wanted to taste her. Just a simple touch of the lips, that’s all he wanted. But he remembered the result of such an action. He pulled back and got out of the car. ~* * *~ The mortals came to him. He barely had to expend any energy. Just exist. Like little inquisitive animals, they came. One with things that flashed and burned his eyes, which he later found out were flashes on cameras. He had learned from that one how very valuable sensationalism was in this new era, how the people craved tragedy. He would give them tragedy. A tragedy like they had never seen before. The next mortal had wandered away from a group of people, laughing. His blood tasted strange and thick with something he learned was alcohol. It would sustain him, but he would have to remember to steer clear of those alcohol‐filled beings. And with each mortal, the stopping of the heart was the high. The beating slowed and then came to a full stop. Glorious. With each kill, his power grew. Until he was strong enough to leave the cemetery and venture out into the night…
CHAPTER TWELVE Demetrius stared down at Jade. She had fought to stay awake until it was very late. Finally, exhaustion won and she slept deeply. Demetrius grinned. His little fighter even battled sleep. Now, there were other things he needed to take care of. He walked soundlessly to the door and opened it, cringing as it creaked. He froze and looked over his shoulder. Jade did not stir. He stepped outside and eased the door shut behind him. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. “Chip?” "You have only tonight. Council is not going to like this.” Demetrius sighed, watching the traffic zoom past on the overpass of the expressway a block away. “I realize that. She continues to say she made it up. Anything on the laptop?” "No,” Chip said. “There’s very little reference to any research books and what’s there is about medieval history. Food, dress. But none of them have anything to do with you.” Demetrius shook his head. “She must have heard it when she was young.” "We’ve gone through this. If she doesn’t remember, the only way to find out is to bite her. Take her blood. It’s the only way to be sure.” Demetrius clenched his teeth. He hated stealing memories. He felt like a thief when the memories of a life he did not live played through his mind. It made him feel dirty and unclean, like some filthy peeping tom. And this would be Jade’s life. "If she is the only connection to your past, Council will demand her life.” Demetrius bowed his head. He couldn’t do it. Not to Jade. "If she is the only one that knows then that makes it simple,” Chip explained. “We don’t have to hunt down anyone else. She can be eliminated and our family will remain safe.” Demetrius didn’t move. He couldn’t imagine himself killing her, couldn’t imagine extinguishing her life. “The family is safe. She poses no threat to them.” "Can you do it, Demetrius? If they order you to, can you take her life?” All emotion drained from him. His loyalty was to the de Nouviant family, to Council, to the protection of his family. Jade was a mortal. A fleeting acquaintance. She threatened his existence with the knowledge of his past. If the Malachite traced her story to who he was now, discovered where he lived, who his contacts were, it would endanger the other fighters and, in turn, the entire de Nouviant family. It was something that could not be allowed. “Of course I can,” he said. “She means nothing to me.” "The only way to know for sure is to bite her. Council will want to see you at sunset tomorrow night.” Demetrius flipped the phone shut. He stared absently at the cars zooming by on the expressway. Kill Jade. How could he take her life? How could he drain her of her blood? How could he even think to hurt her? Could he convince Council she was important enough to keep alive? He had only one more day to come up with a solution. He opened the door and stopped. Jade slowly sat up in the bed. The blanket he had settled around her shoulders fell away from her to pool about her waist. She swung her legs out of the bed, pushing it aside. "Are you okay?” Demetrius asked, stepping into the room and shutting the door.
"Nightmare,” she said shrugging her slim shoulders. He sat on the bed beside her. “Do you want to talk about it?” "No,” she answered, a little too quickly. She reached for her shoes with a severity of movement. "Where are you going?” Demetrius asked. "I’m…thirsty. I was going to go around the corner and get a Coke.” Logical. Demetrius grabbed his shoes and pulled them on. “I’ll go.” She looked at him. Her eyes were infinitely sad, almost misty. Distant. For a moment, he thought she would argue, but she shrugged. Demetrius squatted before her, eye level with those beautiful deep blue orbs, his hands on her warm thighs. “Are you sure you’re all right?” She nodded, meeting his eyes. Her chin came up just a touch, almost defying him to contradict her. “Nightmare,” she repeated softly. Demetrius patted her legs reassuringly. He could certainly understand that. She had been through a lot. “I’ll be right back,” he promised. “Then you can tell me about it.” She nodded, her head still bowed. Demetrius walked outside, closing the door behind him. He hesitated at the door. He mentally debated leaving her, but ultimately convinced himself he would return quickly. He moved past the outside of the building and around the side. As soon as he rounded the corner, he saw the vending machine. He put the coins into the slot, hit the button and a Coke can dispensed. The unmistakable roar of his Ferrari Enzo’s engine filled the night. He grabbed the Coke and rounded the corner just in time to see Jade in his car. She pulled out into the street and drove away. He took a step to pursue her. He knew he could catch up to her, but then she would know he was a monster. He stopped cold. She would know he was the same kind of inhuman animal as the one that killed Jimmy. Returning to the motel room, he sat on the bed and stared at the Coke can in his hand. Why would she leave? Why would she run away from him? A breeze blew into the room, ruffling the curtains. Demetrius looked up. The curtains shifted again as another gust blew into the room. He stood up and walked to the window, shoving aside the curtains. The window was open slightly. She had heard his conversation with Chip. She heard every word he said. Demetrius looked down the street, following the path she took with his eyes. His heart twisted. She means nothing to me. The memory of his spoken words clarified her actions, but they didn’t explain the sudden agony in his chest. She had left him. She was gone. She was alone now, alone with no one to protect her. Not from the monsters roaming the night. Not from the pain of his casual words. She didn’t even have her laptop. Demetrius reached into his pocket and flipped open the cell phone. “She’s gone. She took my car. Track her.” ~* * *~ Jade wiped at her eyes. What a fool she had been. He wasn’t her Demetrius. He wasn’t the Demetrius she wrote about. He was using her to save his family. She meant nothing to him.
She drove toward the expressway, meaning to put as much distance between her and Chicago as she could. Her stomach rumbled, but the thought of food was quickly pushed aside. No cell phones. No computers. She had done this before, disappeared before. There were thousands of little towns where work and shelter could be found. She had to disappear completely this time, hide in a place those monsters could not find her, a place where this living nightmare could end. The smell of leather, earth and a deep musky scent reached her nose. Demetrius. Tears stung her eyes again. For a moment, she had allowed herself to believe he had come to care for her. For just a second, she had believed he would protect her when she faced the word. Jade shook her head, angrily wiping away her tears. Now, she was alone. Truly alone. She thought of her lost laptop. Yes, she had disappeared before, but she had never done it without her Demetrius.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Demetrius raced his Bugatti Veyron along I‐294. He zipped past one and then another car as if he were on fire, carefully watching his radar detector for any sign of cops. Street lights and landscaping zoomed by. Chip told him Jade had pulled over on the side of I‐294 an hour south of the Wisconsin border. He should have followed her on foot, kept out of her vision. He had wasted valuable time returning to the house and getting the Bugatti Veyron. And now, he was paying for it. Every second he was without Jade was agony. His insides twisted into a swirling mass of concern. He, a man so used to having his emotions dead, was a mess. He needed to see her, to touch her. What was she doing? She probably stopped because she was too exhausted to continue. He had to reach her. He had to get to her. It didn’t matter that the sun was rising. The tinted windows and sunglasses he wore would protect his eyes from the sunlight. He floored the gas pedal, moving swiftly down the road. In about a half an hour, it would be too crowded to whip past the cars. Rush hour would start soon. He needed to reach her car. He was still about fifteen minutes away. His fingers flexed over the steering wheel. His mind craved her. His body ached for her. What was wrong with him? He never felt this way about anything. Why Jade? Why was she having this affect on him? He tried to push the feelings aside, but in a way, the concern was better than the dark death of no feeling his life had been shrouded in before she arrived. One moment, he was concerned for her safety, the next he was furious. He wanted to throttle her. What was she thinking leaving his protection? The Malachite were searching for her, too. If they got hold of her, they wouldn’t hesitate to take her blood. To kill her. He grit his teeth and forced the thought from his mind. He groaned softly. He wanted to know she was safe. His entire soul missed her and she had been gone for only hours. Finally, just when he was at his wits end, he saw the black Ferrari Enzo. He stopped just behind it, jumped out and rushed to the driver’s door. He flung it open, almost ripping it from the car. The Ferrari Enzo was empty. Demetrius stared for a long moment at the empty interior. Then, he whirled, spinning, his sharp eyes searching everywhere for her. But she was not there. A painful, horrible growl began in his chest. He threw his head back, screaming through clenched teeth, “JADE!” ~* * *~ Jade shoved the bread into her mouth, greedily. It tasted…heavenly. She lifted her eyes to the priest sitting across the table from her in the parish kitchen. Father Steve. He was a gentle man with a kind disposition. The church had been the first place she went. She had said a small prayer of thanks for any help she could find before seeking out the pastor. She covered her mouth, murmuring, “Thank you so much.” Father Steve nodded his head and pushed a cup of milk toward her. “Where will you go after this?”
His concern touched her. She appreciated the fact he cared enough to ask. She swallowed the delicious bread, her hand encircling the cup. “Is there a shelter in town where I can sleep? Maybe a fast food place where I can work?” Father Steve nodded. “I’ll give you the address.” Jade stopped eating and looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like David Letterman?” He smiled warmly. “All the time.” ~* * *~ A full day without Jade. Demetrius was going crazy. His blindfold had been removed and he stood before the wooden door, pacing. No one knew where Council was held. It was rumored the original twelve lived in the same building they had for generations, but there was no way to be sure. They kept it a secret for security reasons. If the Malachite took one of the fighter’s blood and learned the location of Council, the family could be wiped out. The hallway was too short to continue pacing, so Demetrius stopped and sat in a chair near the door. He had returned empty handed and he was sure Council was not going to like his story. For his own safety, they would want to send him into hiding. He shook his head. He wasn’t newly turned. He knew how to handle the Malachite. Chip emerged from the closed door. “Demetrius.” Demetrius stood with a low growl. Chip no longer wore his usual pair of jeans, but an immaculately tailored suit. Demetrius didn’t have the time to change. He should have, he knew. A show of respect. Anything to garner favor. Chip raised his eyebrows. “You’d better get a hold of yourself,” he advised. “Especially when you face them.” "What difference is it going to make? They’ll know.” Chip sighed, shook his head to show his displeasure and lowered his voice. “There are three towns within walking distance of where your car was found. Since it’s illegal to hitchhike on the Interstate, we have to assume she walked.” Demetrius nodded his agreement. “She wouldn’t want to attract attention to herself. Especially by the cops.” "But once she made it into town…” Chip shrugged. “She could have gotten a ride anywhere.” Demetrius snarled again, his tone low and dangerous. “I have to find her.” "What’s wrong with you? This has gone beyond protection for the family. What is your connection to this girl?” Demetrius didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure what his obsession with Jade was. “What did you tell them?” Chip shrugged. “Everything. As you said, they would know anyway. There is no lying to Council.” Demetrius expected as much. He couldn’t blame Chip. Going before Council was an intimidating proposition, even for the older members of the family, even for him. No one was your friend on Council. Even Jupiter was a different person. Their main goal was the continued protection of the family.
Chip held the door open. Demetrius turned toward it. He took a deep breath and entered the room. The large chessboard pattern on the floor reminded those entering they were mere pawns and not to challenge the authority of Council. He walked across the black and white squares to the center of the room and faced Council. When he had first been turned into a vampire, they had been called the Council of Twelve. Over time, the name had been shortened to Council. Twelve high‐backed chairs lined the far wall, just off of the chessboard. Every chair was occupied, attesting to the importance of this Council. His Council. He had to remember they were doing this for his welfare. Jupiter sat beside his wife, Juno, an elegant woman with dark hair hanging in waves around her slim shoulders and blue eyes that seemed to capture everything. She wore a plain white t‐shirt and tapped her fingers on her jeaned legs. Beside Juno sat Vesta, an earthy woman wearing a beige dress that came to her knees. Her dark hair fell loosely about her shoulders, small flowers peppered throughout her thick waves. She leaned casually back in her chair, surveying Demetrius through large brown eyes. Poseidon lounged beside her. A century ago, he had dyed his hair gray to take on a more fatherly appearance. It had never faded and he never changed it. His long legs stretched out before him, one hand rested over his stomach as he took a sip of bottled water. Beside him, Vulcan sat in a wheelchair, a plaid blanket across his lap, covering legs that were weak and ineffectual. His bright red hair hung over his shoulders. Venus leaned away from him, all but undulating sexual prowess. She flipped her golden hair back over her shoulder and shook her hair out. Her bright blue eyes raked over Demetrius slowly and an appreciative, sultry smile came to her full lips. Hermes leaned over a desk at the far side of the room, his dark hair covered his eyes. He wrote furiously in a large book. On the other side of Jupiter, Ceres curled her short brown hair around one finger. Her shirt was bright with flowers and at the bottom of her jean skirt, her bare feet stuck out. Demetrius’s eyes shifted to Apollo. They would sometimes call him the “dark M.D.” He had neither dark hair nor a medical license. Yet, he was more skilled then most of the mortal doctors. He clasped his hands in his lap, surveying Demetrius through speculative eyes. Apollo's twin sister, Diana, sat beside him. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun making her appear like a school teacher. She was anything but. Known to be a ruthless predator, she loved the hunt. She casually leaned forward, resting her chin on her fist. Next came Ares, leaning forward, a stern glare in his dark eyes. He was the leader of the fighters and disliked the friendship Demetrius had formed with Jupiter. He turned his head to whisper something to Minerva. She nodded and leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. She wore large rimmed glasses, not because she needed them, but because they gave her the look of being intelligent. And she was. Beside her, a large, hooded falcon sat on a perch. Jupiter stood slowly from his chair, his face void of emotion.
Demetrius took a deep breath and fell to his knee before him, bowing his head and extending his arm. One drop of his blood and Jupiter would know everything. He would know all about Jade and the threat she posed to their family. With one taste of his blood, Jupiter would know how he had failed in his duty to protect his family. "Rise,” Jupiter commanded. “Chip has told us all about Jade Smith.” Demetrius lowered his arm. Every fiber of his being wanted to protect Jade against their wrath. She was one mortal! What threat could she possibly be against the powerful de Nouviant family? Demetrius knew exactly what kind of threat she posed, the threat of knowledge, the threat of exposure. His need to defend Jade and his loyalty to his family warred inside him. He had to remember what he was, who he was. He took a deep breath. “He doesn’t know the entire truth.” Jupiter raised a curious eyebrow. "She poses no threat to the family,” Demetrius insisted, still on his knee. "And how do you know this?” Juno asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. "There were multiple times we were alone where a trap could have been sprung. I gave her ample time to betray me.” "Betray?” The shifting and creaking of chairs and garments attested to their surprise and discomfort. "Stand,” Jupiter commanded. Demetrius lifted his gaze to his friend, slowly rising to his feet. “The Malachite are after her. They attacked us twice while I was with her. She is not working with them.” "If this is not a trap to get to you, of what importance could your past be to her?” Apollo asked. "She said she made it up.” "How could she possibly make it up in such detail?” Juno asked. “I read the story and was absolutely shocked at the visual images and the compelling feelings. But more shocked that it was exactly your past. How could she know your past so precisely…if she made it up?” The same thoughts had plagued Demetrius from the first time he read her story. He shook his head and stepped forward, his hands outstretched. “Don’t you see? The descriptions Jade gave, the words she used, were too accurate for someone to have told her. They were our memories, Rosaline and I. No one could have known them the way Jade put them in words. She knew exactly how Rosaline reacted, exactly the way she looked at me. The exact way she touched me.” Venus smiled. “I have to read this story.” "Why didn’t you take her blood?” Apollo asked, leaning forward in his chair, his hands clasped before him. “You would have known for certain where she got the story and this wouldn’t be an issue now.” Demetrius met Jupiter’s eyes for a second before turning his attention to Apollo. “I am a fighter. That’s what I was turned for. To battle the Malachite.” "Don’t misunderstand. Your loyalty is not in question here. Just your judgment.” "I think it is unfair to the mortals to take their memories,” Demetrius said. Apollo’s eyebrows rose in shock. Beside him, Diana straightened indignantly. A smile curved the edge of Jupiter’s mouth and he shook his head in disbelief.
"We do not take them. We share them,” Apollo said. "Some memories are private. And that is why I know Jade did not hear my story from anyone else. The details are too precise. The words, exactly as Rosaline and I whispered them. The feelings…” His lips flattened as he realized what he was admitting. Part of him believed Jade made the story up. He clenched his teeth in frustration. She couldn’t have! How could she have known Rosaline’s feeling? It made no sense. Juno held up her hands. “Regardless. We are here because the mortal poses a threat to the family.” "She doesn’t!” Demetrius said, stepping past Jupiter to stand before Council. “She knows nothing of our family. She knows only the part of my past before I joined the de Nouviant family.” "How can you be certain?” Minerva asked. Ares nodded. “You didn’t take her blood.” Frustration flared through Demetrius. What did he need to do to convince them Jade wasn’t a threat? “That’s all she wrote.” "That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know more,” Minerva said. "She asked me how the story ended,” he said softly. “Why would she do that? Why would she ask me? Because she doesn’t know the ending. She doesn’t know anything beyond Rosaline’s death.” They all stared at Demetrius in silent contemplation. "All I’m asking is that you let her live her life. Forget about her.” "You brought her into our world, dearest,” Juno said kindly, sympathetically. “There is no going back for her.” "You brought her to the fighter’s house,” Ares clarified. “If the Malachite take her, they will find out where we rest. That in itself makes her a danger to us.” Demetrius shook his head. “I’ll find her. I’ll –” Jupiter placed a hand on Demetrius’s shoulder. “You are the best fighter we have, Demetrius. We cannot afford to lose you. You know that.” "You have been compromised,” Ares said sternly, disapprovingly. "I can find her! I can–” "What we do, we do to protect you,” Juno added. Demetrius gritted his teeth. He knew what was coming. Jupiter squeezed his shoulder. “You will go into hiding until this is over.” Demetrius flinched as he said the words. “What about Jade?” "We will find her. She is no longer your responsibility,” Diana said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Jade crossed her arms over her chest as the chilly wind of the autumn night whipped past her. The darkness surrounded her as she walked down the street. Homeless. Alone. She had been homeless and alone before, but it was different now. Before, she always had a notebook or a laptop with her. Demetrius was never far from her side. With Demetrius gone, she heard things, things like the faint whisper of footsteps behind her. And she saw things, too. Shapes moving in the darkness just out of sight, shapes fleeting past in the corners of her vision. Shadows stretched across the dark street. For a main street, it was eerily quiet and empty. Not one car had passed since she had been on the road. One of the street lights was out. Most of the shops were closed for the night, some with thick bars in their windows. Down the street, lights from a truck stop shone. She had walked half the block when a woman’s voice shouted, “Stop! Stop!” Jade froze. The screams were coming from a small shop near the end of the block. "NOOOO!” A dark figure emerged and Jade turned away, hunching her shoulders, hoping he hadn’t noticed her, hoping it was just a man. She took two steps, terrified the figure would come for her. "Help! Someone help!” Jade paused. The footsteps headed quickly away from her. Jade glanced over her shoulder. The figure was gone, the street empty again. She hurried toward the store, a dry cleaning store, and peeked cautiously inside. Over the counter and through hanging clothes, Jade saw a woman bent over a small child, holding the girl in her arms. Jade took an impulsive step forward. Her foot crunched on some broken glass and the woman looked up. "Please help me,” the woman sobbed. She was a small Asian woman. The child in her arms was still. Jade hurried to their side. Blood stained the front of the child’s yellow dress, the same blood smeared across the woman’s white shirt. "They stabbed her, they stabbed my baby,” the woman sobbed, gathering the girl in her arms. Jade knelt beside them. She gently lifted up the child’s dress. The wounds were deep and flowed thick, bright red blood. “Call 911. I’ll stay with her.” Jade touched the girl’s chest. She was still breathing, but not for long. The mother held tight to the girl. Jade looked into the mother’s tearful black eyes. “Go,” she urged. Reluctantly, the mother laid her daughter on the floor and dashed off toward the back. Jade waited until she couldn’t hear the mother’s footsteps, then she put her hands over the wound as if to stop the blood, but didn’t touch her. The little girl would not survive without her help. Jade took a deep breath and closed her eyes. ~* * *~ Demetrius drove down the interstate. He would not go into hiding until he found Jade. He didn’t care if he violated the Council’s wishes. She was the one in danger, the one the Malachite were after.
Pure power hit him like a wall. He went completely still, amazed by the sheer strength slamming into him. He mentally fought back the wave of energy and blinked in time to see he was drifting straight into the side of a silver Honda Accord. He swerved the Bugatti Veyron around the silver car and regained control. With a burst of speed, he cut across traffic and pulled over onto the side of the road. Slamming the car into park, he leapt out. He stood for a moment, looking out toward the east. Traffic raced by a few feet away from him, but he paid it no mind. A strange glow only he could see with his night vision bloomed in an arc on the horizon. He raced to the car and revved it down the street. ~* * *~ Bastian was in the middle of dialing a number on his cell phone when the wave of energy blasted into him. It was like drowning in an ocean of power. He was so stunned his phone tumbled from his numb fingers. He grabbed his phone from the floor, turned his head in the direction it came from and ran toward it. ~* * *~ He fed in the darkness of an alley, drinking the blood of a beautiful woman who had come to him offering her body. She had been too easy. He was almost done feeding when the rolling power washed over him. He snapped his head up, gazing with red eyes in the direction it emanated from. Slowly, he smiled, a spittle of blood running over his chin. He wiped it away and exploded in the direction the wave of energy came from, stepping on the prostitute’s corpse in his wild haste. ~* * *~ Jade sat back on her heels, pulling her hands away from the child. She took most of the girl’s wound. Pain suddenly wrenched her stomach and she doubled over. The door to the back room opened. Jade struggled to her feet as the mother raced toward her daughter. The woman dropped to her knees at the little girl’s side. The child sat up, her tiny hands outstretched toward the woman. “Mama.” The woman’s mouth dropped open and she grabbed the child to her, hugging her fiercely. She looked at Jade over the top of the child’s dark hair. Jade backed away through the hanging clothing, clutching at her bleeding stomach, and stumbled from the shop. Behind her, she heard the happy sobs of the mother as she realized her daughter would live. Jade hurried along the street, weaving across the sidewalk. The pain pierced her body with such intensity her knees threatened to buckle. A car moved past her, pinning her with its bright lights for a moment. Fearful of being discovered, Jade ducked down an alley. She leaned against the wall for a moment, trying to catch her breath. The agony shot through her with a hot intensity. Bright white flashes of pain dotted her vision. She felt her blood pulsing through her fingers. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the bricks. Keep moving, a voice inside her said. The police will be here any moment. She had to hide. She moved further into the dark alley. Broken boards and glass peppered the alley. Overturned garbage dumpsters littered the ground with their spilled contents. Something ran across her path, a cat or perhaps a huge rat.
Jade moved into the shadows, unable to continue. She collapsed near a boarded up building. The child had been closer to death then she thought. The cut sent radiating pain through her. She managed to sit up and carefully eased her blood soaked t‐shirt up to look at the wound. Two stab marks, one right below her navel, the other sideways across the flat part of her stomach. She pressed her hands against the wounds, trying to stop the blood flow. The world tilted as a thousand miniature bolts of lightning blasted across her vision. Her mind whirled toward oblivion, blackness eating away at the edges of her vision. She fought the pull of the darkness by searching her mind for the one light, the one constant. Demetrius. She means nothing to me. No! No! He could not have said that. She needed him. A soft crunch caused her to open her eyes in hope. Demetrius? The blonde haired monster from Jimmy’s apartment, from her apartment, stood over her, smiling so his fangs were bared. “Time to finish what we started.” Fear coiled through her and she tried to push herself away from him. Images of his fangs sinking into Jimmy’s neck flashed through her mind. He was the man who attacked them at her apartment. No, he was no man. He was a monster, some impossible beast that couldn’t really be alive. Her thoughts grew foggier, the pain dulling her mind. How had he found her again? Why was he after her? He knelt with his legs on either side of her body and ran his hand lovingly over her bloodied stomach like a twisted lover. His red eyes mocked her with a sultry hunger. His glowing eyes brought a sudden flash of clarity to her brain. She screamed, her hand desperately clawing at the alley, closing around something hard on the ground. He turned her head to the side and opened his mouth. Jade instinctively, defensively, lifted the hard item from the ground and pushed it toward him. As he lurched forward, the ragged piece of broken wooden board plunged deep into his chest. He froze in that position, hovering over her with an open mouth. He looked down at the wood before collapsing on top of her. Jade pushed him off with a strangled groan and scrambled away. Fear and adrenaline drove her and she climbed unsteadily to her feet, sobbing. ~* * *~ Bastian stopped before the dry cleaning shop. The doors and windows had been blown out and glass was everywhere, small shards of destruction splattered all around the area. He paused in the doorway. He didn’t need to step into the shop. The smell of blood was strong, almost overpowering. Inside, the sight of blood‐bathed walls, floors and clothes made his fangs lengthen. Clothing was strewn about like a tornado had ripped through the shop. His eyes scanned the interior until he saw the bodies of a woman and child in the middle of the room. They were beyond recognition, torn and ripped to pieces. Bastian’s jaw clenched. Ronald McColl. The glow of power he had followed was gone, faded into nothingness. But it had gotten him this far. It had originated here, in this town.
He stepped outside and looked both ways down the street. Just as he was going to move on, a thick, coppery scent caught his attention. He sniffed the air. If he were not a vampire, he would have missed the drops of blood starting a half a block away. He walked to the first drop and stared down at it. It glistened like water. Bastian bent and touched a drop with his forefinger. He looked at it a moment before licking it from his finger. Images blasted through his mind. People, places, events. They swirled through him, filling his mind with past history, previous encounters, dark secrets. His eyes widened and he rose, following the trail of drops. ~* * *~ Jade stumbled forward to the edge of the alley, her wound throbbing. She would have dropped from exhaustion and agony if she were not so afraid of the thing behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at the monster, but he had not moved. He lay on the ground on his back, the board still lodged in his chest. When she turned back, a man stood before her. She gasped and stumbled back, almost falling over a broken chair. The man glanced over her shoulder and then looked at her again. She took a step backward, knowing she couldn’t fight another monster. She prayed he was human. The shrill of sirens blared in the distance, drawing ever closer. And still, he did not move. His eyes shifted to the front of her shirt. “Did he bite you?” He knew! Lord help her, he knew about the monsters. Jade shook her head. The alley tilted and she leaned against the wall. She had lost too much blood. She couldn’t have run even if she wanted to. "Jade,” he whispered. She was amazed she heard him. She knew she was fading fast. “Who are you?” He smiled a warm, entertained grin. Familiarity tugged at the back of her mind. Did she know him? Somehow, she recognized his smile, his dark eyes. She knew him. Before she could figure out from where, her eyelids drifted closed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Demetrius arrived at the shop just after the police had strung their crime scene tape across it. He stopped at the boundaries set up by the law enforcement to stare at the shop. The windows were shattered, and what he could see of the interior was completely destroyed. But what caught his attention was the strong scent of blood. A police officer raced out of the inside of the dry cleaners and vomited on the sidewalk. It could only have been Ronald McColl. The violent bastard was well known for his enjoyment of brutal kills. He was fairly confident Ronald had been the one who killed Jade’s friend, Trina, in the alley, too. Why the Matriarch allowed him to survive and risk exposing the Malachite to local mortals was beyond comprehension. Demetrius never pretended to know the reasons for what the Malachite did. He didn’t care. Ronald must have followed the power surge here, just as he had. Demetrius wondered with a growing discomfort who else had been drawn to this area. He glanced around. Two other mortals had stopped along the crime scene tape to gaze into the shop. The sick cop had straightened and hovered around the entrance. Demetrius turned and scanned the street. Jade must be here. He had to find her. Another scent caught his attention. More blood, about half a block away. Quickly reaching the spot, he stared down at the drop of blood. It was still fresh by the look of it. He stepped in it, smearing it across the pavement. Still wet. He followed the trail of drops around the corner into the alley. With his ability to see in the dark, he immediately spotted Ronald, unmoving, lying on his back. Demetrius halted in the entryway, scanning the surrounding brick buildings. Was this a trap? But he could detect no more of the Malachite lying in wait. Demetrius slowly entered the alley, every one of his senses alert and ready. Glass and broken wood crunched beneath his hiking boots as he moved up to the Malachite. He stopped a yard away. Ronald had been impaled through the heart, but left with his head still attached. Any fighter would know to finish the job with a decapitation, so his attacker was no vampire. Even though Demetrius knew he should be in hiding, he couldn’t very well leave a job like this unfinished. He moved closer, reaching down toward Ronald’s head. "You there!” Not wanting to be identified, he froze. "Put your hands up slowly.” Demetrius raised his hands, but didn’t turn around. He had to maintain anonymity. He stared down at Ronald. Damn, but he wished he could rip Ronald’s head off. Crunching sounded as the officer entered the alley, coming toward him. There would be consequences if Council found out he was involved in this. Consequences he didn’t want. In the blink of an eye, he vanished, running from the alley. ~* * *~ Jade opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her. She jerked upright, trying to see into the blackness and decipher where she was.
"Don’t be afraid.” A light flickered on. She was sitting on a cot in a small room. The walls were bare and looked like steel. There was a toilet and sink in the corner, as well as a table near the only door. On the table was a feast of spaghetti and meatballs, as well as garlic bread. The familiar man from the alley stood near the table, leaning his shoulder against the wall. His dark eyes appraised her with curiosity. "Where am I?” she asked. She still wore Jimmy’s black shirt, now bloodied. The waist of her jeans was also sticky with drying blood. "At my house,” the man said. “I mean you no harm.” "Who are you?” "My name is Sebastian,” he replied, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. “But everyone calls me Bastian.” "What do you want with me?” Jade asked him. He lifted his shoulders in a graceful shrug and jerked his chin toward the end of the cot. “For starters, I want you to get dressed.” Jade’s gaze moved down the beige thermal blanket to the spot he indicated. A pair of folded jeans lay beneath a red cashmere sweater and a camisole. "I hope they fit. I’m not used to buying girl’s clothing.” He moved to the door. “I’ll be back when you’re done.” He exited the room. She waited only a moment before she leapt from the bed and moved to the door, rattling the handle. It was locked. She turned to survey the room. There were no other windows. No other doors. No other ways to get in or out. She moved to the table, eyeing the spaghetti, wondering if it was drugged. Her stomach grumbled and she rubbed her belly. She forced herself to leave the food alone and walked to the cot. Change clothes. Why? She looked at her clothes. They were disgusting. Dirt and blood stained them. She could see why he wanted her to change them. Was he some kind of pervert? Jade looked around the room again, in the upper corners. She half expected to find cameras. But the room was vacant of spying devices, at least that she could see. She lifted the black t‐shirt to inspect her wounds. They were almost completely healed, only scabs left across her smooth skin. With a final cursory glance of the room, she wiggled out of her jeans and slid on the new pair, which fit remarkably well. She then lifted her shirt over her head and pulled on the cami. It was tight across her breasts, but the cashmere sweater hid that well enough. She tossed her old clothes into a pile in the corner and eyed the water and food once more before sitting on the end of the cot to wait. Bastian returned to the room almost immediately, closing the door behind him. "Eat,” he ordered her. “You need your strength after losing so much blood.” Jade shook her head, defiantly. “Tell me why you’ve brought me here.” "Where else should I have taken you?” She lifted her chin. “The hospital, for starters.”
Bastian grinned, his eyes dancing. “Did you really want me to bring you there?” Jade swallowed but didn’t answer. "I didn’t think so. Not the way you healed. It was remarkable. Almost overnight.” "How long have I been out?” "About eight hours.” Eight hours? She must have taken more from the child then she had intended. "How did you get hurt?” Jade was silent for the beat of a heart, formulating her story. “I was stabbed.” Bastian’s lips turned up slightly as if he knew the truth. He leaned against the door again, and crossed his arms over his skin tight t‐shirt. “You’re lucky it wasn’t bad. And that you heal so quickly.” Jade didn’t like the way he was looking at her. Like he knew a secret. It sent chills up her spine. “What do you want from me?” Bastian took a deep breath. “I don’t want anything from you. I want to tell you a story.” "A story?” Bastian nodded. "And then I’m free to go?” "We’ll see.” He indicated the table with a sweep of his hand. “Eat.” Jade crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring his bold stance. “Tell me the story.” His smile was full this time, revealing very perfect white teeth. He nodded. “Very well.” He looked down at the floor as if formulating the story. “Long ago, there were three brothers. They were very close and loved each other very much. They did everything together. They were inseparable. One day, the oldest brother fell in love with a girl. A woman. She was beautiful and kind and the other brothers liked her very much. But it was the oldest brother she chose.” Jade frowned. Something in his story seemed…familiar. "Their love was powerful. They planned a life together. A family, children.” He hesitated before lifting haunted eyes to her. “But there was someone who didn’t want them to be together. The woman was found in a field, murdered, a dagger plunged into her heart.” Jade gasped and covered her chest. She knew this story. Demetrius’s ancestor! Her story. "There was evidence that a rival family did it. The Malachite. When the youngest brother tried to convince the oldest it couldn’t be the Malachite, when he argued that the Malachite would have no reason to do this, the oldest brother accused his younger brother of helping the Malachite kill his love.” "Rosaline.” Bastian nodded. “The younger brother would never have done that. Not to his older brother. Not to any of his brothers. Not to Rosaline. But he was angry that his older brother thought he was capable of such betrayal. He was furious. And so he joined the Malachite against his older brother.” An ache of betrayal twisted Jade’s heart. She saw the pain in Bastian’s eyes, saw the tightness of regret around his lips.
"The Malachite are not a normal family. They offered the younger brother an immortal life. All he had to do was vow loyalty to them and offer his blood.” His eyes hardened and darkened. “And drink theirs.” "Vampires,” Jade gasped, knowing the truth. Bastian nodded. “You killed one in the alley.” Jade rubbed her suddenly cold arms. Was his story true? Could it be real? Could these vampires truly be real? Bastian looked down at his booted feet. “For centuries the brothers fought against each other. At first the younger brother relished it. He wanted to punish his brother for believing him capable of such disloyalty. His anger, his vengeance, made him a fierce adversary. But as time went on, the younger brother’s anger faded. And he missed his older brother.” Jade shook her head. “I don’t understand. The younger brother was turned into a vampire. But the older brother…” Bastian nodded and knelt desperately before Jade. “You know.” Tears rose in Jade’s eyes. She did know. Demetrius told her what had happened to the Demetrius in her story. He became a monster. A vampire. Suddenly, the two stories merged in her mind. The reason Demetrius was so insistent on learning where she heard her story from. The reason he couldn’t believe she made it up. It was the only way he could have survived in the apartment against a vampire. And the way he seemed to float across the room. No. No. Not her Demetrius. "He joined with another group of vampires, another family, vowing to kill every last Malachite.” "Oh, my God,” Jade whispered, placing a hand over her mouth. Everything became clear. "The brothers are Demetrius and I. We’re vampires. Immortals.” "My story…it’s not about an ancestor of Demetrius. It’s about him. It’s his story.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Chills raced across Jade’s shoulders. Demetrius was a vampire. The image of one of those vampires in the old movies came to her mind, hypnotic eyes, sharp fangs plunging into the neck of one of his helpless victims, a cape, the ability to change into a bat. Demetrius did not match those descriptions. The intense look in his eyes was not hypnotic, but knee weakening. She had never seen his teeth fang‐like. Even during his kiss there had been nothing unnatural about him. Bastian took her hands in his. “He never hurt you, Jade,” he said. “He would never hurt you.” Jade rose from the bed, shaking her head. “How can this be? How am I supposed to believe you?” She looked down at the floor. “Why didn’t Demetrius tell me?” Bastian slowly stood. “What was he supposed to tell you? That he was a monster?” Monster. She looked at Bastian with wide eyes, remembering Demetrius’s words. Demetrius did tell her. She had asked what happened to his ancestor and he told her he turned into a monster. Tears came to her eyes and she sat down heavily in a chair near the table. She couldn’t help him. He was her Demetrius and she couldn’t help him. Her shoulders slumped. His love died. Rosaline was murdered by someone who betrayed her. “Who killed Rosaline?” Bastian stared down at her for a long moment. “We never found out. Demetrius believed it was the Malachite. I’ve worked with them for centuries and I know they didn’t do it.” As Jade considered his words, a scowl of concentration furrowed her brow. “Someone close to her... She knew whoever it was.” Bastian frowned, remaining silent, as if waiting for her to continue. She looked up at him, puzzled. “How do I know Demetrius’s story?” "You know how, Jade,” Bastian said softly, tenderly. “Think.” Jade jumped up, defensively. “I didn’t hear it when I was a child! I made it up. It’s my story!” The corners of Bastian’s lips turned up in a small smile. Jade rubbed a hand across her brow in exasperation. “How can this be true? I mean, vampires. They’re not real. Things like this don’t happen.” "Do you need proof?” Bastian asked. "Well…yes!” Jade exclaimed, beginning to pace again. If she believed Bastian’s story, if she allowed herself to believe vampires were real, what would be next? Werewolves? Witches? Demons? “Do you know how crazy this sounds?” Bastian bent and picked up her bloodied shirt. He held it to his nose and inhaled deeply. When he took the shirt away from his face, his eyes were completely black, ringed with red, and his teeth were sharp fangs. Jade gasped, a small cry escaping her lips. She backed away from him so quickly that her back slammed against the wall. “Stop! Please. Stop. I believe you.” Instantly, his eyes were normal and his fangs were gone. For a moment, she thought she imagined what had just happened, but then she saw her shirt in his hand. Bastian was a vampire. She grabbed the back of the chair for support. “Does he really drink blood?” Bastian smiled. “From humans who are willing.”
Her gaze traveled over his face. From his brown eyes, not the eyes of a vampire, to his lips, where moments before he had snarled, showing her fangs. She narrowed her eyes, peering closer at his mouth. “How did they disappear? Your…fangs?” Bastian tossed her bloodied clothing into a corner. “I don’t think about it. They elongate and retract by themselves.” "What about the sun? And crosses?” "You’ve been watching too many vampire movies. My eyes are sensitive to light, so during the day I wear sunglasses. But I don’t turn to ashes when the sun hits me. And crosses have no effect. Didn’t Demetrius tell you any of this?” Jade shook her head. “He didn’t want me to know. He thinks he’s a monster.” Bastian nodded. “That sounds like Demetrius. How come you’re not with him now? What happened?” Jade looked away from him. A permanent sorrow seemed heavy in her chest. “The last time I saw him, I heard him say I meant nothing to him.” "Jade,” Bastian said kindly, “Demetrius is a stubborn fool, but he cares deeply for you. He is looking for you now.” "Only to find out how I know about his story,” Jade answered despondently, running her fingers along the back of the metal chair. "I think there’s more to it then even he is willing to admit.” Bastian indicated the table with an elegant flip of his hand. “Now please eat.” Jade glanced at the spaghetti and meatballs, but suddenly had no appetite at all. "At the very least, you need to drink,” Bastian advised. With a sigh, Jade sat at the table. She had to admit the food did look good. She wondered how he knew spaghetti and meatballs was her favorite meal. Bastian moved towards the door. “I need to speak with someone. You’ll be safe here until I get back. Then, we’ll find Demetrius for you. It can be your choice whether to return to him or not.” With that, he left Jade alone in her steel cell. ~* * *~ He stood in the crowd, watching as the police investigated the dry cleaners. He could smell the carnage in the shop and longed to see it. He was disappointed that the blossom of power was gone. It had vanished so quickly, so completely. It was like a game. Hide and seek. He turned his head in time to see a police officer walk out of an alley with a note pad and enter into the shop. He stared at the dark alley. Why would the local law enforcement by investigating a side alley? That’s when he spotted the dried drops of blood that leading to the alley. He smelled no massacre in that direction, like in the shop. Instead, a sweet scent, like that of syrup, originated from the passageway. It was one of his kind. His eyes narrowed. Quickly, he was in the alley before anyone saw him, standing over the blonde haired man lying on the ground. Yes, he was one of his kind. A vampire. He was staked, but not decapitated. Just like he had been for all those years. Alive, but unable to move. He bent down to the young vampire. “My poor brother,” he whispered. He lifted him in his arms and leapt to the top of the building. He put him down on the rooftop and knelt at his side.
He pulled out the wooden spike effortlessly and bent his face to the fresh wound, licking it. Flashes of the vampire’s life flickered through his mind like a slide show. “A kindred soul.” He smiled, bit his own wrist to make a slash, and lifted it to the vampire’s mouth. At first, Ronald didn’t move. The blood simply ran into his mouth and down his throat. But then, Ronald lashed onto his wrist and began to drink. Ronald’s eyes flew open. He pulled his wrist forcibly from Ronald’s mouth. “Welcome back, brother.” ~* * *~ Bastian bent to his knee. Every time he came to see the Matriarch she was always before the fireplace, looking into the fire, despite the fact she could no longer see the flames. The room was always dark and there were always guards standing nearby. Today, they stood on opposite sides of the fireplace. "News?” "None,” he replied. "And yet here you are.” Bastian bowed his head. How to word this? “When we find Jade Smith, when we discover where the de Nouviant’s are located…” "They will be destroyed.” Her words held such finality. “When we find her, we will have a negotiating tool. We could exchange her for a truce,” Bastian suggested. "Truce?” The Matriarch cocked her head. The light from the fireplace outlined her crumpled form, glinting off the metallic surfaces of her wheelchair. "It’s been a long time since our family has experienced a peaceful existence. Maybe –” "Have you found her?” "No.” The Matriarch slowly turned her wheelchair toward him. “Is it hard for you to fight your brother?” She was all seeing, all knowing. At least, that was what the stories said. “No. But it is getting harder,” he admitted with a heavy voice. She held out her hand to him. “Come here.” Bastian froze. If she took his blood, she would know. She would know about his longing to mend his differences with Demetrius, but more than that, she would know he had found Jade. He stood. He had no choice. He walked over to her, kneeling at her side. She placed her old, wrinkled hand on his head. “When I gave you life those many centuries ago, you swore to serve me.” "And I have. I always will.” "I believed there would be a time when you would want to be released from your duty.” She grabbed his hair and yanked his head back, revealing his neck. “But know this. The only release you will receive is death.” Her teeth snapped above his neck. Her eyes, covered in white from blindness, shone emptily at him.
He stared at her, defiant to the end, waiting for her bite. His only wish was that he had freed Jade. Suddenly, she released him. “But I have no reason to doubt your word. There will never be peace between our families. Too much blood has been spilt.” She eased her wheelchair back to face the fireplace. Bastian stood. He waited for only a moment longer, wishing he could make her see the futility in her stance. "Do you have more to say?” the Matriarch demanded. Bastian had much to say, but nothing that she would hear. “No,” Bastian whispered. "Then go.” Bastian turned and departed. Out of the shadows, two of the Matriarch’s most trusted bodyguards appeared. Both dressed in black pants and shirt, their black hair trimmed to their very skulls. She pointed to one of them. “Follow him.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Demetrius walked through the village, trying to pick up Jade’s trail, but there was nothing. He searched up and down the streets, looking for anything. Any sign of Jade. It was as if she had simply disappeared into thin air. The town was drenched in a mass of fall scents, apples, pumpkins, cinnamon. Some of the leaves on the large maple trees had turned a bright red and fallen to the ground. Tension laced Demetrius’s shoulders and he rolled them. The anxiety wouldn’t abate. He had to find Jade. He needed to see her. He needed to touch her. With all this damned technology, with all his super senses, he couldn’t find one woman! He never should have let her out of his sight. He never should have let her go. Jade heard his confession to Chip, Demetrius was sure that was why she had fled. He shook his head. He only said the words to protect her. Chip would have gone to Council immediately if he thought Demetrius had feelings for a mortal. Council would take her blood and very possibly her life. He was supposed to be in hiding! If his family found him hunting Jade, he would be locked away like a prisoner. But he was a fighter. He should be out battling Malachite, not cowering in some secret hiding place. That’s what his family needed him to do. That’s what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to be chasing after Jade, either. He hadn’t asked for any of this. He should be furious with Jade for writing that story, for revealing his past for all the world to see. But he knew no matter how much he wanted to be angry with her, he was more concerned with her safety than anything else. He flipped open his cell phone. The voice on the other end answered before he could pose the question. “Nothing within the five minutes since you called last time,” Luther growled. “Stop calling me. I told you I’d get in touch when there was something to tell you.” The phone disconnected. Demetrius grit his teeth. Where could she have gone? He pulled off his sunglasses as soon as the sun set and scanned the street again. Not a single damned clue to indicate where Jade had gone. Just then, a shadowy figure moved around a corner half a block away. It moved too quickly to be human. Demetrius followed…and stopped as soon as he turned onto the vacant street. Bastian stood before him. Demetrius snarled, his fangs lengthened. He rushed toward him, but Bastian took off, rounding the opposite corner. Demetrius followed, racing like the wind through the streets. Bastian dashed around a boarded up two story building. Demetrius trailed him like a shadow, bursting past the barren building. He wasn’t about to let his brother get away. Not this time. He needed a good fight. Bastian shot up the stairs and into the open door of one of the decrepit buildings. Demetrius trailed him. His mind registered that this could be a trap, but he didn’t care. He wanted to fight. He wanted to teach his brother not to come within two cities of him. He followed his brother up a set of dilapidated stairs and into a room on the second floor…and stopped short. His fangs vanished immediately.
Jade stood near a window. She turned to him. Her large blue eyes like the sea on a clear day. Her brown hair waved about her shoulders with her movement. Was he dreaming? His heart pounded in his chest. “Jade,” he gasped, relief and anxiety mixing inside him. She opened her mouth slightly at the sight of him, as if she were inhaling. "I told you I’d get you back to him,” Bastian said easily to Jade, then shifted his gaze to Demetrius. “You’d better get out of here while you have the chance.” He stood against the wall to Demetrius’s right. Demetrius snapped his head toward Bastian. “You’ve had her all this time? You’ve known where she was? You laid your tainted hands on her?” He moved menacingly towards Bastian. "No,” Jade cried, stepping forward to intercept him. She was too slow. Demetrius lunged at his brother, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulled him close to his face. "I brought you to her, you damn fool,” Bastian growled. Before anyone could say another word, two things happened. Demetrius scented another presence, a scent so powerfully sweet it could only be Malachite, and Bastian looked at Jade in horror. Bastian broke free of Demetrius’s hold and shot toward Jade. He managed to wrap his hands around her and spin her away, just as another vampire appeared in the spot she had stood in. Demetrius’s knees bent and his fangs lengthened. He hissed at the newcomer, dressed in black, his dark hair cut short against his head, his eyes glowed red, his fangs lengthened and menacing. A Malachite. A powerful Malachite. Oh, he was in trouble. Two Malachites and Jade to defend. ~* * *~ Jade heard a sharp hiss, a challenge, as the tall, muscular man who looked like a weight lifter appeared. Bastian stepped protectively in front of Jade. Jade could barely follow the movement as the Malachite weight lifter shifted toward her and Bastian, but Demetrius cut him off, standing before them. She reached out to Demetrius, but Bastian grabbed her hand, pulling her back. Suddenly, Bastian pressed her back against the wall as the two vampires collided in a blurred fusion. Jade couldn’t see the fight over Bastian’s shoulder, but knew it was happening. Their movements were too quick for her to follow, blurring in and out of her sight of vision. The wall across the room exploded with impact. A second later, a board flew across the room from nowhere. The noise was deafening, with crashing and splintering wood all about her. She put her hands to her ears. Bastian seemed to follow the battle easily, moving his head first one way and then another. Bastian jerked her aside as Demetrius smashed against the wall she had just stood in front of. Then, just as quickly, Demetrius was gone. The fight raged around them. Jade only caught glimpses of the brutal battle. The Malachite and Demetrius locked in a death grip as they zoomed in and out of her sight.
Then, Demetrius crashed into a wall, the Malachite holding him there with an arm across his throat. His hand held a long, thin dagger of wood. Demetrius held his arm back as he tried to push it forward. Jade gasped and jerked forward to help him, but Bastian held her back with a stiff arm. Bastian moved so swiftly she didn’t know he was gone until he stood beside the Malachite. He held a similar wooden dagger in his hand and plunged it into the Malachite’s back, right through the center. Into his heart. The Malachite froze, glancing at his chest. His fingers opened and the sharp piece of wood fell to the floor. He slumped into Demetrius. Demetrius shoved him away so hard he flew into the wall across from them before falling to the floor. Bastian and Demetrius stared at the Malachite for a moment before lifting their gazes to lock eyes. "This doesn’t change a thing,” Demetrius said, breathing heavily. Bastian shook his head. “I didn’t think it would.” He jerked his head at Jade. “Take her and get out before more of them arrive. I’ll finish.” Demetrius backed to Jade’s side and took her hand into his. "Will you be all right?” Jade asked. Bastian nodded. Demetrius pulled her toward the door. Jade paused in the doorway. “Thank you, Sebastian.” Bastian half grinned at her before Demetrius tugged her from the room. They moved down the broken stairs slowly, Jade carefully picking her way over holes in the wood. As Demetrius led her through the empty streets, he didn’t say a word. Jade noticed he cradled his side as he walked. “Are you all right?” "You ask now? Shouldn’t I have been asked before Bastian?” The thick anger in his voice shocked her. She found herself clenching her fists. He had no right to be angry with her. She meant nothing to him. What did he want from her? She turned away from him, withdrawing her hand from his and walked quickly at his side. He stopped suddenly and turned to her. “What did he do to you? What did he tell you?” "Are you asking me if he hurt me? Raped me or bit me?” she snapped back. “Or are you asking if he kissed me and then said I meant nothing to him?” Demetrius’s jaw snapped shut. "There are different ways to hurt people.” Jade turned and continued walking. "Betrayal is one,” Demetrius answered. Jade whirled on him. “Betrayal?” Her voice echoed in the darkness. Rain started, misty and light, peppering her head in a fine spray. “You can’t betray someone who is only using you.” "Is that what you think?” Jade lifted her chin. “I think the only reason you kissed me was to get information for your family. Where did I get my story from? Was that going to be your pillow talk?” Tears rose in her eyes as she spoke. “Or maybe you were just going to nip me and take my blood.” He growled and took a threatening step toward her. “He had no right to tell you.”
"He had every right to tell me the truth!” Jade yelled through clenched teeth. “He told me what you would not. He gave me the common courtesy of explaining what was going on while you wouldn’t!” "So, now you know,” Demetrius said softly, restrained. “You kissed a monster.” "The only thing that ever made you a monster was your cruel words.” Demetrius stared down at her. Finally, he shook his head and began to walk again. The rain came full and heavy, splashing her face. For a moment, she didn’t follow him, she watched his retreating stiff back. She closed her eyes trying to quell her misery. She had not asked him to come into her life. She had not wanted him to. Everything was fine. Everything was better. She just…just wished her body could heal this gaping hole he was making where her heart used to be.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The car was silent, purring beneath Demetrius’s expert handling. Jade had not said another word to him. She sat in the seat beside him, gazing out the window. It was better for her this way. Let her think she means nothing to him. She could not become a part of his life. He had to keep that firmly in his mind. She was a weak mortal and would never survive with his vampire kin. He tried to steel himself against her, tried to tell himself they didn’t belong together, but the more he did that, the more he longed for her. “Jade,” he whispered in anguish. “It has to be like this.” He told himself as much as her. She didn’t reply. Torment burned through every fiber of his body at the thought of never seeing her again. It had to be this way. "Did you love Rosaline?” she asked. Her question startled him. The thickness in her voice cut him. It was like she was reaching inside him and ripping out his heart. It was lucky his heart had stopped beating long ago. “More than anything,” he said, but the truth of the matter was he could barely remember Rosaline’s face anymore and every time he tried to bring her image to his mind, he saw Jade’s face instead. His hands shook so badly he had to pull the car over onto the shoulder. “I am not capable of that kind of love anymore.” He clenched his fists around the steering wheel. They sat in a heavy silence. Not even the patter of rain against the hood of the car could dissolve the strained quiet, nor the whiz of the cars as they shot past them. He could hear her heavy breathing and the spasms she was trying to suppress. “At least not with me,” she whispered. If his hearing were not excellent, he would never have heard her soft proclamation. Demetrius hated the misery in her voice. She didn’t understand. He was not the man he used to be. He could not even remember what it had been like to be a human being. He was a monster. "Where are you taking me?” He had not really thought this through. He knew he had to find her, Council be damned. He knew he couldn’t just leave her alone with the Malachite tracking her. But he had never considered what he would do with her once he found her. Oh, he knew what he wanted to do with her. He wanted to touch her, even now his body ached to feel her warm skin beneath his fingers, to feel the rise and fall of her breathing as he held her in his arms. “I’m not sure.” He knew he should call Luther and tell him he found her. He pulled out onto the street again and drove to a motel to think. The one night stops were quicker and safer. It was more difficult to find people when they didn’t stay in one place. He checked in and led her to their room. She swept past him and slammed the bathroom door closed. He stared at the door. She had every right to hate him. She should hate him. Then why did he wish she would forgive him? Why did he want her to look at him again with that wondrous, happy glow in her eyes? He knew he should take her back to his family and let them deal with her. But he couldn’t. The thought of her alone and defenseless before Council was like sending her into a cage of lions. Literally. After they took her blood to discover how she knew of his past,
they would kill her. And that was something he would not allow. He just…wanted her safe. Yes. That was why he didn’t take her back to his family. She was safe with him. He heard the shower start and sat on the bed. He pulled his shirt over his head to inspect the wounds made by the Malachite. They were already healing. After he washed them off, he needed rest. He lay in the bed, placing his hands behind his head. When Jade emerged fully dressed and towel drying her long, dark hair, Demetrius’s eyes devoured every curve, every movement. When she sat in a chair at the table and turned her back to him, he rose. For just a moment, he stood over her, battling the urge to stroke her stiff back, fighting the need to kiss the arch in her neck. Then, he moved past her into the bathroom and took his turn in the shower. He made sure to clean the wounds as well as he could. There would be no scars. When he left the bathroom, he found the room empty. Panic clawed at his chest and he raced to the door and threw it open to pursue Jade. She sat on the curb in front of their room. Her brown hair was still damp from the shower. It hung to her waist, the ends curling as they dried. He let out a sigh of relief and sat beside her, squinting into the rising sun. “I thought you would run.” "I was going to,” she admitted. He studied her profile. Strong, resilient, beautiful. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her feet bare. "They found me too quickly,” she added softly. “I didn’t use a phone or a computer.” She dropped her chin to the tops of her knees. “I didn’t even have time to get a job. They found me too quickly.” His heart tugged at her confession. He looked into the sunrise. Even just sitting beside her was not enough. He wanted to put his arm around her and comfort her. "All because I posted my story. Your story.” She looked at him, her troubled eyes sweeping his face. “What are you going to do?” "I was banished into hiding. My family can’t afford to lose another trained fighter. We can’t afford to be weaker than the Malachite. They wanted me to hide until they found you.” Jade followed his stare into the sunrise. "I think for your own safety that you should remain with me.” Jade looked down at her toes and wiggled them. “For how long, Demetrius? You’ve made it very clear that I mean nothing to you. I don’t know that I can stay with you under those conditions.” Demetrius stretched out his legs before him. “What conditions would you stay under?” Jade’s eyebrows rose. She brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I would want you to believe I made up my story. I mean really believe it.” Demetrius remained silent. How could he grant that? She had to have heard it somewhere. "Or at the very least not ask me about where I heard it from.” Demetrius’s lip rose in a half smile. “Agreed.” "And…” Jade added quickly. She closed her mouth tightly, her lips pursed. Then, she scowled and looked away. "What?” Demetrius encouraged.
"Nothing,” Jade said. “That will be enough…for now.” "You can’t change the terms of the agreement,” Demetrius warned. “So, you’d better tell me all of your conditions now.” "Okay.” She lifted her chin and met his stare. “You have to answer all my questions truthfully.” "That’s not fair.” "That’s my condition,” she said. He narrowed his eyes. She was so beautiful. The softness of her skin, the gentle curves of her jaw. His gaze dipped to her lips. He just wanted to kiss her. “If you let me kiss you.” "What?” "After each question. I should receive some sort of compensation. A kiss. That’s what I ask in return.” Jade considered this. The sun grew higher on the horizon and it hurt his eyes immensely to be outside. Finally, she nodded. “One kiss.” "May we begin my interrogation inside?” he asked, standing. He offered her his hand. "It’s not an interrogation,” Jade murmured, placing her hand into his. The feel of her small, warm hand in his sent a tingle of desire through his body. "Does it really hurt your eyes?” Jade asked. Demetrius nodded. “It does. That’s why I wear sunglasses during the day.” He pulled her to a stop in the doorway, grinning. “Question number one answered.” Jade gasped. “That wasn’t really a question.” "It was formulated as one.” His smile grew as he came closer to her. Her coffee and strawberry scent overpowered him. Like an aphrodisiac, she aroused him. But it had been a simple question, so he refrained from taking what he wanted and placed an easy kiss against her cheek. He heard her heart quicken, her gentle inhale when their skin touched. He was pleased he had this affect on her. He pulled back and opened the door behind her. She bounded onto the bed, sitting cross‐legged, and stared at him thoughtfully. Oh, he was going to enjoy this game. He sat on the bed, crossing his long legs, grinning. She studied his face as she formulated her next question. With each caress of her gaze, his desire grew. She radiated a beauty that no darkness could ever hide from his keen eyesight. "Let me see your fangs.” He straightened. “That is not a question.” He had no intention of letting her see him as a monster. "When do your teeth lengthen to fangs?” "When I am angry or sometimes when I am excited. Always when I lose control,” Demetrius answered truthfully. He grinned again. Such a simple game for such wonderful rewards. He reached out to her and brushed aside her long, damp hair from her shoulder. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the pulse beating in her neck. Her intake of breath was reward enough. She swallowed. “Would you turn me if I asked you to?”
Demetrius’s lips thinned. Why would she ask him that? “Never.” An easy answer for an easy question. He came forward slowly, his eyes grazing her body as he decided where to put his lips on her this time. He kissed her jaw. Her pulse was racing. She was becoming aroused by merely his kisses. "Why?” He had not had enough time to pull back. Her eyes were so close and so large, her lips so close to his. He lifted a hand to run his fingers over her cheek. “You are a creature of light and beauty. I would never subject you to eternal darkness.” "Why did you become a vampire?” Her breath fanned his lips. He remembered the insanity of the moment. He remembered the desperation, the need for revenge. “They had taken Rosaline from me. I wanted to spend eternity making them pay.” "An eternity without her?” Demetrius stared into her eyes and a longing filled him. “My need for revenge was too strong. I didn’t realize the mistake I had made until after I killed the first Malachite. It didn’t bring her back. It never would. I couldn’t undo what I had done. I see it now as a punishment. My eternal punishment for not being able to protect her, for not keeping her from harm.” Jade’s gaze swept his face, a frown of discontentment marred her forehead. "Do you find that contemptible?” he asked softly. Jade shook her head and tears welled in her eyes. He saw his pain mirrored in her eyes and was confused by it. Jade’s warm hand caressed his cheek. "That’s at least three questions.” "It is, isn’t it?” She was the one to act this time. She leaned into him, pressing her moist, hot mouth to his. Not tentatively, but with hot, feverish passion. He grabbed her head, holding her close, never wanting the kiss to end. Her tongue brushed past his lips and into his mouth, deepening the kiss. He groaned, needing her. He would never let her go again. He hadn’t realized the extent of his loneliness until Jade slipped past his defenses. She was warmth to his cold, light to his dark, innocence to his tainted soul. He was desperate for her. He eased her back onto the bed, looming over her like a dark angel. “Jade,” he whispered. “Do you know what you’re doing?” "Never when I am around you.” He kept her body captive beneath his. “No more questions?” "A thousand more questions.” Was that an invitation? He waited, restraining himself. He touched her hairline, weaving his fingers through her dark hair. "Would you love me if I was a vampire?” He stopped cold, studying her face. Love? Why would she think he would love her any more if she were a vampire? "I could spend eternity with you.”
So blasted innocent. So damned pure. She didn’t know what she asked. “You don’t want me to love you.” "You didn’t answer the question.” "I am incapable of love. Mortal or vampire, it would not matter.” He bent his head to take his reward, but she turned her head away toward the window. “You said to answer truthfully. You must abide by the stipulations even if you don’t like the answer.” She turned her face back to him, her chin lifted, her eyes flashing defiance. She was a treasure. He brushed a kiss to her stubborn chin. "Then, you’ve never lain with a woman since Rosaline?” Lain. What an archaic word. “Not until you,” he admitted. He expected to see triumph, but he only saw sympathy. He brushed his lips along her jaw, trailing them to her earlobe, one long continuous kiss. He took her arms and lifted them above her head so he could feel her perfect breasts press against his chest, her camisole the only barrier between them. She gasped, turning her head to give him access to her neck. He pulled back a mere inch from her skin, rather enjoying the game. She looked at him, her bright eyes translucent in the night. They moved easily over his features. “What’s the best part of being immortal?” "There is no best part,” he answered stiffly. He moved in for his reward, but she pulled back into the mattress. "That’s not an answer.” He stole a kiss from her lips and then lifted himself to think. “To see the changes in technology. This last century has been remarkable.” "What’s the worst part?” "Missing Rosaline,” he answered immediately. “Every moment of every day. Trying to remember, but not really being able to. Wanting to see her. Wanting to redo it all.” She opened her mouth to ask him another question, but he put his finger over her lips. “My turn.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, easily parting them. He lowered his hand to her breast and was pleased to find she wore no bra. "Why did you come looking for me if I mean nothing to you?” Demetrius lifted away from her to look her in her eyes, but didn’t remove his hand from her breast. "The truth,” Jade urged. "I can’t get enough of you,” he admitted, gently stroking her nipple to hardness. She must have liked that answer, for she lifted her head to press her lips to his, lifted her hips to meet his. And he liked the response. He returned her kiss with a growing fervor. He didn’t know if he would be able to answer many more questions. He angled his head slightly to deepen the kiss, to delve deeper into her mouth, to taste every inch of her. Her hands swept up his back, pulling him closer, encouraging him. He could hear the thrum of her blood in her veins, the increasing beat of her heart. He kissed her beautiful neck down to the hollow of her throat. A soft groan escaped her lips.
He pressed his lips to her neck in long, languorous strokes. His hand dipped beneath the camisole she wore to her rounded breast, her hard nipple. He wanted her so badly he ached and throbbed. She began to pull his shirt up his back and he lifted his head enough so she could pull it off. He claimed her lips desperately, like a starving man needing water. Her hands swept over his back, warm, soft, amazingly arousing, touching and exploring every spot. Their kiss deepened, maddeningly so. He encircled her breasts, kneading them, palming them. Her soft groans encouraged him. She was so deliciously soft, her skin so warm that it heated his chilled flesh, sent flames shooting through his cold body. Burning him. He had never felt so alive. So human. Her delicate small body writhed beneath him. She thrust her hips against his. Demetrius almost lost it. He fought for control, refusing to be a monster when he took her. He wanted to restrain his monstrous nature, wanted to know he wouldn’t hurt her. He wanted to be human for her. She parted her legs and his body settled between them. Damn. He needed to slow down but she wouldn’t allow him to. When he pulled back slightly, she peppered kisses against his neck and reached into his jeans to cup his bottom. He grabbed her wrists in a burst of speed and pinned them above her head, panting like he had run across a continent. She looked at him with those lidded, sultry eyes, a shade darker with her passion. He held her arms captive in one hand and slid to the side of her body. He undid the button of her jeans and unzipped them, peeling them open slowly. She lifted her hips slightly, but he didn’t take the invitation. Instead, he lifted her camisole slowly over her very warm, white skin. His hand spanned her rib cage as he moved the camisole up. His thumb and forefinger outlined the bottom of her breast. Demetrius slowly eased the camisole up over her beautiful breast. He bent his lips to kiss her nipple. As he did, he cupped her breast, gently squeezing and sucking. Jade responded, gasping and squirming beneath him. Demetrius was so hard. He fought every moment to keep control. Her skin was warm, her body so inviting. She was like a feast spread out before him. He claimed her lips again in a tantalizingly slow yet desperate caress. "Demetrius,” she gasped, arching her small body. He moved his hand from her breast, down her flat stomach to the waist of her jeans. He stroked down her leg to her knee and then to the apex of her thighs. Her desire had soaked through her jeans. She thrust against his hand, pushing herself against him with a groan of impatience and desperation. Demetrius dipped his hand inside her jeans. He wanted to touch her. He wanted her so badly. Her hair was moist with her excitement. When he touched her pearl, she arched her hips and he moved further, parting her folders and entering her with his finger. So warm. So damned hot. Burning.
Demetrius pulled her jeans from her body and quickly stripped out of his clothing. He covered her with his body. Her heat seeped into him, making him feel alive and human for the first time since he had been turned. She lifted her legs the moment he was on her, and he rested against her core, throbbing. He was losing control. And he didn’t care. He knew he should slow himself down, but he didn’t want to. All he wanted was Jade. He positioned himself at her slick entrance. And stopped. She rocked her hips forward, taking the very tip of his manhood into the folds of her wetness. She wanted a monster inside of her? She wanted a dead thing making love to her? He stared down at her. Beautiful. Her cheeks flushed with the heat of their passion, her lips swollen and red from his kisses, her pupils large and dilated. "Please,” she whispered. Who was he to argue? He leaned forward, pushing into her. Rocking forward and back until he completely filled her. She squirmed beneath him. He tightened his grip on her arms. “Wait,” he warned. He was so close to release. He closed his eyes. And she was ready for him. He wanted the moment to last. And last. For eternity. She stilled. He waited the count of thirty of her racing heartbeats before opening his eyes. She stared up at him patiently. He could barely contain himself. He gently kissed her lips. "Now?” His smile stretched. “Now.” She moved, thrusting against him, lifting her hips to him and pulling away. He didn’t even have to move. He let her slide herself back and forth under him, enjoying the feeling of her moistness. Finally, he could stand no more and he began to drive his hips forward and then pull back. In and out. The feeling built inside him until he was unable to stop it. His arms came up beneath her shoulders and he pulled her to him. Their rhythm built to a crescendo. She matched his movements, thrust for thrust, until her body stiffened beneath him and she trembled, clutching him tightly. His eyesight became clear and he felt his fangs grow long in his closed mouth. He leaned forward, pressing his face into her shoulder. He clenched his teeth, trying desperately to stay in control. Teetering on the brink, he continued thrusting, giving her the completion of her release. When her breathing slowed and the quakes left her body, he stopped all movement, closing his eyes tightly. He waited. Waited to regain complete control of his body, his mind. Waited for his fangs to retract. Slowly, he pulled himself from her body. "Demetrius,” she questioned, trying to pull away from him to look into his eyes. He held her tight against him. He held her still. He couldn’t allow her to see him as a monster. "You didn’t finish,” she whispered. Even the disappointment in her voice was not enough to let her go. Not yet. Not when he didn’t have control. He pulsed for her, wanted to be inside her warmth. He fought the need to
have her again. She was like a dangerous drug for him. What would happen if he lost control? “I…I can’t,” he whispered. She was silent. Still. Finally, his teeth retracted and a measured, shaky control returned. A tumultuous control. His eyes had still not returned to normal. He could see everything clearly, from the beads of sweat on her forehead to the worry in the furrow of her brows. "You can’t? You can’t finish?” she asked. "No,” he admitted, releasing her. He rolled over and put his arm over his eyes, covering them from her view. "But you’re still…I mean, you’re not done.” "It will fade.” But he knew it would take a very long time for it to ‘fade’. A very long time indeed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN Demetrius stroked Jade’s soft hair as she slept, marveling at her beauty. She lay on her stomach, her hands wound around the pillow as if she were hugging someone. Her hair spread out across her smooth back and the sheet covered her bottom. Demetrius suddenly tensed, his hand freezing over her back, as the scent of woods and blood wafted to him. He stood silently and effortlessly pulled on his jeans. He went to the door, opening it. Luther stood there, his hand outstretched for the doorknob. He straightened and smiled. “Hello, brother.” "What are you doing here?” Demetrius demanded in a soft voice, not wanting to wake Jade. "I tried to reach you by phone, but you shut it off. You never shut your cell off. I thought the Malachite…” Demetrius silently cursed himself. After hounding him about Jade, he should have at least called Luther to let him know what was happening. “Checking up on me?” Luther opened his mouth to answer, but his smile faded. His nostrils flared. “You found her.” Demetrius stepped out of the room, keeping hold of the doorknob as he partially closed the door. “She’s inside. Asleep.” Luther grinned lustfully. “Her scent is all over you. Hard night?” Demetrius didn’t comment. He didn’t want Luther to know more than necessary. It wasn’t his business. "Where’d you find her?” "In town. Some old building. She was being chased by the big Malachite, the bodyguard.” "You kill him?” Demetrius nodded. He didn’t want to involve Bastian in his story until he knew for sure what he was up to. Luther leaned against the balustrade, crossing his arms over his chest. “What now?” Demetrius hesitated. “I’m supposed to be in hiding. If they found out I was tracking her –” Luther nodded. “I’ll take her back to the mansion.” Demetrius’s eyes darkened. “She’s not going back there. Chip has the laptop. He can trace her research from there.” Luther shrugged. “And you can bite her, see what she really knows.” "I’m not biting her, Luther.” Luther’s black eyes appraised him with suspicion. He cocked his head. “You’re keeping a pet?” "It’s safest for her to be with me.” Luther’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “This isn’t like you, Demetrius. You usually don’t give a damn about mortals.” Demetrius couldn’t explain it. He was very protective of Jade, in fact he liked her. Very much. He shrugged, staying silent. "I want to meet her,” Luther said, pushing toward him, trying to get into the room.
"You’ve already met her.” Demetrius barred his way. He didn’t like how Luther had frightened Jade when he met her last. And he didn’t like Luther’s sudden piqued interest in her. Luther surged forward. “I want to reacquaint myself.” Still, Demetrius barred his way. “She’s sleeping.” "She must really be something to garner your protection.” Demetrius’s lips thinned. Why was he being this persistent? Curiosity? Luther finally backed away after Demetrius refused to move. “I’ll go get something to eat. Maybe when I come back she’ll be awake.” "Maybe,” Demetrius said. "Turn on your cell,” Luther advised and then was gone. ~* * *~ Jade came awake slowly, groggy, like she hadn’t slept for years. She stretched, arching her back. The unmistakable rich smell of coffee reached her. She boosted herself onto her elbows and spotted the McDonalds bag on the table. She grinned. Demetrius certainly knew the way to her heart. She glanced around the room to find it empty. Where was Demetrius? Then, she heard the shower running. She flipped the sheet from her body and went into the bathroom. The lights were off and the heavy humidity made it hard to breathe. Even in the dark, she could see his darker form against the white tiles in the shower. She slid aside the shower curtain and stepped in. He turned to her, languidly. Her breath caught in her throat. He was magnificent, rippling with power and confidence. Demetrius laughed gently and her blood boiled as he stepped up against her and the water cascaded around her. His arms swept her waist and he pulled her against him. "No lights?” she asked. Demetrius bent and kissed her neck. “Is that another question?” "Oh, yes,” she gasped, lifting her face to receive the wondrous compensation. He claimed her lips, brushing his across hers expertly, enflaming her entire body. He reached behind himself to shut off the water. “I’m expecting company,” he said softly. “We’ll have to wait for later.” "Lock the door,” she suggested. "I don’t think a locked door will stop him.” Jade pulled back to look in his eyes. “Who?” "Luther,” he said. Chills raced over her shoulders and down her arms. She frowned, looking away from his stare as she remembered Luther. Demetrius caressed her back. “I won’t let him upset you,” he promised. It was more than that. She was afraid of him. Deathly afraid. He stepped out of the tub, drawing her with him. “Your clothes are in here. Why don’t you take your time? I’m sure he’ll be here when you are done.” As promised, by the time she finished dressing, Luther sat in the chair near her food. She paused seeing him. As large and strong as Demetrius, he filled the entire chair, his legs stretching
out before him. Tingles shot up her spine. Why did she have this response to him? It was ridiculous. Demetrius had turned on a lamp, for her benefit, she was sure. The television’s light flickered over the room. “…found dead near the el tracks…” a newscaster announced. Luther tipped his chair back slightly, but his gaze was on her. She lifted her chin under his scrutiny. He picked up the coffee cup and held it out to her. “Your coffee.” Jade hesitated for a moment, glancing at Demetrius who sat on the unmade bed. Ridiculous, she chastised herself. She crossed the room and took the coffee cup, but Luther held it tightly and she couldn’t pull it free. His fingers brushed hers and she instinctively released the cup. It fell. Luther grabbed the falling cup so quickly her eyes couldn’t see the movement. A dark grin turned up the corners of his lips. “Clumsy of me.” "Luther,” Demetrius warned. Luther returned the cup to the table with a shrug. Jade stepped back, sitting on the bed beside Demetrius. Luther smiled and tipped further back in his chair. "The police are looking to question the person last seen with Trina Jones, Jade Smith.” A picture of Jade flashed on the television screen. Jade gasped and paled. "She is not a suspect at this time, simply a person of interest.” The police! Demetrius’s hand covered hers comfortingly. She tore her gaze from the television screen to look up at Demetrius. “They think I killed her.” "No. They want to see if you saw anything,” Demetrius reassured her. "She was alive when I left her,” she said softly. They would want to ask her about Jimmy, too. The room compacted in on itself and she leaned into Demetrius. She couldn’t go to the police. She couldn’t tell them about the vampires that killed Jimmy. She couldn’t tell them how she tried to help Trina with her special powers. “I can’t go to the police.” "Then you won’t.” Demetrius wrapped an arm around her. “We should check out.” Jade nodded. She looked across the room and found Luther staring at her. ~* * *~ Jade sat in the Bugatti Veyron, waiting for Demetrius. Luther leaned against the hood of his own car, parked next to her. He drove some other model of black car, similar to Demetrius’s but somehow more sinister. His gaze remained on her. It was unnerving to be watched so closely. Jade had avoided his stare, looking everywhere else, flipping through radio stations as she waited for Demetrius to check out. Finally, she lifted her eyes and met his stare. His dark eyes seemed to hold some mysterious secret. Something prickled along her shoulders, a distant memory she couldn’t quite reach. “You’re Demetrius’s brother?” she asked softly. He smiled, showing his white teeth. It was more of a grimace then a grin. “Yes.” "Younger?” "Yes.” She nodded. Middle brother. Demetrius, Luther and Sebastian. Three brothers. "Are we very different?” he asked in a soft voice, like slick ice.
"Very,” she agreed too quickly. He pushed himself from the car and took a step toward her. His movement was smooth like a stalking lion. “Why do you say that?” She lifted her chin. “I trust Demetrius.” Luther chuckled a low, raw grumble. “You shouldn’t. He holds no loyalty to you. His loyalty has always been to himself.” "Not always,” she defied. Luther’s eyes narrowed slightly. Jade was glad to see Demetrius round the front of Luther’s car, heading toward the driver’s side of his Bugatti Veyron. “I’ll meet you in Kenosha,” he said to his brother. Luther nodded and backed to his car. Jade watched him until they pulled out of the hotel. Very different indeed.
CHAPTER TWENTY Demetrius sat in a booth in the McDonalds restaurant, positioned across from Luther, drumming his fingers against the table. His brother took up one complete side, his arm stretched along the back, his legs spread out under the table. His eyes were lidded, but Demetrius knew he saw everything. Demetrius glanced anxiously toward the women’s bathroom where Jade had gone minutes before. He was uneasy with her out of his sight, his stomach slowly twisted. He knew there was no one else in the bathroom but her and that she wouldn’t run. With a frustrated sigh, he leaned back in the booth. They had driven for two hours, heading up toward Wisconsin and the safe house. He had stopped at an oasis so Jade could eat and go to the bathroom. He and Luther didn’t need the break, but he knew she did. He looked back at Luther and saw the disapproval and impatience in the thin lines around his brother’s lips. Demetrius’s eyes shifted back to the door of the bathroom. Something was wrong. She was taking too long. Had she run? He grit his teeth. He was mad to take this interest in her. She was a distraction to him, a distraction he couldn’t afford. And yet, he found it impossible to be without her. The man wiping down the counter near the register was giving them curious stares. Demetrius paid him no heed, shifting in his seat, inching closer to the edge. He should go see if Jade was all right. Maybe something had happened. His stare was glued on the door. "You’re taking this one too seriously,” Luther warned in a quiet tone. Demetrius whipped his head around, as if just remembering his brother were there. How could he explain to Luther? He couldn’t even explain it to himself. No woman had affected him like this since Rosaline. Demetrius shook his head and sat back. “You’ve had your share of mortals.” "Not like this. They were all dispensable to me.” Luther leaned toward him, his fingers splayed across the table. “What do you care for this mortal?” Demetrius scowled. He didn’t, he told himself. Even as he did, he knew it was a lie.
"You have disobeyed family laws for this one. Why?” Demetrius shifted his gaze to the door, willing her to come out. Just seeing her set his nerves at ease, touching her relaxed him. How could he ever explain that to Luther? How could his brother understand when his entire life was about killing? “I don’t know.” "I can find out,” Luther half joked, leaning back again. Demetrius’s anger and protectiveness were swift. His fangs were out, his gaze snapping back to Luther. “You will not touch her.” Luther stared at him, not moving. The volatile nature of fighters was instinctual. It took all of Demetrius’s power to bring himself under control. His fangs retracted and he looked at the door again. Where was she? "I’d never hurt her, Demetrius,” Luther whispered. “Not when she means so much to you.” Demetrius ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. “It’s not like that, and you know it. I can’t have feelings for her. She is mortal.” "But you do.” Demetrius shook his head fiercely. “I can’t. I just…I want to protect her.” "Protect her? It’s more than that. You need her. You need to see her, touch her.” Shocked at his correct observations, Demetrius met his stare. "She’s barely been out of your sight for ten minutes and you’re as jumpy as a newbie.” Demetrius slowly released a breath. Luther was right. He was attached to Jade. More than he should be. "You need to feed, that’s what it is,” Luther said. “When was the last time you fed?” It was just after his meeting with Council at their hidden base. He hadn’t been overly hungry, but knew he had to keep up his strength. "And I’ll bet it wasn’t fresh. Maybe one of those bottled drinks?” It was Venus’s favorite drink. She’d put blood into a water bottle. Quick, easy and not messy, she always said. And, yes. That was exactly what he had grabbed on his way out. "Go hunt, Demetrius,” Luther offered. “The blood will do you good.” Demetrius cast a glance at the door again. He wouldn’t leave Jade. "I’ll watch her. Go. We’ll stay here until you are finished.” Demetrius wouldn’t leave Jade. He needed to see her. He knew Luther was right. He should feed, drink blood. It would make him stronger and more capable of fighting these strange emotions. “I’ll wait until we get to the safe house to feed.” He slid his keys across the table. “Go get gas for the Bugatti.” The side of Luther’s mouth turned up as he slid the keys back to him. “You go.” "I’m waiting for Jade.” "It’s your car.” There was no use arguing with Luther. His brother wouldn’t go and the car needed to be filled up. Demetrius looked out the large glass window at the gas pumps. He could see inside. Filling the gas tank, while watching Jade. Or he could hurry and be back before she came out. With a final glance at the bathroom door, he stood. “I won’t be long.” ~* * *~
Jade exited the bathroom and saw Luther sitting alone at the table. She glanced around the restaurant, but Demetrius was not there. She approached the table, nervously. "He stepped out for a moment,” Luther explained. Jade glanced at the exit door behind her. When she looked back, Luther leaned toward her. “Sit. I won’t bite.” His smile was slow and hungry. She lifted her chin and sat opposite of him. “Where did he go?” "To put gas in the Bugatti.” Jade glanced out the large windows stretching across the front of the restaurant. She spotted Demetrius standing near his black car at a gas pump. He grinned at her. Jade’s insides melted and she lifted her hand in a small wave. Luther grinned, amused. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply as if scenting her. Jade frowned at him. She didn’t want to be near him and sat back. There was something about him she didn’t trust. Or like. "You’ve convinced Demetrius that you are worthy of his attention. Now, convince me.” "I’m not worth your attention,” she replied, and looked at Demetrius again. His half smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What about my protection?” "I don’t want your protection.” Jade met his gaze with a level stare. "Demetrius hasn’t had a pet in all the centuries I’ve known him. Why would he pick you?” "I’m not his pet.” Luther grinned full out at that. His teeth flashed. “You may not think so. Our kind and mortals do not intermingle, if you take my meaning.” "How do you know? Have you tried?” "Are you propositioning me?” Jade stared at him and crossed her arms, waiting for his answer. Luther smiled. “I don’t have to try. I can smell your blood from here.” As Jade watched, his eyes turned dark as if a film had been spread across them and his fangs elongated. She told herself not to be afraid, he was only trying to intimidate her. She lifted her chin. “Maybe some of your kind are not barbarians.” He hissed quietly at her. Jade refused to let him frighten her. She knew Demetrius would not let harm come to her. "You are food to us. The only love we can feel is the same kind you feel when you’re ravenous. Have you ever been in love with a cow?” Now he was just being insulting. “Are you calling me a cow?” "Maybe a filet mignon,” he mused. "Well, just tip me over.” His smiled widened. "Maybe…Demetrius does not see me as a piece of meat. Maybe Demetrius sees me as more than you are capable of seeing.” "And maybe you are reading too much into what he is capable of. He finds you amusing now. What happens when he tires of you? Will you go through your life waiting to feel the sting of a bite? Because you know, that’s all it takes. One bite. The poison from our fangs will turn you.” "Just a bite?” she asked. She thought he had to drain her blood. Too many monster movies.
Luther grabbed her hand and pulled it across the table, closer to him. “Just one bite,” he whispered. He drew her hand closer to him and bent his head over it. Jade resisted, trying to pull her wrist from his grip, but she was powerless against his strength. "One slight nip. Our fangs have lethal poison in them.” He bowed his head as if going to kiss her hand, his teeth coming dangerously close to her skin. “Once the skin is broken, once our poison enters the bloodstream, there is no stopping the transformation.” Jade twisted her hand in an attempt to free it and her skin brushed up against the flat side of his cold teeth. "Careful,” he hissed, lifting his black eyes to meet hers. When she stilled her fight, he continued, “And then what? Will he let you change into one of us? Or will he be forced to kill you?” "Luther.” The command sent a jolt of relief through Jade. Demetrius stood beside the table. Jade looked at Luther. Her hand was imprisoned a moment longer, almost a defiant moment. He cocked a grin at her before releasing her hand. Jade snatched her hand back from him, bringing it to her chest, and rubbed it. Demetrius took her hand into his and urged her from the booth. “Let’s go,” he said. She nodded and when she turned back to Luther, she caught a glimpse of Demetrius out of the corner of her eye. His fangs were long, his eyes as black as midnight. By the time she swung her head to look at him fully, his teeth were normal and his eyes were the only black she knew. He put a hand to her back, guiding her out the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE Demetrius’s hands fisted over the steering wheel. The sight of Luther’s extended fangs so close to Jade’s skin had sent ripples of terror and anger through Demetrius. He had been about to rip Luther to shreds, brother or not. It had been Jade’s presence that prevented him. He had not wanted her to see him as a monster. He glanced at Jade. She met his stare with concern in her furrowed brow. She touched his shoulder warmly, sending waves of reassurance through him. “Is everything alright?” "No,” he snapped quickly, his jaw stiff. She eased her hand from him, leaving him feeling cold and empty. He shook his head slightly, trying to erase the image of Luther’s fangs so close to Jade’s skin. “I’m sorry, Jade,” he said softly. “Luther’s very good at goading me into anger. He enjoys doing it too much.” He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Luther’s black Aston Martin two‐door coupe zooming past a slower silver Dodge Caravan on the left. Demetrius’s eyes flashed. His little brother had a penchant for getting on his nerves. Jade was something he was not willing to risk. "Is it true?” Jade asked, drawing his attention. "What?” "Just one bite to turn someone?” Demetrius silently cursed both of his brothers. One for disclosing their secret, the other for scaring Jade. He didn’t like talking to her about his monstrous side, making himself different from a mortal man. Yet, his brothers didn’t have a problem with it. “It’s our fangs, Jade,” Demetrius said reluctantly. “They have poison. It’s not just a bite. It could be as little as a small cut. Yes. You would turn.” She rubbed her hand, the one Luther had threatened. A sudden fear filled Demetrius. “Did he cut you?” "No,” she answered quickly. Then, after a moment, she asked, “Is it so bad?” "What?” "Being immortal.” Demetrius considered her question. Yes. It had been. Until he met her. “Yes,” he answered. “I would have given it all up a long time ago. It’s overrated.” "Others enjoy it?” Demetrius thought of Luther. “Yes. They like power over others. Over mortals. Knowing they can kill them with a mere snap of their fragile necks. Knowing they have the power of life or death over them.” Demetrius shook his head. “Venus picks out the most beautiful and watches. She watches them age over time. Finds some sick fascination in the way their beauty slowly fades into wrinkles as they become old. Watches their bodies slowly die. Ours never do.” He reached out and touched her hand because he had to. “I would not wish this on anyone. Especially you.” ~* * *~ Demetrius drove up the long drive to the hideout. Hidden in the middle of a five‐mile stretch of woods, he was certain they would not be disturbed. About a mile before the house, tall iron gates rose before him. He stopped to punch in the security code. The large, metal gates swung slowly open.
Jade ducked her head to peer up through the windshield at the top of the gates. “It looks more like a prison than a hideout.” Demetrius followed her gaze. He guessed to mortal eyes it was a cage as well as protection from outsiders. The barbed wire curling at the top of the gates was threatening. They were meant to keep Malachites out, but he supposed she would see it as keeping her in. “This is my protection.” "That’s supposed to reassure me?” "You’re safe here,” he stated. "A prison is a prison.” Jade shrugged. Demetrius accelerated and the Bugatti Veyron purred past the gates. He watched in the rearview mirror as the heavy metal gateway swung shut. He knew Luther would be by shortly with supplies. It didn’t make Demetrius comfortable having Luther here with Jade. She didn’t like Luther. And the memory of Luther’s teeth so close to her flesh still made him grit his teeth and want to bash Luther’s face. "Have you been here before?” Jade asked. "Actually, no,” Demetrius admitted. He smiled at her. “I guess you are the only serious threat to my life so far.” She narrowed her eyes at him, grimacing with lack of amusement. “How many others have been here?” Demetrius shrugged. “I’m not supposed to know. That’s why it’s called hiding.” He rounded the curve and Jade gasped. Demetrius smiled. “My family does nothing small.” It was a wooden cabin only in the very general sense of the word, it was made of wood and surrounded by a thick forest hiding it from view. The true scope of the house was massive. It was a fortress, a three‐story structure stretching across two football fields with over seven thousand square feet of living space. The driveway led over a small ridge into an underground garage. The entrance was open and dark, but Demetrius had no trouble seeing it. He slowly pulled into the garage and the door began to close behind him before he had shut off the engine. "Hold on,” Demetrius advised, sensing Jade’s unease. He climbed out of the Bugatti Veyron and hit the switch for the lights. One by one, they turned on, revealing an immaculate garage. Jade slowly exited the car, glancing around, unsure. She approached and wrapped her hand around his arm, as if anchoring herself. "Don’t be afraid,” Demetrius assured her. “There’s nothing here that will hurt you.” He guided her through a door and into a short lighted tunnel. The door closed behind them, a lock clicking. "Do all the doors lock behind you?” she asked shakily, studying the door over her shoulder. He understood her apprehension. A vampire could just break through the door if need be, but a mortal would be locked in. “Once we reach the main house, that will change. You will have free access to the entire household.” Jade clasped his arm in a steel vise grip as he led her up a set of stairs to another door. He opened the door wide so she could enter. Jade gasped, her lips parted, her eyes wide as they swept the room.
Lofty windows, stretching for two stories, allowed the star‐lit sky to be viewed without any obstruction. Rafters lined the ceiling stretching far above them. A stone fireplace filled the center of the large room, surrounded by couches and chairs, and even a black piano tucked away in the corner. Beside this room was the kitchen. It was open and airy, with cabinets lining the back wall, a massive stove and a huge refrigerator. Demetrius smiled, enjoying her awe. “There’s a pool, an exercise room, a library, a theater room. Kitchen, five bedrooms.” She looked at him with her beautiful deep blue eyes. “All for one person?” Demetrius took her into his arms, loving the feel of her exquisite body next to his. “Two.” She scowled, slightly. “Why are there five bedrooms?” Demetrius shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was originally meant for a vacation home.” "Vampires on vacation?” Jade asked with disbelief. "We take vacations just like everyone else.” Jade lifted her chin and pulled back to look into his eyes. “Where have you vacationed?” Demetrius’s smile melted. “I’ve never wanted to take vacations. However, I have been to Rome and China. I grew up in England before moving with the family to Illinois. I am well traveled.” Jade reached up to touch his grin, running her fingers across his lips. “I love when you smile. Somehow, I don’t think you do it often.” Demetrius enjoyed the feeling of her soft flesh against his. “Not until you came along.” She stood on the tips of her toes to press her lips to his. Demetrius responded with instantaneous arousal. Something he was unaccustomed to. He was used to being in control of his world, his body. But he wasn’t averse to being inside her body again. He lifted her shirt over her head and marveled at her perfect breasts. They fit into his hands exactly and he enjoyed making sure they did over and over. He loved to run his lips and his tongue along her sensitive nipple and hear her gasp of pleasure. He loved to know she was all his. Her hands found the zipper to his jeans and she pulled his pants down his legs. His manhood jumped to attention. Kneeling before him, she kissed his swollen member. A flood of disbelief and pleasure pulsed through him. She kissed him again and again. She took hold of him at the base and moved her hand along his length, all the way to the tip and then back. Demetrius’s world spiraled. He grabbed hold of her and pulled her to her feet, stripping away her jeans, leaving her naked before him. He discarded his shirt in one movement and pulled her to him, kissing her in a whirling sensation of desperation and need, holding her close against his body, skin to skin. She fit perfectly as if she were made for him. He bent her back and lowered her to the floor. Laying beside her, he scooped her into his arms, holding her, touching her body. Her gloriously curvy body. Jade shoved him over onto his back, keeping her lips against his and lay on top of him. That was fine with Demetrius, who took the opportunity to explore her rounded bottom, running his hands over her delightful curves. She straddled him, her core tight against him, moving against his hardness.
Where did she learn this? But his question quickly vanished as her wetness touched his manhood. He couldn’t help the gasp that escaped. Jade sat back slightly to position herself over him. He watched with pleasure as she slowly eased herself over him, taking him into her body, encasing his pulsing hardness like a glove. Her lovely lips parted in a silent groan as he filled her. She sat completely up, pushing her body over him until there was no more room inside her, until he filled her completely. She sat that way for a moment, like a conquering hero, relishing the feeling. She was beautiful. Her long locks hung in thick curls around her shoulders, her lips were swollen from his kisses, her nipples were pointed and hard, her stomach was flat, her hair was dark and curly at the apex to her thighs where she straddled him. She began to move her hips, rocking them forward and back. Demetrius caught a glimpse of his cock inside her and the combination of her movements and the knowledge that he was buried deep inside her body, sent his world reeling. His vision changed, becoming crystal clear. He was losing control. He didn’t want her to stop. It felt so good. So hot and moist. Just a little while more until he took charge. He reached up and pulled her down against him, lifting his hips to meet her thrusts. She leaned forward, her hands on either side of his head and lifted her hips slightly. Her hard nipples brushed against his chest as she thrust down and then up again. Demetrius cupped the back of her neck and pulled her head forward until it nestled against his shoulder. He didn’t want her to see his face, his eyes. He wanted this moment, this feeling, to last just a little more. Her rhythm increased and he matched her thrust for thrust. He would have to stop soon. He couldn’t let… "Yes,” she whispered. Their tempo increased in desperation, in passion. Her hips slammed against his again and again. Jade’s body tightened, coiling as if ready to erupt. Her breathing and her heart rate increased. She pressed her body against his, holding him tightly to her. Demetrius clenched his teeth. Waiting. Waiting to take control. He wanted to give her pleasure. He wanted… She groaned and pushed herself against him as shivers and trembles raked her body. He exploded. His fangs lengthened and his body spasmed instantly. His arms tightened around her, anchoring them together. He wanted to love her. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal. Demetrius’s fangs retracted and his eyesight shifted to normal. He held Jade in his arms, marveling that nothing had happened. He hadn’t attacked her. He hadn’t harmed her. Jade pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “You said you couldn’t,” she whispered in awe. Demetrius released her neck and she pulled back to gaze down at him, a lovely smile on her lips. “I didn’t think I could.” He flipped her over. “But now that I know I can, you’re in trouble.” ~* * *~ He stood in the vacant apartment, staring down at the headless bodyguard. There were impact marks on the walls. Obviously, a fierce battle had been waged. And this poor creature had
lost. He inhaled deeply. The smell of coffee and sweet strawberries wafted to him. She had been here. Ronald stood beside him, amazement written in the gaping of his mouth. "Where is she?” he asked deceptively calm. He hated depending on such a worthless companion, one who could barely control his violent nature. But he was useful. "She is with Demetrius,” Ronald hissed. Demetrius. The name sent a fresh rush of vengeance through his blood. He pushed it aside to concentrate on the scene before him. He bent beside the bodyguard, eyeing the pool of blood from the beheading. How he wanted to see what happened, whose battle this was, but the blood had gone cold. It was too old. It would not give up its secrets. He clenched his teeth. He would not be denied. Not this time. It was only a matter of time. “Where is she?” "Our surveillance spotted them at a McDonald's at the Hinsdale Oasis.” He looked toward the north as if beckoned. “We head north then.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO Jade loved to feel his powerful body over hers, the ridges of his muscles, the sheer strength of his movement. She never tired of having him love her, even if it was all an illusion. Quickly brushing the thought from her head, she looked at him where he lay on the soft rug, beneath a blanket in the glow of firelight from the fireplace. Cushioned in the crock of his arm, Jade stared at his profile as the light from the fire danced off his skin like liquid gold. The image was so familiar to her it warmed her inside. His dark eyes reflected the dancing flames as he stared at the ceiling. “What are you thinking?” Jade asked. A slow smile spread across his chiseled features. “There’s no better way to go into hiding than with you.” She lifted herself onto her elbow and gazed down into his eyes, so dark that she couldn’t see the pupil. Her gaze caressed his face, from his strong jaw to the curve of happiness in his lips. She bent her head to drink of those lips in a sultry, slow kiss. When his arms came around her, she settled against him with a contented sigh. “It’s like being in a castle,” she whispered. “I can’t help feeling there is something so familiar about this. All of this.” Demetrius’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’ve been in a castle with a vampire before?” She chuckled softly. “Hardly.” She reached up to brush a strand of his dark hair away from his cheek. “Did you have a castle?” Demetrius looked into the fire, his smile retreating. “Yes. I own a castle. In England.” Jade’s mouth opened slightly in a gasp of surprise. “Really? Will you take me there sometime?” Before Demetrius could continue, she added with excitement, “Is it big? Does it have a drawbridge? A moat? Or is it on a cliff? I know. I’ll bet it’s like the one I described in my story.” "It’s exactly like the one you described in your story,” Demetrius said quietly. “Exactly how you described it. I haven’t been there since…since Rosaline died.” The coldness in his face, the sorrowful lines on his brow, around his mouth spoke volumes of his love for Rosaline. Jade wanted him to love her as much as he loved Rosaline. She wanted him to feel the same love for her. “How did she die?” "A Malachite…” he began, but stopped. "Stabbed her through the heart,” Jade finished. He nodded, staring into the hot flames. “I couldn’t get to her in time. I couldn’t protect her from them. She died before I reached her.” Malachite. Something didn’t seem right in that story. Stabbed through the heart. A pain pierced her heart. The image of a knife in her chest flashed through her mind, and then she saw the handle, protruding clearly from her chest. “A white handle,” she whispered. “With a black lion.” Demetrius looked at her. “How did you know?” Jade wasn’t really listening to him. Pain pierced her chest and she lifted her hands to her heart. Who was it? Who killed her? Was it a Malachite? Slowly, she began to raise her head. Black boots. She saw a man in her mind’s eye, as if he were standing before her. Rosaline’s killer. A Malachite? Black leggings. A purple jupon. Who was it? Who was it? "What’s going on?”
The voice tore her from the vision, making her jump. She whipped her head around to see Luther standing in the entranceway to the garage, holding two grocery bags. "Jade?” Demetrius called. Jade turned to him, disoriented. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish between the vision and the present. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I…” She looked down in confusion, her mind sluggish and muddled. What was happening? And then, she recalled that Luther stood across the room. She gasped and pulled the blanket up to shield her nakedness. "It’s alright,” Demetrius whispered. “Take the blanket. Go get changed.” He stood in all his naked glory and walked toward his brother. Jade blushed a bright red, gathered the blanket around her and stood, dashing toward the bedrooms. She hoped she could remember where Demetrius showed her they were. ~* * *~ Demetrius strolled across the room. He took one of the bags from Luther, ignoring the amused way his brother cackled, and walked toward the kitchen. Luther followed, setting the bag on the counter. Demetrius began to unload the supplies and food from the bag. Luther rested a hip against the counter and crossed his arms. “Are you planning to put on clothes today?” Luther asked. "If it doesn’t bother Jade, maybe not,” Demetrius replied. "And what about Jade? Will she be all natural?” "She’s a little more modest then I am.” Luther shook his head. “Too bad.” Demetrius grit his teeth, choosing not to rise to the bait. "What were you talking about?” Luther asked casually. Demetrius paused, his hand shoved into the grocery bag, gripping three apples. "Jade looked white. For a moment, I thought you bit her.” Demetrius’s lips tightened. “We were talking about Rosaline.” "Did you get any more information out of her?” Demetrius shook his head. “She knew about the Malachite’s dagger,” Demetrius said. “I told her Rosaline had been stabbed and then…then she described the dagger.” "You see! I told you she was with the Malachites,” Luther said, pushing himself from the counter. Demetrius shook his head. “No. It wasn’t like that. It was almost like…” He remembered the way she held her hands to her chest, the way she slowly lifted her eyes. “…as if she was there.” "What?” "I don’t know,” Demetrius said, shaking his head. He must be mad. “She’s a mortal, but…but the things she knows. Some of the things she wrote about… They were exactly as it happened.” "It was a long time ago. Did you speak with someone in the centuries since then? Tell them about what happened between you and Rosaline? You must have told someone and just don’t remember.” "No.” Demetrius shook his head and looked at Luther. “I didn’t tell anyone. It wasn’t something I talked about. You know that. Did you tell anyone?”
"No,” Luther said. Demetrius retrieved a bowl from the cabinets. “You wouldn’t have known the things Jade wrote about anyway. They were between Rosaline and I. But the words she used, the feelings... It’s amazing. I forgot some of it until I read Jade’s story. It was exactly what Rosaline and I said to each other.” He looked at Luther, confused. “How could Jade know?” Luther scowled at his brother. "And the dagger…” He looked down at the bowl in his hand. “It was the strangest thing. I had the feeling if you had not interrupted us, Jade would have seen which Malachite killed Rosaline.” Luther straightened. Demetrius put the apples into the bowl and placed it on the island in the center of the kitchen. “Do you believe in reincarnation?” Luther didn’t move. He stood before Demetrius as if paralyzed. "You know, for vampires you’re really slow.” Demetrius turned and looked at Jade. Her hair hung in thick curls around her shoulders. She had changed into one of his black shirts. It was huge on her, hanging from one of her slim shoulders across her chest to the other arm, falling to her mid‐thigh like a dress. She looked absolutely breathtaking. She blushed slightly and shrugged, wrinkling her nose. “I hope you don’t mind. There are no women’s clothes in the closet.” Demetrius grinned. How could he object when she looked so lovely? She took an apple from the bowl and took a bite out of it. "Luther got milk, bread, eggs, chips ‐‐” Demetrius said, rattling off the food he had unloaded. "Apples,” Jade said, holding one up victoriously in her hand. “All the essentials. It’s better than I ate when I was alone.” Demetrius took her hand into his. Just the feel of her skin against his soothed him. He pulled her against him. The feel of her body next to his aroused an entire different cacophony of emotions. "We might be here for a while,” Demetrius said. “Maybe you can make a grocery list for Luther.” Jade glanced at Luther. Demetrius followed her stare. Luther stood, staring at Jade in thought. Demetrius snapped his fingers before Luther’s face. “Hello? You there, Luther?” Luther blinked. “Right. Right.” He shook his head. “I’ll make a trip to the local store about once a week. I’ll be sure to pick up what you need.” Jade looked at Demetrius. “I think everything I need is right here.” "Oh, gag,” Luther murmured and walked around them toward the great room. ~* * *~ Demetrius used the remote to flip through the channels. Jade stroked his hand, running hers back and forth over his. His was so much larger then hers, his fingers longer. She stared at it, not really seeing it. She concentrated on imagining the dagger again, but the feelings would not return.
"If you don’t want to watch television, we could sleep,” Demetrius said, shutting the television off. "You don’t sleep, do you?” Jade asked, fatigue weighing heavily on her body. "Of course I do. Just not as often as you.” Jade ran a finger over one of his knuckles and along the back of his hand. “How can I see your story? I mean…I always thought I was making it up. How can it be real? How can I see your past?” Demetrius was silent for a long while. Jade looked up at him, trying to see into his eyes. “It doesn’t make sense, does it?” she prompted, entwining her fingers through his. His fingers squeezed hers. “No.” "It’s like…I’m making it up, I’m envisioning it. I see it in my head, exactly as it happened. And yet…it’s real. It’s your past.” She shook her head. “How can I see a past that’s not mine?” Demetrius remained silent. "What’s wrong?” Jade asked. “Why aren’t you answering me?” "I gave you my word I wouldn’t ask where you heard it from.” Jade sat back in disbelief. “You still don’t believe I’m making it up?” "It’s impossible. The things you know…” He shook his head slightly, his dark hair waving over his shoulders. “When someone relates a story, if they’re good enough, they can make you see the images, make you feel the emotions.” "It’s not like that. It just comes to me.” "Maybe you heard it when you were very little. Or overheard it.” "Where would I overhear it from? Who else knows your past?” "Bastian,” he growled. Jade stiffened as his implication pierced her heart. She withdrew her hand from his. Demetrius reached out quickly and grabbed hers, refusing to let her go. “I’m not saying you’re working with him. Or the Malachites. I think they might be using you. Or might have been using you. To draw me out.” "You think they planted your past in my head, told someone the story while I was listening, when I was a child?” she asked in complete astonishment. “Two decades ago?” "Time is one thing we have.” Jade frowned. Could that be the reason she remembered the past so vividly? Someone told a story and she was remembering it? She settled back against his naked chest. It could make sense. Except for the fact it didn’t feel right. She knew the characters, knew Demetrius so intimately, loved him so completely… She knew no one could have told a story in words expressing how deeply her love for him ran. It just wasn’t possible. ~* * *~ Luther watched them together on the couch. He had never seen Demetrius so loving and attentive as he was with Jade. Not since Rosaline did he openly display his affections. It was such a strange sight. Demetrius was a fighter, and a good one at that. It was strange to see him being so gentle and…well, damn it, cuddly with a mortal. A mortal! Luther thought back to Demetrius’s words. Reincarnation. He snorted to himself. He didn’t believe in it. No. But he couldn’t deny the affect this mortal woman was having on his brother. If
he were one to believe in reincarnation, he might just believe she was Rosaline. But there had to be more to this. He wouldn’t believe Rosaline had come back. He couldn’t believe it. And he couldn’t risk it. There was one way to be sure. Her blood. It held all the answers. For the family. For Demetrius. For himself. He would have to have her blood.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE A hand plunged the white handled dagger into Jade’s chest. Again. And again. She tried to put her hands up, but she couldn’t get them up fast enough. And the dagger pushed into her body. Blood seeped down the front of her shirt. Jade jerked upright, looking around the dark room. It took a moment for her to realize where she was. Demetrius’s house. His bed. She reached for him, but he wasn’t there. Something wet trickled between her breasts and she put her hand to her chest. She was bleeding! She jumped out of bed and ran into the light of the hallway to look at her fingers. No red liquid glistened on her trembling fingers. It was sweat. Jade sighed softly with relief. It was just a dream. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She heard the clink of the weight machines down the hallway. She leaned her head back against the wall, grateful Demetrius had not been in bed. He didn’t need to worry further about her. Just a dream, she thought. The image of the dagger being shoved into her chest wouldn’t vanish. She needed to do something to clear her head. She walked down the hall into the kitchen and opened a drawer. She wasn’t really looking for anything, as much as busying herself. Silverware. Beautiful, sparkling, unused. The feeling of betrayal wouldn’t vanish from the remnants of the dream. She was positive Rosaline knew her murderer. Jade moved to the next drawer. The only thing in the entire drawer was a pad of paper and a pen. Geez. What a waste of space. Still, the empty paper beckoned to her. Her story. Demetrius’s past. Would it all come to her if she wrote it down? She couldn’t get the image of the white handle and the black lion out of her mind, the dagger that had been buried in Rosaline’s chest, in her chest. That was the shocking ending she didn’t want to see, and now it refused to stop playing itself over and over in her mind. There was also the man. The man who had killed Rosaline. She was certain it was a man. She wanted to visualize his face, wanted to know who took Rosaline from Demetrius. "Having trouble sleeping?” Luther’s voice made her jump. Damn it! Did the man always have to sneak up like that? She sighed as he stepped past her with that cocky grin etched on his lips. His face was angular and sharp, his eyes seemed relax and alert. Shirtless, he only wore sweat shorts. She still heard the metallic clink of the weights and knew Demetrius was lifting. She would have guessed Luther was lifting weights with Demetrius, but he was not sweating. “Didn’t break a sweat? You should try increasing your weights.” His laughter rumbled low in his throat. “Vampires don’t sweat.” "Figures,” Jade commented. They had the luxury of not only being super powerful, but also not sweating. She opened a cabinet to find rows of beautiful, unchipped white dishes. "What are you looking for?” "Nothing. Just familiarizing myself with the layout of the kitchen.” She stepped over to the next cabinet and opened it. "You expect to be here a while?”
"If Demetrius wants me to stay.” She closed the doors on the rows of coffee cups and moved to the next cabinet. She swung the doors open. The entire shelf tilted toward her and wine glasses toppled forward. She stepped back, putting up her hands to protect herself. Some goblets hit the counter and shattered, tiny pieces of glass spraying about her. Others crashed to the floor, a layer of shards flaring out around her. She took another step back, trying to escape the exploding glass. Pain flared up from her foot as she stepped on slivers of glass. With a cry, she stumbled to the side, limping on her wounded foot. She tried to pick a path away from the glass, but it was spread over the kitchen floor like glitter. "Don’t move.” She looked up at Demetrius standing at the edge of the kitchen. He strode across the broken glass in his gym shoes and swept her off her feet. Jade cast a glance around his shoulder. Luther stood in the middle of the kitchen, his eyes completely black. She looked at the floor. Drops of blood smeared across the ceramic floor. She pressed her cheek against Demetrius’s bicep and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at her sliced feet. ~* * *~ Luther stared down at the blood in the middle of the floor. He walked across the broken shards to the fresh liquid and bent down. He was positive Jade hadn’t seen him tilt the shelf, spilling the glasses. It had the exact effect he wanted. Broken glass. Her blood. He carefully picked up one triangular piece of glass and lifted it, inspecting it. Her blood stained the clear shard. All he needed was a little taste. Just a little. He closed his eyes and slowly ran his tongue along the glass. His eyes shot open wide. ~* * *~ Demetrius eased Jade onto the side of the bathtub. He jumped inside and turned the water on, making sure it was warm. He took her foot into his hands and examined the cut. A deep gouge ran through the arch of her right foot, a piece of glass still wedged inside. He looked up at her. “You might want to look away.” When she shook her head, he carefully grasped the piece of glass and pulled it from her foot. Jade grimaced, but didn’t pull away. It immediately started to gush blood. The thirst was instantaneous. He stood for a moment, watching the rivulet of blood, and then quickly pushed her foot under the running water. He grit his teeth, leapt out of the tub and searched the cabinets below the sinks for some bandages or gauze. There was nothing. Of course not. Vampires didn’t need that kind of help. Not in a safe house. "It’s alright, Demetrius,” Jade said. The scent of blood was strong and Demetrius forced himself to remain calm, to remain impassive. “There’s nothing here,” he said, his gaze sweeping the inside of the cabinets. “I have to go into the other bathrooms to look for some wrap.” Jade reached out and captured his hand in hers. “It’s alright, Demetrius. I don’t need it.”
Scowling, his gaze shifted to her foot. It was still beneath the water, but the torrent of blood staining the water beneath her foot was gone. There was only clear water now. He grasped her ankle and moved her foot away from the water. The only thing marring her perfect skin was a small cut. He stared in shock. What happened to the gouge? He was certain it had been there. He lifted confused eyes to hers. She stared at her foot. “I heal fast,” she whispered. Demetrius lifted his brows. “Apparently.” Like a vampire. She healed faster than he did. He lifted her other foot to inspect it. There was no glass in her second foot. And no cuts remained on that foot. Again, he turned his gaze to the other foot. Her right foot. Nothing. Now, even the small cut was gone. It was amazing! She swung her legs from the tub, away from his curiously shocked gaze. “I should go clean up.” His gaze scanned the tub as he looked for some sort of confirmation she had been hurt. He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he demanded. Jade didn’t meet his stare as she nodded. He released her arm, but couldn’t help wondering at her evasiveness. As she left the bathroom, Demetrius went back to cleaning the tub. She had healed so quickly! He searched for some of her blood, proof the incident actually happened. There were splashes of residual blood on the tub’s white surface, but nothing like he remembered seeing. He turned off the running water and grabbed a white towel from the rack. He wiped down the inside of the tub. Only a very light coating of her blood stained the towel. It was amazing. The piece of glass that had been imbedded deeply in her foot lay on the side of the tub, its clear surface stained red. It was the only evidence left that the incident had happened. ‘You didn’t take her blood.’ Ares’s words came back to him. ‘Why didn’t you take her blood?’ Apollo’s words rang in accusation. She wouldn’t know. Just one taste. One… He would know. He angrily threw the glass into the tub. It split in half, the blood washed away by the draining water. ~* * *~ Jade stopped in the bedroom to put on her gym shoes. As she entered the kitchen, she saw Luther bent over the glass, halfway done cleaning up. As she neared, his words reached her ears from his bent position. “It might be better if you didn’t help,” he advised. Jade stood at the entrance to the kitchen, staring at him. “I made the mess.” He lifted his eyes to hers. The entire oval of his orb was black. “You would be risking your life.” Jade stood for one moment longer, and then decided it was best to heed his warning. She didn’t belong here, didn’t belong anywhere. Crossing the Great Room to the hall, she turned the corner and came face to face with Demetrius. Her heart constricted as their eyes met. The only place she wanted to be was at his side, but that was an impossible hope. Only his family mattered. Wondering if he would turn her over to them, Jade lowered her eyes and moved past him. She was not one of them. And if he had his way, she would never be one of them. She just wanted to pretend she might belong for a little bit longer.
“Jade,” he called, grabbing her arm. Refusing to look at him, her head remained bowed. "This healing…tell me about it.” He sounded so formal, so full of authority. "There’s nothing to tell,” she answered softly. “I’ve had the ability all my life.” She shrugged. “I just heal fast.” "But…you heal quicker than I do.” A freak. Jade heard the repulsion in his voice and didn’t want to look in his eyes, didn’t want to see the rejection, the accusation. He didn’t want her anymore, now that he knew she was a freak. Now that he knew she was different. "I should take you to my family,” he said softly. Her heart spasmed and agony speared her chest. “Why?” she asked in a thick voice. "They…” His voice broke off and he released her. "What?” she wanted to know. “They could help me? They could maybe run tests to see what is wrong with me?” "No. Not wrong. Just…different.” "Why? Why am I different and you…a friggin’ vampire aren’t?” "Jade.” He reached out to her. She shook her head and stepped back. “All my life I’ve been different. Nothing’s wrong with you. You’re just different. Let’s run this test to see if we can find out what’s different. Oh, that test came back negative. Let’s take some more blood. Let’s poke you with more needles.” She shook her head, her throat becoming thick. “I thought you of all people would understand.” "Jade…” He reached out to her again, trying to grasp her hands. “I do understand.” "No, you don’t. Because if you did, you would be as adverse to tests as I am. Every time I fell down, every time I cut myself, every time I took a breath, they wanted to run tests. They wanted to poke me with needles. They wanted to find out why I was different. Why I could do what I could. Maybe I held the cure to cancer or to aids or to…what? Vampirism, now? Is that why you want to take me to your family?” He opened his mouth and then closed it. "That’s why I run, Demetrius. And that’s why I’ll keep running.” She tried to step past him, but he was there, blocking the hallway. She jerked to the side, but he was quicker than her. "My family is fighting the Malachites,” Demetrius insisted. “If they could heal like you…nothing could hurt us.” "It’s not enough to heal as quickly as you do? It has to be faster, better. And what happens when they’ve poked enough holes in me to figure it out. Then what? What else will they need to figure out? What else will they need my blood for?” "Nothing. That’s it. That’s all I’ll ask for.” "You. But what about the rest of them? Every single one of your family members will want something different. And it will never end. Needles, tests…” Jade shook her head. “I’ve given you my heart and it’s not good enough. You want my life.” Demetrius reeled as if she had struck him. She again stepped around him, but he caught her arm. "I’m sorry,” Demetrius whispered. “I won’t ask you to go to my family.”
Jade looked up at him, all the sadness in her soul shining in her eyes. “Maybe this time. Maybe right now. But you will. Because you have to spend eternity with them. And I’m just a passing fancy.” Jade waited for him to deny it. She waited for him to tell her it wasn’t true, he wanted her for eternity. But as the time stretched on, she knew he wouldn’t deny it. She knew wishing she was enough for him could never make it so. He looked down, away from her searching gaze, and released her arm. Jade walked down the hall. She purposely kept her steps even, purposely not running. She would not let one tear fall. Not one. She knew it had to eventually be like this, knew she was just biding her time until she heard him say she meant nothing to him. She would not shed a tear. She entered the bedroom and quietly shut the door. She looked around the room and realized for the first time, she had nothing here. Not one item in the room was hers. Even her laptop was gone. She was alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR Demetrius stood in the middle of the hallway listening to her retreating footsteps, and the door closing quietly. Already, he missed her, ached for her, was sorry for the anguish he caused her. He turned and took a step to go after her before stopping himself. What was he doing? He couldn’t pick her over his family. I’m not, he told himself. I’m just protecting her from the Malachites. He knew that wasn’t the complete truth. The Malachites had nothing to do with their argument. His family had everything to do with it. What had she called herself? A passing fancy. She was so much more than that. If she ever knew just how much she meant to him… He had to let her go. The problem was, he remembered the day without her. He remembered the anxiousness, the ache in his soul, the need to touch her, to see her. He remembered the loneliness, the way he floated through life with no passion, no emotions. Would he let her go only to resort to being a stalker on the outside of her life? Watching her live? Watching her marry and have children? Wishing all the while it was him? "You have to make a choice, you know,” Luther said softly. Damn, he had forgotten Luther was in the kitchen. “I know,” Demetrius sighed, stalking the kitchen absently. His gym shoes crunched over the remaining glass speckling the floor. Jade or the family. Jade or death. Would the family kill her to keep him? They couldn’t afford to lose another fighter. Would he be endangering her life if he chose her? How could he do that? How could he ever risk her life? The thought brought a shooting pain through his heart. The image of Rosaline, dead at his feet, came to his mind. Jade’s face interposed itself over Rosaline’s. He couldn’t bear the thought of Jade dead. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his love again. God, did he love Jade? As much as he loved Rosaline? Did he love Jade enough to let her go? Demetrius ran a hand over his face. He ignored his brother and left the kitchen, moving through the hallway to the workout room. Lifting heavy weights cleared his mind, relaxed him. And he needed a clear mind for this decision. ~* * *~ Luther sat on the couch, watching television. He could smell Jade everywhere. Her sweat, her blood. He had finished cleaning up hours ago. Demetrius still worked with the weights. Not so much because he needed to, but he did it fanatically when he was troubled. A door opened and Jade walked down the hallway into the Great Room. She paused when she saw him sitting the couch. "Join me,” he said with a grin. “I won’t bite with Demetrius so close.” Jade glanced over her shoulder down the hallway toward the weight room. Deciding how safe she was, he surmised with amusement. Finally, Jade entered the room and moved to the lounge chair, perpendicular to him. She tucked her shapely legs beneath her, sat, and pulled Demetrius’s shirt down over them. “What are you watching?” "Dracula.”
"You have to be kidding.” "The Lost Boys? I’ve always had a fondness for how Hollywood depicts us.” "What are you really watching?” Luther shrugged. “Some love story. There’s nothing on. There never is this late.” He looked from the television to her. Her jaw was soft, her cheeks rounded. Her hair was long and curled at the ends, draping over her shoulders like a cloak. She was an attractive woman, too thin for his tastes, but she was perfect for Demetrius. “Demetrius can be demanding at times.” Jade ignored him to stare at the television. "He is very wrong about taking you to the family,” Luther said. Jade swiveled her head to him, her eyes sparkling in the shifting light from the television. Luther shrugged. “We are all powerful. If we can’t defeat the Malachite without your help, then we’re not as powerful as we think.” Jade glanced toward the hallway, toward Demetrius. “They’re still his family. He should want to help them.” "You still defend him!” Luther laughed. “Even when you disagree with him.” Jade shrugged slightly, helplessly. "He doesn’t need you to defend him,” he advised in a low voice. “He’s a very powerful vampire. He doesn’t need anyone to defend him.” "I think he does. I think he needs someone to defend his heart.” Luther bridled. “Now, you’re just being silly. His heart is dead.” Jade shook her head and turned back to the television. "I read your story, by the way. Very well written.” Her eyes snapped back to him with horror and unease. "I loved how you depicted Rosaline,” he continued with relish. “It was almost as if…you were there.” She crossed her arms, a look of disbelief and disapproval setting her jaw, slanting her eyebrows. Her lips thinned. She was lovely when she distrustful. “How do you do it? How did you know the right words? The right expressions?” "I made it up,” she said instinctively, defensively. Her chin notched a fraction higher as if daring him to contradict her. "What? Does it just come to you? Do you imagine it like a movie?” "Yes. And yes.” Luther grinned. “I’m not a writer. I was just wondering.” Jade assessed him for a long moment. A soft breath escaped her lips and she uncrossed her arms. “Did you know Rosaline?” Luther’s amusement vanished. This was very dangerous ground. Did he dare tell her the truth? “Yes.” "What was she like?” "Very much like you. Strong in spirit. Inherently good. Willful. In a time when women were supposed to be meek and pliable, she was unique. I think that’s what attracted Demetrius to her.” "How did she die?”
Luther grit his teeth and looked away. “Stabbed through the heart.” Jade was silent, staring. Luther felt the intensity of her gaze like an accusation. “She and Demetrius fought. Rosaline ran away. We found her the next day.” "She didn’t run away,” Jade whispered. Luther pinned her with shock, prickles of warning raced up his spine. She was staring directly at him with those piercing blue eyes, but it was like she was seeing something else. “She would never have run away,” Jade said quietly. Tremors of anxiety ran across Luther’s shoulders, but he smiled. “Oh, you mean the Rosaline in your book.” "She was…” Jade searched for the right word, ignoring him. “Taken.” Luther straightened. She was too close. But he couldn’t stop her words. As much as he wanted to, they were the guilt festering inside of him for centuries. The guilt that damned him. "She was taken from the castle. And killed,” Jade finished. Luther slowly leaned toward her. The clunk of the weights came from down the hall. “Yes,” he said carefully. “Killed by the Malachite.” Jade scowled, as if she couldn’t quite see what she wanted to. Her lips were slightly parted as if waiting for the right words to condemn him. "Jade,” he interrupted, trying to distract her. “You look pale. Are you alright?” She shook her head. “I…” She rubbed her forehead. "Should I get Demetrius?” Luther stood. "No!” she gasped, almost too frantically. He stopped. “Do you want to take a step outside? Go for a walk?” "We can go for a walk?” So innocent. So easy. “As long as we stay within the fence. We’re far enough away from the gates. No one will see us.” She looked toward the door and then, at him, wide blue eyes assessing. Finally, she shook her head. “No. I think I’ll just…stay in.” Luther nodded. But even as he did, he knew she was suspicious of him. She had been from the moment she saw him. “You can always come to me. I will help you.” "Thank you.” Luther slowly backed to the hallway. That was close. Too close. He had to get away from her before she remembered something else. He paused at the hallway to look back at her. She sat in the lounge chair. The size of the room dwarfed her, making her appear insignificant. He could end her life with barely a snap of his fingers, in the second it would take for her to draw a breath. He couldn’t afford to do it here. Not with Demetrius in the house. He would have to get her out of the house.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE Jade moved quickly, urgently through a forest of green, the sun warm on her shoulders. She cast a glance over her shoulder. Something was coming. The comforting rays of the sun disappeared as it suddenly set. Demetrius appeared far ahead of her. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear his words. She started to run toward him. The forest passed on either side of her, but Demetrius never seemed to get closer. And it was getting dark. She turned around and saw a black cloud spreading over the lands like a hand. The shadows of the trees and bushes were lengthening and spreading, joining the darkness. She stretched out her hands toward Demetrius, calling to him, running toward him, but she couldn’t move fast enough. She looked over her shoulder again. The darkness was moving, alive. A creature of light, Demetrius’s voice echoed softly in her mind. The darkness expanded faster now, coming toward her. It covered everything in its path, consuming the forest. Is that why it was after her? Because she was a creature of light? "Jade!” Yes, the darkness was coming. It was coming for her. "Jade!” Her eyes snapped open. She sat up, gasping, frightened. Demetrius looked down at her, worry in his dark eyes. “Jade!” She glanced around the large room, looking for the darkness, the monster. The tall curtained windows, the four poster bed. Her gaze snapped back to his eyes. He was the only one who could calm her. Her fingers closed around his bicep. “Demetrius,” she whispered. "You were screaming,” he said. “I thought…are you alright?” Jade nodded, sitting up, but the dream haunted her. “A dream,” she whispered. "What was it about?” "I was trying to reach you,” she said, staring into his eyes. Remembering. “But I couldn’t. And this darkness, this plague, was spreading all over the forest. It was coming. For me.” "What was the darkness?” Jade shook her head as chills peppered her arms, crawling along the nape of her neck. “I don’t know.” Demetrius scowled. “It was probably our fight. You’re just upset.” Jade glanced at the window. Thick curtains completely covered it and she couldn’t tell whether it was night or day. It didn’t ease her sense of impending doom. Maybe he was right. Maybe her nightmare was a result of their fight. But she had this feeling, this horrible feeling that it was much more. She launched herself into his arms, crawling onto his lap. Startled, he pulled back. “Aren’t you mad at me?” "Definitely,” she whispered. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “Jade,” he whispered into her hair. She shook her head. “I just want to be with you,” she said softly. She knew their time together was running out. Whether it was this darkness she dreamt of, or his family, or an abyss that
separated them, she knew the time she spent with him was precious. She knew it couldn’t last forever. He didn’t love her. “No more talking.” She just wanted to keep pretending, pretending she was the Rosaline in her story so he would love her. She knew soon enough someone would plunge the dagger into her heart. ~* * *~ They spent the night making love. It was a desperate, selfish lovemaking. She tried to get all of him she could. She tried to burn the memory of his touch, his kiss, the feel of his body on hers, deep into her brain. When it was over, she found herself standing at the window, peeling back a panel of the curtains to stare out at the forest surrounding the house. She couldn’t shake the feeling something was out there, waiting. Demetrius joined her, coming to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms about her shoulders from behind, almost as though he were shielding her from the feeling. “What is it, Jade?” She swallowed and her hands curled about his arms. Her eyes scanned the dark shapes of the forest. “There’s something out there. It’s coming, Demetrius,” she whispered. “For me.” Demetrius stiffened. She turned her head to look into his dark eyes. Demetrius shook his head. “It was your dream.” "Maybe,” Jade answered and looked out the window again. She scanned the forest. “I’m afraid.” Demetrius bent his head and pressed a kiss to her neck. Then, he pulled away from her, leaving her shivering. He moved to the table near the bed and picked up his cell phone. Jade stared at him for a moment. She hadn’t heard anything. Then she slowly turned back to the window. Sometimes, it was easy to forget he was a vampire. ~* * *~ "Have you seen the news?” Chip asked. Demetrius scowled, adjusting the cell phone against his ear. “No.” "What have you been doing there? It’s on all the channels and the internet.” Demetrius cast a glance at Jade. She stood near the thick black curtains, her hand holding back a section to gaze into the darkness. Her words had startled him. ‘I’m afraid’. They were the exact words Rosaline whispered to him before her death. "Murders,” Chip said grimly. “Vicious attacks. There’ve been seven in the two nights you’ve been in hiding.” Demetrius sighed. “The Malachite?” "We think so,” Chip agreed. “We think they’re trying to draw you out. They must think you have Jade Smith.” Demetrius clamped his mouth shut as he watched Jade. She held a sheet wrapped about her thin body. The moonlight shone in from the small spot of curtain she had opened to look out, bathing her in a soft glow. He should tell Chip he had her. “That is unlike the Malachite,” Demetrius said. “Even they are not as barbaric as that.” "Don’t underestimate them. They will use whatever means necessary to find the girl. They think she holds valuable information that could bring about our downfall.”
"Have you gotten anything off of the laptop?” Demetrius asked, changing the subject. He felt guilty enough. He sat on the side of the bed, running his hand through his hair. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s like…” "Like she made it all up,” Demetrius said softly, casting a glance over his shoulder at Jade. She was looking at him, watching him. "How could that be? You said only you and Rosaline knew some of the things she wrote.” She was so unlike Rosaline and yet, so very similar. She was small and petite and frightened and courageous. And Rosaline…she was never frightened, except for that one time before her death, and always smiling. She never believed anyone would harm her. She trusted everyone. Jade trusted no one. It was almost like…Jade was Rosaline grown up, having experienced what Rosaline did. "Demetrius, are you there?” Demetrius snapped himself out of his reverie. “Yeah. I’m here.” "Anyway, we haven’t found the girl yet. It’s like she disappeared.” "Maybe she is in hiding,” Demetrius offered, trying to give him clues without telling him outright. "From our hunters? From our fighters? No one hides from them. Diana is even on her trail.” Demetrius wanted to groan. "But there is no trail to follow. It’s like she’s vanished. It’s like –” "She’s with me,” Demetrius admitted. "What?” "Jade is with Luther and me,” Demetrius repeated. “I found her on my way to the hideout.” Silence. Jade stood frozen at the window, staring at him with her large blue eyes. Demetrius wanted to go to her and wrap his arms about her to ease her concern. It was impossible to do when he felt no ease inside him. Only turbulence. Only agitation. He had no choice. He had to tell Chip. "Then you’d better get the hell out of there,” Chip ordered. "Why?” "Those seven murders. They started in the city and are moving north. The last one was at the McDonald's at the Hinsdale Oasis.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX Jade barely had time to pull on her clothes before Demetrius yanked her toward the garage, Luther following behind them. "Demetrius,” Jade called, her world suddenly spinning out of control. What was going on? The lights in the garage flickered on as they entered, the two black cars gleaming beneath the fluorescent lights. "Demetrius!” Jade hollered, apprehension surging inside of her. “Tell me!” "Get in the car,” he ordered as they rounded the rear of the Bugatti Veyron. "I won’t!” she replied, stubbornly yanking her arm from his grip. “Tell me what’s happening.” He shot her an impatient look as he moved to the driver’s door. “Get in the car and I’ll tell you.” Jade crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest, her eyebrow rising in defiance. "The Malachites are heading this way,” he said dourly. Jade slowly lowered her hands. The image of the darkness coming for her rose in her mind. “How did they find you?” "Get in!” Demetrius slid into the car. Jade rounded to the passenger’s side door, opened it and entered the car. “I thought you said this was a hideout.” Luther hit the garage door opener and the door began to open. “It is.” "I don’t understand,” she said, instinctively reaching for him. She placed her hand on his arm, seeking solace from him to calm her madly beating heart. She didn’t know if her dream contributed to her anxiousness, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was coming for her. "I don’t think they’ve found us yet, but they’re heading this way. I’m taking you back to my family.” Jade stared at him for a moment, trepidation settling in the pit of her stomach. Back to his family. She slowly lowered her hand from his arm. "Don’t look at me like that,” he ordered. “It’s the safest place.” He gunned the engine and the car zoomed out of the garage. "For you,” Jade murmured and turned to look out the window. Suddenly, the inside of the car felt like a prison. She wondered what would happen if she opened the door and jumped. "For you, too! What do you think the Malachite will do if they got their hands on you?” She looked back at him, defiance in her raised chin. “They’ve already had their hands on me.” Demetrius growled in a feral snarl. “Don’t…” "Don’t what?” she demanded. “Bastian was a gentleman! He told me everything you wouldn’t. Maybe I should go to the Malachite. Bastian never poked me with a needle!” Demetrius slammed on the brakes and whirled on her. Jade didn’t even have time to put up her hands to brace for impact. His arm across her chest was the only thing that stopped her from hitting the windshield. "Don’t ever mention his name to me. He’s a traitor. And make no mistake about it. The Malachite would poke needles in you…and drain you dry, if you were lucky.”
Shocked, it took a moment for Jade to recover. His fierce countenance and completely black eyes startled her, but didn’t frighten her. It angered her. His stubbornness infuriated her. “Bastian is not a traitor. He didn’t side with your enemy.” "No? Then why did he go with them? Why did he turn his back on me and join with my enemies?” "Because you accused him of helping them kill Rosaline! Because you accused him of siding with them. You gave him no choice. You drove him to it, just like you are driving me to your enemies.” Demetrius threw his head back and let out a roar of rage and anger. ~* * *~ The soul‐wrenching howl echoed through forest and off of trees. He looked up from his useless search. He recognized the inhuman cry of frustration and anger. A vampire. And not just any vampire. It had to be Demetrius. He was off, dashing past useless mortal houses and into the surrounding forest. She was close. ~* * *~ When Demetrius looked back at Jade, his teeth were long and sharp, his eyes dark. “You don’t know anything about what happened! You don’t know how he said they didn’t do it when I held Rosaline in my arms, their dagger in her chest! Her blood on my hands.” "It was made to look like your enemies did it,” Jade insisted, irrationally angry. He didn’t see. He didn’t see that Bastian wasn’t the traitor, that his accusations made Bastian side with the Malachite. "You don’t know what you’re talking about! You weren’t there. You –” As he ranted, images flashed through Jade’s mind. The dagger in her chest. White with a black lion on its handle. “Bastian didn’t do it,” she argued, but the heat left her words. "He helped them! He helped them kill Rosaline. He is as responsible for taking her away from me as the Malachite.” A hand holding the dagger, thrusting it into her chest. Pain engulfed her. “Bastian is not a traitor,” she told him. "You side with him over me? You side with my enemies?” Demetrius growled. She heard his words, but her mind was replaying a different image. Rosaline’s murder. She rubbed her chest. Jade lifted her eyes to lock with his, but she saw different eyes. A killer’s eyes. She gasped and whispered, “The Malachite didn’t kill Rosaline.” He grabbed her arm in a tight hold, his eyes fierce. “They killed her!” Jade shook her head as he drew her closer to his teeth. “Why would she go to that field alone? She didn’t. He took her. He tricked her. She thought she was safe with him.” "Bastian did it. He helped them.” "No,” Jade pleaded as he pulled her tight against his chest. So close to his teeth. She didn’t turn away. Suddenly, her car door opened and she was pulled from his grasp into the cold night air. "What are you doing?” Luther demanded, holding her in his arms like a rag doll. Demetrius growled again.
Jade ripped free of Luther’s hold. "Take her back to the family,” Demetrius ordered. He stepped on the gas and the car sped away down the driveway. "No!” Jade screamed, watching the black car disappear until only its red break lights could be seen in the distance. The air chilled her skin, sending a peppering of cold through her. Slowly, she turned to Luther. He stared down at her without emotion. His dark eyes were cold. Emotionless. He knew. She was sure he knew. Her gaze traveled the length of his face. The same image Rosaline had seen last. She backed up a step. “Why did you do it?” she whispered. He looked at her with finality. It was the way he had looked at Rosaline. “Immortality,” he admitted. “I wanted immortality. It was offered to Demetrius, not to me. I knew I had a chance of convincing him to give me the gift. But he wouldn’t take it because of Rosaline. He didn’t want to outlive her. She was the only thing standing in my way.” Jade shook her head. “You took her away from him because you wanted immortality?” He shrugged. His lips curved in a humorless grin. He took a step toward her. She backed away, quickly. "Do you want a head start?” he asked. “Or do you want me to make it quick?” "What will you tell him?” she demanded, suddenly very sad she would never see Demetrius again, that she would never get to tell him what had really happened to Rosaline, that she would never get a chance to tell him she loved him. He smiled. “That the Malachite killed you. That there was a fierce battle. But they got to you before I could stop them.” He stepped toward her, his fangs lengthening. Jade put her hand on his chest. “Please don’t do this again,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes. She knew she couldn’t over power him, she couldn’t fight him off, she couldn’t outrun him. "He doesn’t love you as much as he did her,” Luther said softly, almost sympathetically. The truth in his words wounded her, and for a moment she almost gave in to the despair. Then, she kicked him hard in the crotch and ran.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN Jade dashed through the forest, screaming for help, knowing her only true help would be Demetrius. Her heart thumped madly in her ears and her breathing was frantic and frightened. She knew Luther was faster than she was. She could never hope to outrun him. Yet, every instinct told her to race as fast as her legs could carry her. Her eyes scanned the dark forest for a weapon, looking for something, anything to fend off a deadly vampire. It was ridiculous! The moon slipped behind a stray cloud, darkening the road ahead, but Jade never faltered. She pumped her legs and her arms, desperate to reach the iron gate surrounding the safe house. Maybe then Demetrius would hear her. Maybe then she would have a chance to escape Luther. Why hadn’t he attacked yet? Where was he? Jade wanted to glance over her shoulder, to look for him, but just the thought of seeing him racing towards her made her blood run cold. She kept her gaze forward. She was almost to the large black gate leading to freedom beyond. A breeze shot past her, blowing her hair up around her face. Something struck her hard in the back and she flew forward, scraping her arms along the driveway as she hit the hard pavement. Pain throbbed from the scrapes on her arms, but there was a burning in her left arm. As she scanned the area for Luther, she put her palm over her arm, rubbing to extinguish the stinging. Her fingers fell over liquid and when she looked at her arm, she saw three long scratches in her skin. When she lifted her gaze again, Luther lounged against the gates. "Where do you think you’re going?” he asked. Jade pushed herself to her feet. She stood for a moment, breathing deeply from her frantic run. “Why are you doing this?” "I can’t have you tell Demetrius I killed Rosaline. Not that he’d believe you. How could you possibly know such a thing?” Luther asked, a wicked smile on his lips. "You bastard,” she whispered. “How can you do this to him? Do you know how much he suffered? He loved her! Now is your chance to make it all right and you’re just repeating your mistake.” "It was no mistake,” Luther said coldly. "I know. You told me. You wanted immortality. You have it now. Why kill me?” Luther’s cockiness slowly faded. He looked down. “I don’t want him to find out.” "I won’t tell him,” Jade promised. Luther looked up at her from beneath his eyebrows. “You won’t have to. One day, he’ll taste your blood and he’ll have the entire story. I won’t allow that. I won’t ever allow him to know I was the one who killed Rosaline.” An arm locked around Luther’s neck from behind, pulling him tightly against the gate. “You took Rosaline away,” someone hissed from behind Luther. Jade stepped back, startled. She could see a dark figure on the other side of the gate clutching Luther’s throat. "Give her the combination for the gate,” the voice commanded. Luther shook his head, his lip curling to reveal his fangs. He grasped the arm around his neck, struggling to get free of his attacker’s hold. A Malachite? It was too dark to see who Luther’s attacker was.
"That’s fine,” the voice said. “I’ll find out myself.” Sharp fangs flashed behind Luther as his attacker opened his mouth wide. Luther cried out when they struck his neck, puncturing deep. Jade stepped back, unsure of what to do. Luther had just tried to kill her, so she didn’t want to help him. She knew nothing of this new vampire. Who was he? Did he pose a larger threat to her than Luther? Where could she go to escape either of them? Slowly, Luther stopped struggling. His eyes locked on her, half pleading, half unseeing. The vampire behind him released his hold. Luther slid down the gate to the ground. The vampire moved in the darkness beyond the black iron gate, toward the security box and began punching in the code to open the gate. A wave of sheer terror overtook Jade as she heard the metallic clink of the lock unbolting. The gate whined as it slowly began to slide open. He was coming in. She turned and raced back toward the house. Maybe she could get in somehow. Maybe she could hide. Maybe… The vampire stood before her. He was tall and stood before the moon, blocking out any light she could see him with. Long dark hair fell past his shoulders. “Do not be afraid, Jade,” he whispered in the silkiest of voices. “I have waited a very long time for you. My love.” Jade shook her head and stepped back. “Who are you?” she asked. Terrified tears rose in her eyes, blurring the dark shadow before her. He vanished and appeared beside her. Jade jerked back. The moonlight washed over his handsome face, giving her a hazy view of dark black eyes seeming to hold the wisdom of the ages in them. His lips were turned up in a grin of patience. No blood stained them, nor could she catch a glimpse of his fangs as he spoke. His jaw was hard and angular. His black hair was greased back, giving him an elegant, foreign air. "Don’t you remember me?” he asked, as if the possibility she might not had never occurred to him until now. Try as she might, she could not remember him. All she could invoke was a feeling of dreadful familiarity. Cold darkness. It was the same type of feeling she had felt with Luther. She shook her head. "Don’t worry,” he said softly. “It will come back to you.” He held out his hand to her, palm up. “Come. It is time to leave this place.” She stared at his hand and shook her head, stepping back. “No.” His eyes hardened, his patience slipped, straightening his lips. “You will do as I say.” Jade whirled, running. She had not taken two steps when he appeared before her again, easily blocking her way. "You cannot escape me.” "What do you want?” she demanded, mustering her courage to face him. He scowled slightly as if he didn’t understand the question. “You.” Jade gaped as he reached out to grasp her wrist. With his other hand, he ran a finger along the three scratch marks on her arm. "You’ve been calling to me,” he said softly. "No,” Jade whispered, pulling and twisting her wrist to free it.
He lifted his finger to his mouth and licked it, savoring it as though her blood were a fine wine. He grinned with his eyes closed. When he opened them, they were completely black. “We are connected.” The roar of a car sounded and Jade had just enough time to turn her head. The black Bugatti Veyron raced down the driveway and slammed full force into the vampire, sending it flying through the air. His grip on her arm yanked her backward. For a moment, he refused to release her, but the brute force of the momentum jerked her out of his grip. She did a complete flip in the air and landed face down on the soft ground adjacent to the driveway. For a long moment, she could not move, shocked by the harsh impact. Stunned, she slowly lifted her head to see the car door open. Demetrius was at her side before she could blink. He picked her up and placed her inside the car, setting her down next to Luther who was already in the passenger’s seat. She pulled violently away from Luther, reaching for Demetrius. Demetrius caught her hands in his and kissed them. He glanced about for the vampire, every one of his muscles tense. Jade glanced at Luther again and instinctively her grip on Demetrius’s hand tightened. “No, Demetrius,” she pleaded. “Don’t go.” With a low growl, he closed her door and was suddenly at the other side of the car, climbing in. He whipped the wheel of the car around and drove away. Jade scooted as far away from Luther as she could and found herself pressed up against the passenger door. The interior of the car shifted and spun. She wasn’t sure if it was Demetrius’s driving or if she had injured her head from the fall. Demetrius reached over Luther to touch her leg. “It’s okay, Jade. You’re safe now.” She knew she was anything but safe with Luther so close. She looked at him. His eyes were wide and glassy, his body limp. “Is he dead?” "That other vampire drained him, but not completely. I have to get him to the house. We’ve got a supply of blood…” Jade looked out the window at the passing trees, the road sped by. She knew she should tell Demetrius about Luther, that he tried to kill her, that he killed Rosaline. But Luther’s words rang in her mind. ‘Not that he’d believe you. How could you possibly know such a thing?’ Doubt settled inside her. "Are you hurt?” She rolled her head against the headrest, wanting to look at Demetrius, needing him to alleviate her fears, to soothe her. But Luther sat between them. “I’m all right,” she said in a thick voice. He took her hand into his, sliding his fingers between hers. “Did you recognize the other vampire?” For a moment, Jade couldn’t respond. Her fear, her trepidation, rose as a lump in her throat. He came for her. That monster had come for her. "Jade,” Demetrius whispered, his fingers squeezing her hand. Jade shook her head. “No. Did you?” "I’ve never seen him before.”
The vampire’s elegant image came to her mind. There was something familiar about him, something hauntingly, frighteningly familiar. ~* * *~ He stood up slowly. His hip was broken, but that was not the pain consuming him. He growled, low in his throat. He had her. He had Jade! She stood before him looking so damned beautiful, more beautiful then she had when she was Rosaline. He hobbled toward the gate, excruciating pain radiating through his torso with each step. He needed to feed to mend his hip. And then rest for a night. By morning, he would be on Jade’s trail once again. Only this time, he would not underestimate Demetrius. He should not have been so patient with her. He needed to take her and lock her away so the others couldn’t reach her. Once she was safe, he could extract his revenge. He clutched at his hip and rested against the gate. He needed to feed. He was growing weaker with each second. A car zoomed up the road, its lights pinning him against the gate. He raised his arm to protect his eyes from the bright lights. The window on the driver’s side rolled down. Ronald smiled. “Need a lift?” He limped to the car. “Where have you been?” "You told me to secure a ride.” "I need to feed and rest.” He lifted his head to Ronald to pin him with a victorious look. “However, I have information you and your family might find useful.” ~* * *~ Demetrius raced the Bugatti Veyron down the interstate. He cast glances at Jade. At first, she continued to stare at Luther. Fear edged her large blue eyes, a fear Demetrius hated. “What’s wrong?” She shook her head and turned away from Luther, but wouldn’t answer him. About halfway through the trip, she settled down, leaning her head against the window, but keeping a firm grip on his hand. He had been so furious with her when he left her in Luther’s care. Irrationally angry. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so livid. After years of training, years of battle, he knew to keep a clear head at all times. He had seen the young Malachite lose control of their emotions many times. It always ended in death. With Jade it was different. He had allowed his emotions to surface with her. He dropped his guard. When she took Bastian’s view and sided with his enemies, he couldn’t control the fury he felt, the betrayal. It was lucky Luther had intervened. And now, his brother lay beside him, almost dead. He took the exit ramp at Randall Road. The fighter’s house was always stocked with blood. He would have Chip contact Apollo. If Luther didn’t get blood before sunrise, he wouldn’t have the strength to heal. To see Luther so defenseless was unnerving. He was a fighter, a strong fighter. How had that other vampire gotten to him? “Jade, what happened to Luther?”
Jade was silent for a long moment, gazing out the window. When she finally spoke, there was a hitch in her voice. Something odd. “Luther was standing with his back to the gate. The vampire grabbed him from behind, through the gates.” "Why wasn’t he in his car? I told him to take you back to the family.” Jade eased her hand from his and folded hers before her as if she were praying. The hum of the Bugatti Veyron engine was the only noise in the car. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it. “He said…he needed…air.” Air? Demetrius knew Jade was lying. Vampires didn’t breathe. The last thing Luther would need was air. Why would Luther be at the gates at night? And why would Jade be with him? “So, the two of you were taking a nighttime stroll with the Malachite coming?” He didn’t believe her at all. “What were you talking about?” "Rosaline,” she whispered, that strange hitch in her voice again. "What did he tell you?” "How she died.” Demetrius glanced at Luther. He hadn’t moved. His black eyes still stared vacantly into air. Demetrius floored the gas pedal, weaving in and out of the few cars on the expressway. What were they really doing near the gate? “You stopped for a breath and this unknown vampire grabbed Luther through the gate. How did he get in?” "He wanted Luther to give him the security code. Luther wouldn’t. So, the vampire bit him.” Bit him? For a moment, Demetrius didn’t move. He bit him. Luther was bitten by a vampire. As the implications of what happened sunk in, Demetrius grabbed his cell phone from his jeans pocket and dialed Chip’s number. It rang once, twice, three times and then went to his voice mail. Angrily, Demetrius clipped his phone closed and then opened it. He tried the number again. Again, it just rang. Demetrius steered his Bugatti Veyron through the streets, dodging cars, whipping through red lights and stop signs. Something was wrong. The hairs on the nape of his neck stood up. Luther had been bitten. Chip wasn’t answering his phone, he always answered his phone. He turned down a long dark, stretch of country road. The sky before him glowed a strange orange. Oh, he didn’t like this. Not at all. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him. As he neared, he slowed the car. Hot flames shot into the night sky, casting an aura of light around the house as fire engulfed it.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT Demetrius took a step toward the house. Horror and confusion swept through him like the biting flames swept through what was left of the structure. The entire house had been destroyed. It was either charred ruins or burning hotly. This was no accident. The passenger door to his car opened. "Stay there,” Demetrius commanded. He didn’t want Jade in danger and whoever had done this might still be around. His gaze swept the grounds of the house. It was located on a slight rise, so he couldn’t see behind the flaming structure. He returned his gaze to Jade. She stood next to the Buggati Veyron, half in the car, half out. Red and orange light flickered over her. “Get in the car. I have to check this out.” He looked back to the burning house as a huge beam crashed to the ground, sending sparks flaring up into the night sky. "I want to go with you,” she said. "No,” he snapped. He tore his gaze from the flames to look at her. “Whoever did this might still be there. It’s too dangerous.” Defiance burned in her eyes. “Then you’d better use all your super powers to make sure there’s no one left because I’m coming with you.” Demetrius growled low in his throat. He didn’t have time to argue with her. “Get in. We’ll drive around to make sure whoever started this isn’t still here.” Jade climbed back into the Bugatti Veyron. Demetrius returned to the driver’s side in a flash. He had to do this quickly. He still had to find blood for Luther by dawn so his body could heal. He lifted his gaze to the night horizon. Sunrise was about an hour away. There wasn’t a lot of time. He drove over the small rise, slowing when he topped it. He drove along the driveway, searching with his eyes, looking for movement or a figure, anything that would tell him they weren’t alone. Only the fire moved, dancing in mockery. Where the hell were the fighters? Demetrius stopped the car and threw it in park, shutting the engine. He got out of the car. Jade emerged on the other side, standing, facing the house. The fire raged, its heat blasting them with gusts of scalding warmth. Jade put up her hand to protect her face. Demetrius stepped away from the car, searching the building. Where were the other fighters? What the hell had happened? "Oh God,” Jade whispered. “Demetrius, look.” She pointed at the house. He turned to see what she was looking at, something near the front of the house, near the unburnt shrubs. He squinted against the bright fire and finally made out a shape lying on the ground. Using his speed, he darted over to it. He recognized the clothing, the plaid shirt, the jeans. He followed the corpse’s torso up to the spot where his head should be. It was not there. They had decapitated him. Chip. It was Chip. He inhaled his agony and turned away. His fingers balled into fists. It could only have been the Malachite.
Sirens blared in the distance. Demetrius took Jade’s hand in his. “Come on.” There was one other entrance he could try. Perhaps the fighters had escaped through the back. They got into the car and he took off down the driveway, heading west. The area the de Nouviant had selected for the house was a secluded piece of land where the retail wasn’t developed and the neighborhood wasn’t particularly favorable. Gang wars broke out often. Shootings happened almost daily. But no one dared to enter their property. A few had tried and they had never returned. Demetrius took an access road between two vacant lots and headed north. The secondary entrance was over a mile off the country road, only reachable through brush filled fields. He stopped the car before an open field and slowly got out. His chest clenched with horror. Even though he didn’t need to breathe, he did out of habit and the smell of charred flesh entered his nose and mouth. In the center of the field, sprawled on the dirt ground, lay five smoldering bodies. In the center of the field, an open hatch led down into what looked like a rectangular pit. Slowly, Demetrius made his way toward the hatch. He stopped at the first body. The clothing was burned to the skin of the decapitated corpse. The rest were the same. All headless. The Malachite had known. Demetrius clenched his teeth in rage. When he reached the edge of the pit, he stared into the darkness. Stairs led down into blackness. He squatted at the edge, listening for any movement. Had anyone survived? "Don’t go down,” Jade said, gagging. She held her hand over her mouth and nose. "I have to,” Demetrius said. “Go back to the car.” Jade didn’t move from his side. She lay one hand on his shoulder. “Please.” Demetrius scanned the surrounding field. The Malachite that had done this were long gone. Nothing moved on the darkened plain around them. He looked at Jade. She stared down into the darkened rectangle. “Jade.” He rose. “Go back to the car. I don’t want you to see this.” Jade shook her head, still looking down into the pit. “Someone could have survived. I can help. I can—” "Jade,” Demetrius said with tenderness. She blinked and turned to him. "No one survived. They wiped them out. I need you to honk the horn if you see anything suspicious. If you see anything move. Do you understand?” Jade swiveled her head, looking at the empty field around them. "Do you understand?” Jade nodded. He ran his hand over her cheek, grateful for her presence. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed her lips, surprised to find them trembling. He waited until she returned to his Bugatti Veyron before descending the stairs into the darkness. He didn’t need his keen eyesight to know of the destruction. He smelled death all around him. Charred skin filled his pores, leaked into his body, like a poison. He stopped before he reached the bottom of the stairs. They had been ambushed, trapped in the middle. A heaping pile of charred, decapitated bodies blocked his way.
He coughed, trying to clear his mouth of the wretched taste. It looked like some had been pushing toward the escape door and some had been running back into the hallway. From what he could see, on both sides of the bodies, the walls of the hallway had been seared and burned. Cowards that they were, the Malachite had come at them from both ends with fire guns. He inhaled deeply. Gasoline. Beneath the foul stench of scorched skin was the pungent aroma of gasoline. They had been doused and set ablaze with nowhere to go. They hadn’t even given them a chance to fight. Demetrius closed his eyes. His fists clenched tightly. They would pay. His fangs lengthened and a growl issued from his throat. His friends. His family! Some had fought the Malachite beside him. Now they were gone. All the fighters were gone. The heads of his friends lay scattered throughout the hallway, tossed without care. Their eyes open, their lips parted in an eternal silent scream, their skin charred black and unrecognizable. Anger pounded through him like a hammer striking a nail. He wanted to scream, he wanted to hunt the Malachite now. He wanted… Beep beep beep. Demetrius stiffened and whirled. The horn from his Bugatti Veyron rang in the night air.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE Jade slammed the door shut and locked the locks. She was certain that wouldn’t stop whoever was coming but she had no other options. She hit the horn three times before the shape reached the car, appearing suddenly at her window. She gasped and pulled back. The handle shook. “Jade.” At the sight of Bastian’s familiar form, relief coursed through Jade. She opened the door and got out. She parted her lips to greet him. A gust of wind burst by her and he was gone. Jade looked around at the empty field, confused. She caught sight of a swirl of dust, shadows in the night. It took a moment for her to realize what was happening. Like in the abandoned apartment when Demetrius fought the Malachite, Jade caught quick images of Bastian and Demetrius locked in battle. She stepped forward. “Stop it!” she shouted into the night, but she didn’t know where they were. “Demetrius!” A thump sounded behind her and she whirled around. Demetrius was on top of Bastian, his legs straddling his body, his hands curved into his shirt‐ front. He pulled his arm back and delivered a brutal blow to Bastian’s cheek. She rushed toward them. “Stop it!” "I’ll kill you, you bastard,” Demetrius snarled. “I’ll kill all of you for what you did here.” He yanked back his arm for another swing. Jade grabbed Demetrius’s arm, attempting to pull him off. “Stop! Bastian must have come here for a reason. Listen to him.” Demetrius spun on her, his fangs long, his eyes dark. “He came here to kill you. To finish me.” Jade withdrew at the menacing sight of him as a vampire. "If that were the case, I would have brought others,” Bastian argued. Demetrius whipped back to Bastian with a growl. “You’re arrogant enough to think you can do it alone.” Jade pushed her shock aside and leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Demetrius’s shoulders, curving her hands around the nape of his neck. She pressed herself close to Demetrius, hoping to shield Bastian. Demetrius only looked at Bastian with black, black eyes and long, sharp teeth. Jade placed her hands on his cheeks, caressing them, feeling his pain. She pressed her mouth to his, trying to soothe him, to calm him. His fangs retracted instantly beneath her kiss and he groaned in protest, but remained as still as a statue. She ran her lips over his, moving them languorously, slowly soothing, gentle. He had to think. And she knew he was acting instinctively by fighting Bastian. Demetrius thought his brother was an enemy. She had to get him out of his barbaric side and to think, to listen to what Bastian had to say. Demetrius pulled back to look at her. His eyes were normal, his mouth the Demetrius she was familiar with.
He grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her lips with sorrow and need. The anguish of his loss, his confusion and pain, mixed in the desperation of their kiss. He whispered her name. He held her against him, forehead to forehead. His eyes squeezed shut. When they parted, Jade’s gaze moved over his face. For just a moment, she saw his vulnerability, his need for her. She lifted her fingers to trace them along his lips. “He’s your brother. You have to hear him out.” Demetrius looked at Bastian. “You have exactly one minute to explain yourself.” "They didn’t tell me until it was over,” Bastian said. “When I saw the house on fire, I came here. I came to warn them.” "You expect me to believe you were going to risk your own life to warn my family? You expect me to believe you’re crossing family lines?” "My family is before me.” Demetrius’s furrowed brow rose in shock and he sat back, moving off of Bastian. "I came to help you. I thought you were in the house. I thought…” Bastian shook his head, his jaw clenched. Demetrius climbed to his feet. “I was in hiding. I was nowhere near here when they attacked.” "Where’s Luther?” "In the car.” Bastian walked to the Bugatti Veyron. Demetrius gathered Jade to him. He stared into her eyes and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Never kiss me when my fangs are out.” Jade nodded. She knew it was reckless, but it was the only thing she could do. Kiss a vampire. "He needs blood,” Bastian called. Demetrius held Jade against him with a fierce possessiveness and moved to the car. "That’s why we came here,” Demetrius said. “There was blood inside.” "You’ll have to take it from humans,” Bastian said. “There’s not enough time to find a new supply.” Jade shifted uneasily. She should offer her blood. Perhaps just a bit, but she didn’t want Luther touching her, let alone biting her. He tried to kill her. He had killed Rosaline. She rubbed her arms. Luther was Demetrius’s brother, but he was a killer. He wasn’t like Demetrius or Bastian. They had good in them. When she looked at Luther, she didn’t feel decency in him. She glanced at Demetrius and saw worry lining his brow. She looked at the charred bodies laying on the ground around them. He had lost so much already. How could she let him lose Luther, too? "How’d they know where we were?” Demetrius asked. “That vampire –” "Hades,” Bastian interjected. Demetrius straightened and looked at Bastian with wide, surprised eyes. “Hades? I thought he was a legend.” "Who’s Hades?” Jade asked. "A powerful ancient vampire that was drained and put in the ground centuries ago for daring to defy the family.” "What did he do?”
Demetrius shrugged. “Went against one of the family laws.” He looked at Bastian, his lip curling. “You’re working with him.” Bastian shook his head. “Ronald McColl is. Hades took Luther’s blood and relayed the information to Ronald, who in turn conveyed it to the Matriarch. Hades knows everything Luther knows.” Jade shook her head. “How?” "When we take someone’s blood, we know their lives. We share their memories. The more you take, the more you know,” Demetrius explained. “When Hades attacked Luther, he drained him. Everything Luther knows, every memory he has, Hades has knowledge of. Hades drained Luther of every drop of blood, leaving him trapped alive in his dying body. Luther needs blood before the sun rises or he will die.” Jade indicated the dead bodies with a turn of her hand. “Can’t you take it from the dead?” "Most have already bled out,” Bastian answered. "What about a hospital? They have stockpiles of blood.” "Too far. The closest hospital is forty five minutes away,” Demetrius said. “Sunrise is almost here. Luther needs to be in a dark place before sunrise.” "Even a transfusion is not going to be enough in that time,” Demetrius said, releasing Jade and started pacing. I’d have to get four people going now to have enough blood for him. And that’s pushing it.” "Or just one,” Bastian said meaningfully. Jade looked at him. “Why just one? Demetrius said he needed four people to transfer enough blood.” "One,” Bastian reiterated, staring at Demetrius. “One person if it was all of his blood.” Jade looked at Bastian, horrified. “That’s murder. You can’t do that.” "It might be the only way,” Demetrius relented with a nod. Jade shook her head. “You can’t do that. You can’t decide who lives and who dies. What gives you the right to kill someone?” Demetrius turned his head to her, his eyes dark and unreadable. “I’m a vampire.” "That doesn’t give you the right to kill,” Jade countered. “It’s a choice!” "Bastian, meet us at the Motel on Main street. You know the one, off the expressway,” Demetrius said. Bastian nodded. "Find one person,” Demetrius said softly, staring at Jade so she understood his meaning. "No,” she gasped. “Demetrius, you can’t. It’s not right.” Bastian turned away. "He’s my brother,” Demetrius said, turning to walk to the other side of the car. “I won’t let him die.” "Take my blood,” Jade insisted. Demetrius straightened. Bastian paused and glanced over his shoulder. "I heal fast. He could take more of my blood before I was in danger of dying.” "No,” Demetrius stated quietly.
"That way you could get two transfusions. You could do that. There’s enough time for two.” "No,” Demetrius reiterated. "Bastian, tell him. Tell him it’s a good idea. I heal fast. I could give Luther more blood.” "No!” Demetrius said firmly. Jade whirled on him. “You’re willing to kill someone to save your brother?” "He will not have your blood.” "You’d rather kill someone then let Luther drink my blood?” "Yes.” Jade stared, horrified. She shook her head. “I can’t let you do that.” "You can’t stop me.” "Demetrius. Think about what you’re doing.” He took a step toward her. “I am a vampire, Jade. I’ve killed many times before. One more to save my brother is worth the price.” Tears rose in her eyes. How could he be so heartless? How could he be so cold? “How can you pick one life over another?” "He is not only my brother, he is one of the last fighters left to my family. His life is worth more than all the mortals combined.” Jade flinched as if he had struck her. She was mortal. ~* * *~ Jade followed Demetrius into the motel room. He carried Luther to the bed and carefully laid him on it. Jade sat in a chair near the window. She glanced around the room. It was a typical motel room with one bed, one table, and one chair. Demetrius sat on the bed beside Luther, his gaze sweeping Luther’s face. "Jade,” Demetrius said softly, breaking the strained silence that had grown between them. “It has to be this way.” "Yes, killing is always the answer,” she said sarcastically. "In my world it is.” Jade turned to the curtained window. It would be sunrise soon. “You chose to make it your answer.” Demetrius clenched his teeth. “When Bastian returns, I want you to wait in the car.” Jade stood and reached up to draw the thick curtains closed. "I have to get some ice and another bucket. I’ll be right back. Bastian will be here any minute. Let him in.” Demetrius walked to the door where he paused. “Jade,” he whispered. “I want you to understand. I’m not the man from your book. This is who I am.” Jade ignored his statement, tugging the curtain into place. There was no use arguing with him. He waited a moment and then stepped out the door. Jade peeled aside the curtain to watch Demetrius walk toward the front office. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? Why wouldn’t he let her help? Maybe he was watching out for her safety. Maybe it was jealousy. No one would take her blood. Either way, the thought of someone dying because of his misguided morals was too much for her. She sighed and ran her fingers down a drip of condensation on the window. A small crack
stretched from the corner diagonally across the pane of glass. The window. She looked for Demetrius, but he had already entered the office. She was never good at following orders. She balled her fist. It shouldn’t take a lot of pressure to break the window. She steeled herself. Once she started, there would be no going back. She smashed her fist into the glass. The crack spiked across the window. She was lucky it was a single layer and not those thermal panes. She doubted she would be able to break one of those. She pulled back and hit the glass with all her might. The glass exploded outward. Pain spiraled up her arm as shards stabbed at her skin. Jade grit her teeth. She looked at her fist through the window. She wasn’t bleeding enough to feed Luther. One broken shard pointed up at her wrist, still embedded in the window. Jade knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and shoved her wrist down onto it. Biting agony speared up from her wrist. With any luck, she had severed a vein. She opened her eyes. The shard had broken off and was embedded in her wrist. Pain shot up her arm. Jade pulled her hand back and quickly moved to Luther’s side. She wasn’t sure how this entire thing worked. She looked at his face for the briefest of seconds. He had tried to kill her. She was not doing this for Luther. She was doing this for Demetrius. Luther was his brother. And Demetrius cared for him. Jade looked at the piece of glass in her wrist. She tried to ignore the pain, tried to block it out. A thousand tiny spears of agony flared up from her arm. She grasped the glass and pulled it from her wrist, crying out at the pain as the sharp shard ripped out of her skin. Blood exploded across the bed, spurting, and she knew she had hit an artery. She held it above Luther’s mouth. Blood dripped onto his lips and down his chin. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t drinking. She pulled his lips apart and put her wrist against his mouth. Blood flowed into his mouth. She looked into his eyes. They still were glassy and unseeing. Was she doing something wrong? Why wasn’t he drinking? Why wasn’t he moving? “Come on,” she whispered. She reached around to the nape of his head and held his head upright. That was when she felt the pressure on her wrist. He was sucking on her arm! It was working. His eyes looked empty, but there was life in his body or maybe it was just instinct. Relief swept through her. He would live. Demetrius should be happy. The door opened and Bastian entered the room with a man behind him. “Jade!” She held up her free hand. “Get the other human going with the transfusion.” "You don’t understand. If his fangs emerge, he’ll cut your skin. You’ll turn into one of us.” "Then you’d better hurry.”
CHAPTER THIRTY When Demetrius stepped out of the office with the bucket, the coppery scent of blood hit him. He hoped it was Bastian starting the transfusion. With each step back toward the hotel room, his apprehension grew and his speed increased. Even if Bastian had started the transfusion, the smell was too strong. He threw the door open and stepped into the room. A man sat in a chair beside the bed. His clothing was worn, his chin stubbled with beard. His eyes rolled in his head as if he were on the verge of sleep. Bastian inserted a needle into Luther’s arm. A long tube connected it to the stranger’s arm. Jade sat beside Luther, her wrist against Luther’s mouth, her hand bloodied and scratched. "No!” Demetrius called, throwing the bucket aside, and lurched forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. He yanked her arm free of Luther’s mouth. Blood spurted from her wrist. Immediately, Demetrius put his hand over her cut, applying pressure. He looked into her lidded eyes in horror. Oh God, no. Trepidation soared through him as he snapped his gaze to Luther. His brother’s eyes weren’t dark, his teeth weren’t fangs yet. "You’re wasting it. It can go to Luther,” Jade whispered. Demetrius looked down at her arm. Bright red blood seeped from beneath is palm to drip on the beige carpet. He put more pressure on her wrist, wanting to stem the flow of her lifeblood. Deep inside of him, the churning of fear gripped his heart. She had lost so much blood. Even now, he couldn’t get it to stop. "Here.” Bastian handed him a cup. Demetrius angrily swatted it away, rage rising inside of him. “How could you let her do this?” "She had her wrist in his mouth when I walked in,” Bastian answered. Demetrius growled low in his throat. “Damn it, Jade.” "I heal, Demetrius. I wanted to help you. And you wouldn’t let me. You never let me.” Demetrius lifted his eyes from her wrist to her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes were lidded and half hidden from his view. Again, the surge of concern washed over him. Was that why she did this? To help him? He would never have let her give her blood to Luther. He didn’t want her to be a feast for his brother. He wanted no other vampire to touch her, to feed from her. But it was more than that. He didn’t want Luther to know things about her that he didn’t, personal things like where she had learned of his past. She sagged against him. Demetrius caught her in his arms and eased her to the floor, cradling her in his arms. “You’re losing too much blood.” "I hit an artery,” Jade told him. Alarm shot through Demetrius. She’d bleed to death. Jade lifted a hand to run it along his jaw leaving a smear of blood. “I’m healing already. The blood is slowing. Go. Get another person to help Luther.” "I’m not leaving you.” "I’ll go,” Bastian said. He checked the tube one more time, making sure the blood was flowing from the donor into his brother, and then headed out the door.
Demetrius looked down at Jade. Damn it. Damn it. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t let her go. “Jade,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.” "Don’t worry. You’ve seen how fast I heal.” "This is so much deeper then the cuts from the broken glasses. Why did you do it? Why?” She tried to laugh, but it came out weak. Her lids began to swoop closed over her eyes. “You never listen to me. You never let me help you. I can do this.” Demetrius squeezed her tight. “Jade. It’s too much blood.” "I’m going to pass out,” she said simply. “Don’t worry. Give me time. My body will do it. Give my blood to Luther.” "You gave him enough.” "He’s your brother. You need him.” Demetrius pressed his lips to hers. “Not more than you,” he whispered against her forehead. The door opened and Bastian entered with a woman in his arms. She was in a sheer negligee. He shut the door behind him, locked it and set her on the floor near the bed. Her head lolled to the side in sleep. “How you doing, Jade?” Jade snuggled against Demetrius’s chest. “Don’t press down so hard. It really hurts.” When Demetrius let his grip up, more blood escaped from her body. It wasn’t the bright red of before. It was a deeper red. The tiny cuts on her hand were almost gone. She was healing! “How did you cut yourself? How did you do this?” "I put my fist through the window.” "I don’t want you to hurt yourself like this again.” Although, he had to admit, she must have hit it hard to smash through a sheet of glass. She must have been really determined. Bastian studied Luther. “His eyes are dark. It won’t be long until his fangs come.” He returned to the woman. Demetrius stroked Jade’s dark hair. He inhaled deeply, searching for her scent. The only thing he smelled was the thick scent of blood. He fought down the instant response of hunger and concentrated on Jade. She was so stubborn! Why hadn’t she listened to him? The thought of Luther drinking her blood caused a surge of anger to rush through him. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the bed. His fury wouldn’t help Jade. She had to fight this on her own. Her grip on his arm loosened and her breathing slowed. Bastian looked over to them. “You okay?” "She’s out,” Demetrius announced. “You get everything set up?” Bastian nodded. “Two transfusions. I think he’ll be alright.” "Jade’s bleeding has slowed. It’s remarkable.” Demetrius’s cell phone vibrated. He flipped it open and answered it. “Jupiter?” "Where is Chip?” Jupiter demanded from the other end. “I’ve tried to reach him –” "He’s dead.” "What?” "They’re all dead. The Malachite attacked the house. They didn’t have a chance.” "How could the Malachite know where the house –” Demetrius grit his teeth. “Luther was attacked by Hades. He drained him.”
"Hades?” Jupiter interrupted. “Impossible.” "Apparently he’s working with the Malachite. He relayed everything Luther knew to them. They attacked the house. It was on fire when I got there. None of the fighters in the house survived.” Silence stretched for a long moment before Jupiter asked, “Where are you?” Demetrius glanced at Bastian where he checked the woman and then the tube connected to Luther. “We’re at the motel by the expressway. Luther has two transfusions going.” "We?” "Luther and I…and Jade.” He purposely didn’t include Bastian. Jupiter would never understand. As far as he was concerned, Bastian was Malachite, an enemy. Just as he had believed. More silence. Demetrius knew he’d better come clean. “Jade was with me in hiding. Hades must have tracked us there.” "Who is she?” There was a strained tone in Jupiter’s voice. Demetrius looked down at Jade cushioned against his chest. He didn’t understand the question. She was Jade Smith. "Take her blood, Demetrius.” Demetrius clenched his teeth against the command. He lifted his hand from Jade’s wrist. Her blood no longer spurted from the cut. It oozed out. He wouldn’t do it. Not to Jade. "Did you hear me, Demetrius? It’s an order. Take her blood. Now.” Blood was everywhere. It stained both of their jeans. It coated her wrist in a glistening red. It covered his hand in a thick layer of enticing sheen. Thirst pounded through him. He lifted his hand before him. A ravenous hunger churned in him. He wanted just a taste. Just a lick. Jade’s blood coated his fingers in a delectable wine, one he couldn’t resist. The blood called to him, enticed him. His will weakened. "Do it now or I will later.” Demetrius clenched his jaw. He hated being commanded. Still, Jupiter’s threat about doing it later pushed him to the brink. He had to do it. He lifted one blood‐coated finger and put it into his mouth… A blast of white scorched through him. The image of Jade running through the night flashed before him. Another picture of Luther with a deadly grin on his face. With each picture came understanding. Luther had tried to kill her. He was going to kill her. Demetrius’s own image standing in the doorway of her apartment. Her hands typing on her laptop. Many more images of people he didn’t know. Faster they came. Blurring. Until there was only darkness. And then something else. Through the darkness, he could see the images in the distance as they came closer. A separate life. A white handled dagger in her chest. Luther in a tunic, breaches and black leather boots. Demetrius in armor. Bastian cheering as he sat on a fence. The images subsided and floated away as if on a breeze. Demetrius felt himself reaching for them, not wanting them to end. Rosaline. His Rosaline.
He opened his eyes and slowly took his finger from his mouth. The cell phone fell from his ear. Moisture ran over his cheeks and he was shocked to find his tears dripping onto Jade’s face as he looked down at her. “Rosaline,” he whispered reverently. That’s how she knew his story so intimately, so completely. She hadn’t researched it. She hadn’t heard it somewhere. She had lived it. She was Rosaline. His Rosaline.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE "Demetrius!” The voice shook the cell phone lying on the carpet. Like a fierce tornado, anger flooded through every pore of Demetrius’s body. He snapped his burning gaze to Luther. Like a churning wind of fury, his senses swept up any rational thought. His fangs burst forth. "Demetrius!” Jupiter’s voice bellowed from the cell phone again. Luther had killed Rosaline. And he had tried to kill Jade. Demetrius lurched for Luther, his hands outstretched, his lips curled in a snarl. Bastian caught him around the stomach, shoving him back across the other side of the bed. “What are you doing?!” Demetrius pushed Bastian aside and he flew against the wall, landing with a loud thump. Demetrius ripped one of the tubes from Luther’s arm before Bastian caught him again and pulled him off. "What are you doing?” Bastian hollered, trying to hold him back. Demetrius growled, struggling to free himself from Bastian’s hold. All rational thought was gone, all he knew was that Luther had betrayed him. He had killed Rosaline! He had tried to hurt Jade. He surged forward. "Demetrius!” Bastian lost ground, but shifted to block his way with his body, using his shoulder and arms to hold him back, his feet to brace himself. “What’s wrong with you? He’ll die!” Demetrius bumped into the woman on the floor and she fell over onto her side. "He deserves far worse,” Demetrius snarled and pressed forward, his hands outstretched for the other line of blood, the one connecting the woman and Luther. Bastian used the bed to kick off of and shoved forward, knocking him back. They crashed onto the corner of the table and the needles and tubes spilled onto the floor. They rolled across the carpet toward the door, flipping each other in their effort to achieve their goal. Demetrius tried to free himself to kill Luther, but Bastian held him back. "Give him the opportunity to survive so you can kill him fairly.” Still, Demetrius crawled forward, wanting to destroy his traitorous brother. "Take care of Jade,” Bastian ordered, his hands around Demetrius’s waist. “She needs you now!” The fight left Demetrius. He turned to look at Jade. She had slumped over onto her side, her dark hair spread across the beige carpet. Covered in her own blood, Jade looked like a crime scene victim. The thought sobered him immediately. She was mortal. Dying for her was a very real possibility. He stopped struggling. His fangs disappeared as guilt tore through him. He should be caring for Jade, not extracting revenge on his brother. Demetrius shoved Bastian from him and crawled over to Jade. He gathered her tenderly in his arms, lifted her and moved her to the wall farthest away from Luther. Bastian hurriedly returned to Luther. He reattached the spurting lines of blood. “What happened?” he asked as he worked. Demetrius stroked a lock Jade’s dark hair from her forehead and ran a finger down her cheek. “He tried to kill her,” he snarled softly.
"What?” Bastian asked, looking at Demetrius in shock before returning back to his task. “Why would he do that?” "Because she is Rosaline and he has already killed her once.” The storm of his anger churned within him. Bastian finished his work and sat on the edge of the bed. "All these years,” Demetrius said and shook his head sadly. “He took her away from me.” He squeezed Jade and kissed her head. When he looked down at her face, anguish consumed him. He had missed her. For all these years, he had missed Rosaline. “My own brother. Damn it, Bastian. He tried again. He tried to kill Jade. It wasn’t enough that he took Rosaline.” "It doesn’t make sense.” "He gave me his word. He told me he would never hurt her.” A low growl started deep in his throat as his rage boiled inside him. “All these years…centuries of chasing and killing and fighting the Malachite. For nothing. For nothing!” He looked at Bastian. “They weren’t at fault. They didn’t kill Rosaline. I’ve been hunting them for nothing.” Bastian leaned toward Demetrius, his arms on his knees. "And you,” Demetrius said to Bastian. “You were right. You were right about the Malachite. And I pushed you away. I accused you of siding with them.” "Don’t, Demetrius. I was as angry as you were.” Demetrius shook his head, gritting his teeth. “You never would have went with the Malachite if I didn’t accuse you of betraying me. I was wrong. I was wrong all along. I never should have…I never meant…” Bastian shook his head. “Apology accepted. Let’s move on.” Demetrius shook his head, staring at his brother. The brother he had alienated. The brother he had pushed away while he remained true to his other, traitor brother. He lifted his hand, outstretched to Bastian. “It’s good to have you back, brother.” Bastian clasped his arm warmly, smiling. When their hands separated, Demetrius’s gaze came to rest on Luther. “He stole centuries from me. He stole my love.” "You can start over now. You have Jade.” "Luther was the one who betrayed me.” "Demetrius. Put it in the past or you will spend another century seeking vengeance while time passes you by.” "Time is something I have plenty of.” "But Jade doesn’t.” Demetrius looked down at her. Bastian was right. She was mortal and would remain that way. He didn’t have time to waste with revenge. He needed to start living now. With Jade. "Council is going to want revenge on the Malachite.” "They’re weak now. They will need to build their fighters again. We’ll probably go underground for a half a decade for recruitment and training.” "What about Jade?” Demetrius glanced at her. He stroked a strand of dark hair from her pale cheek. “I don’t know. I’m afraid if I bring her to Council, they’ll want to run tests on her. She has a special healing
power. She heals faster than I do. I’m afraid they’ll think her ability will be an edge over the Malachite. I don’t know what they’ll want to do to her.” "Will you let them?” Demetrius’s gaze swept her face. She looked so pale, so defenseless. It was what Jade was afraid of, that his family would run tests on her. His teeth clenched hard. “What choice do I have?” Bastian took a deep breath and sat up straight. “As one of the few remaining fighters, I think you have a large choice.” Demetrius scowled. As one of the two remaining de Nouviant fighters, he was important to his family. They would need him to train others, need him to defend them against the Malachite. Bastian was right. He had power now. He could make demands of them that he wouldn’t have dared before. He nodded and pulled Jade close to him. No one would harm her. He would kill all of them if they hurt Jade. No one would take her from him again. No one. His gaze locked on Luther. Rage boiled inside him, igniting a powerful need for vengeance. "And what of Luther?” Bastian asked quietly. “I know what it’s like to go centuries regretting your actions.” "He didn’t regret his actions. He tried to recreate them.” "I’m talking about you. Be careful of the choice you make.” ~* * *~ Demetrius leaned his head back against the wall, his arm around Jade. He had washed her skin free of blood as best he could with a wet towel from the bathroom. Her cut was almost completely gone. It had been a horrible cut, powerful enough to sever her artery. But now, it was almost as if it had never happened. She slept peacefully in his arms. Bastian returned the two humans to where he had found them. They would be none the wiser for what had happened. They would never know that Jade’s selflessness had saved their lives. Luther slept on the bed, never regaining consciousness. His fangs had elongated and retracted. He would be fine… Until he faced Demetrius. Bastian sat patiently and calmly in a chair near the window. Occasionally, he would pull the curtain away from the window and look out into the daylight. Demetrius yanked a blanket from beneath Luther and covered Jade with it. He held her against him, needing to feel her breathing. “What will you do now?” he asked Bastian, breaking the silence. "The Matriarch doesn’t trust me. That much is obvious.” He shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll go back.” "They’ll just let you walk away?” Bastian looked out the window again, the sunlight splashing over his sunglasses. “I’m hoping for a large head start.” Demetrius heard a story long ago of a vampire who tried to separate from the Malachite. Rumor had it the Matriarch had him hunted down. His arms and legs were cut off and he was
allowed to bleed, alive, while a lion chewed on him. After that, he was decapitated. Demetrius would never allow something like that to happen to Bastian. “You can join the de Nouviant.” Bastian chuckled. “I could no more join them than I could betray the Malachite.” "They’ll protect you.” Bastian shook his head. “I don’t need protecting. I need to disappear.” "And then what? Will you always look over your shoulder?” Bastian shrugged again. Suddenly, the door slammed open. Demetrius surged to his feet, his fangs lengthened, his knees bent and ready for action. Jupiter stood in the doorway, his eyes dark, his fangs lethal. Bastian bent as if to leap, his hands curved and ready for battle. His long, sharp teeth opened to emit a hiss of challenge. Immediately, Demetrius stepped between the two vampires, separating them with his body. His fangs disappeared, but his eyes remained dark. “It’s alright, Jupiter.” Jupiter scanned the room, stopping on Luther and Jade. He straightened, but his teeth did not recede. His gaze locked on Bastian. “You helped save our fighters. In repayment, I will not kill you. This time. Leave now. The others won’t be as forgiving as I, Malachite.” Bastian’s stance didn’t ease. His lips hardened into a slash. Jupiter entered the room crossing with no movement as if he were floating. He moved to Luther’s side. Demetrius glanced at Bastian. He nodded in gratitude to him. He owed him many, many times over, for centuries of hate and wrongful accusations. Bastian returned the nod of camaraderie, of brotherhood. For a moment, they stood, staring at each other. Something passed between Demetrius and Bastian, something that went beyond mere words. Demetrius knew he could go to Bastian for anything. He knew Bastian would be there for him. Their brotherhood was back. And then, Bastian was gone. Demetrius turned his gaze to Jupiter who took Luther’s arm. He bent his head over it, taking a small amount of blood. Demetrius remembered another scene long ago, when Jupiter had turned Luther. He had taken Luther’s blood then, too. All this time, Jupiter had known about Luther! Chills raked up his spine. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew that Luther killed Rosaline.” Jupiter licked his lips and turned to Demetrius. “Would it have mattered if I told you?” The sting of betrayal sliced through Demetrius. “Bastian was my brother.” "He was Malachite. There was no going back.” "He only became Malachite because I thought he betrayed me!” Demetrius’s fists curled. “You kept it from me all these years. Just like Luther.” "It didn’t matter. She was gone. If I told you, it would only have upset the balance of the family. We couldn’t afford a battle in the ranks.” Demetrius shook his head. “It wasn’t fair to Bastian.” "He is Malachite, Demetrius. He is your enemy.” "He crossed family lines for me. He isn’t our enemy. He isn’t my enemy. He saved Luther when I would have ripped his head off.”
Jupiter rose. “You can profess your loyalty to him before me, but be careful what you say before Council. Bastian is still Malachite.” Demetrius understood the warning, but he hated it. He hated thinking his blood brother was not welcomed in his family, that Bastian risked his life to save him and now he was an outcast because of it, not welcomed in either family, hunted by both. "So, this is Jade Smith,” Jupiter said, stepping past Demetrius. Demetrius moved quickly to Jade’s side. Startled, Jupiter pulled back. “You think I would harm her?” Demetrius lifted his lip in a silent snarl. “I’m not willing to risk it,” Demetrius said quietly. Truthfully, he didn’t know any longer if Jupiter was trustworthy. How could he keep Luther’s betrayal a secret from him? From the very beginning when they had been turned, Jupiter knew it had been Luther who killed Rosaline. The two men stared at each other for a long moment. Jupiter was an ancient vampire, as old as Council itself, powerful in his own right. Demetrius didn’t know all the powers he possessed. And he didn’t, truthfully, know whether he could defend Jade against him. But if he had to, he would damn well try. Finally, Jupiter took a step back, relenting. The door opened and Ares and Apollo stood in the entrance. "It’s time to leave,” Jupiter said. He pointed to Jade. “Bring her.”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO Jade moved quickly, urgently through a forest of green, the sun warm on her shoulders. She cast a glance over her shoulder. Something was coming. The comforting rays of the sun were disappearing as it suddenly set. Demetrius appeared far ahead of her. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear his words. She started to run. The forest passed on either side of her, but Demetrius never seemed to get closer. And it was getting dark. She turned around and saw a black cloud spreading over the lands like a hand. The shadows of the trees and bushes were lengthening and spreading, joining the darkness. She stretched out her hands toward Demetrius, calling to him, running toward him, but she couldn’t move fast enough. She looked over her shoulder again. The darkness was moving, alive. A creature of light, Demetrius’s voice echoed softly in her mind. The darkness expanded faster now, coming toward her. It covered everything in its path, consuming the forest. Is that why it was after her? Because she was a creature of light? She looked back at Demetrius. Behind him, Luther appeared. He raised a white‐handled dagger above his head and arced it down toward Demetrius’s back! Jade sat up with a startled cry. Her gaze darted around the unfamiliar room, from the three beautiful people standing together at one side of the room, to the wooden door, to the television tuned into CNN. Demetrius grasped her hands. He knelt before her. “Easy,” he whispered. “You’re safe.” Her eyes locked with his, and some of her fear dissipated. She clutched his strong hands. “Where’s Luther?” "In one of the bedrooms,” Demetrius whispered. Jade realized she slept on a sofa, a warm, velvet blanket covering her legs. “Where are we?” Demetrius shrugged slightly. “Safe.” He lifted a hand to reverently stroke her cheek. Jade couldn’t look away from his stare. There was such tenderness in his gaze that she had the strangest feeling she had been away for a very long time and was suddenly home. She caught his hand against her cheek and nuzzled it, pressing a kiss to his palm. The three other people in the room walked over. Demetrius stood, keeping Jade’s hand firmly in his. Jade swung her legs from the couch. The room spun for a moment and Jade clutched the blanket, willing the spinning to cease. "Are you alright, Jade?” Demetrius asked, concern in his voice. Jade nodded, placing her fingertips at her forehead. “Yes. I lost a lot of blood, but my body is recovering.” "Yes, you are,” one of the three stated. “Very admirably. A normal mortal would not have recovered so quickly.” Jade looked up at him. He was a very handsome man. His deep blue eyes held a twinkle of the sun and his golden hair was perfectly combed back away from his very handsome face. The way he moved was elegant and commanding. Even his voice was sweet and soft and hypnotic.
And then it struck her. She glanced at the other two. The second man had perfect dark hair, and the way he moved was a graceful rhythm. Almost like a dancer. And the woman…she was the most beautiful woman Jade had ever seen. Her golden hair fell over her shoulders in a perfect array of curls. Her eyes were large and blue like the sky on a clear day. They were vampires. Her mouth dropped and she glanced up at Demetrius. "And so lovely,” the woman said, reaching out to her. Demetrius seized her wrist, halting her fingers from touching Jade’s skin. Demetrius and the woman locked eyes for a moment and then the woman raised her chin and withdrew her hand. Without taking his gaze from the three of them, Demetrius introduced, “Jade, this is Jupiter, Apollo and Venus.” It only took a moment before Jade remembered her history lessons. Jupiter, Apollo, and Venus. She almost smiled. Names of Greek and Roman gods. She wondered if they had named themselves or… The other choice was sobering. All humor left her, vanishing beneath the chilling thought. Had the Romans and the Greeks named their gods after these vampires? "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jade,” Jupiter said formally. Jade nodded a greeting. “How is Luther?” "Recovering,” Apollo said. “It was very kind of you to offer your blood for his survival.” "I did it for Demetrius,” Jade admitted. Apollo nodded and cast a quick, speculative glance at Demetrius. “No doubt.” "The way you heal is impressive,” Venus cooed. Her beautiful eyes swept Jade and there was something predatory in her look. Something hungry. A chill peppered Jade’s neck. Her hand tightened around Demetrius’s. "How did you acquire such a skill?” Would they want to stick her with needles now? Run tests? Or maybe just drink her blood? She glanced at the door behind the three vampires. “I’ve always had it,” Jade replied. “For as long as I can remember.” "And your parents?” Jupiter asked. “Did they have the same skill?” "I never knew my parents. My mother gave me up for adoption.” "Did you ever try to contact her?” "No,” Jade said, feeling uncomfortable being questioned about such personal things from strangers. Apollo glanced at Demetrius and then Jupiter. “There could be siblings with the same skills as Jade.” Jupiter nodded. “We’ll start to work on it immediately. Venus.” Venus nodded. She smiled at Jade in a sultry, superior way. “It was…delicious to meet you.” She swung her shapely hips as she walked out of the room. Apollo knelt beside the sofa, next to Jade. “You know of our battle with the Malachite. You know what they did to our family. We need your help, Jade.” "Apollo,” Demetrius warned, the word a low rumble in his throat. Jade swallowed. "Your blood may hold the key to healing for us,” Apollo continued, his voice silky and persuasive.
"No,” Demetrius snapped. “No one is taking blood from Jade.” Slowly, Apollo stood, looking at Jade with his profoundly blue eyes. Strength radiated from his toned body. His eyes narrowed slightly and he raised his chin. "It’s her decision,” Apollo said softly. "Not when you use your persuasion on her.” "It’s alright, Demetrius.” She looked at Apollo. “I understand your need for revenge against the Malachite. But your family is strong and capable. You certainly don’t need the blood of a mortal.” "Your blood is special,” Apollo objected. “I’ve never seen someone with your ability to heal.” "From what I understand, your own ability to heal is quite impressive.” "If we can find out what makes your blood different and duplicate it, it could give us the edge in fighting and eradicating our enemies.” Eradicating. The word sent a terrible chill through her. It was genocide. She squeezed Demetrius’s hand. “Your family has money, they have power, they have resources at their fingertips. If your family can’t defeat them without my blood, then you don’t deserve to win.” Anger flashed like lightning in Apollo’s wide eyes. His jaw clenched hard. He looked at Jupiter. Jade licked her lips nervously. “I respectfully decline to offer my blood.” "We will honor your wish,” Jupiter said. “But if you change your mind…” Jade nodded. Jupiter put a hand on Apollo’s shoulder and gazed into his eyes meaningfully. “We will honor her wish,” he repeated to Apollo. Apollo nodded tightly. Then, the two began to walk away. Demetrius turned to Jade with a look of disbelief dancing in his eyes. Jade wasn’t finished with them. She rose from the sofa. “Who is Hades?” she asked, loudly, calling to them. They both stopped simultaneously as if the word had power over them. They faced her once again, but there was a change in their countenance, a dark, shadowed look in their eyes. "Ah yes, Hades. I heard you had a run in with our brother,” Jupiter said. Of course he was their brother. Hades, another Greek god. Ancient. Powerful. “What does he want from me?” Jupiter cocked his head. “What did he say to you?” Jade looked at Demetrius for reassurance, but he was guarded and distant. “He said he wanted me.” No surprise crossed Jupiter’s face. "He called me his love and was surprised when I didn’t recognize him. He said that he waited a long time for me.” Jade leaned forward. “What is he talking about?” "Centuries ago, Hades broke the family law. As punishment, he was drained of his blood, as he did to Luther, and staked through the heart. We buried him. Truthfully, I thought him gone. We didn’t think we’d ever see him again.” Jade gasped. “In England. You buried him in England. I remember seeing a picture on the Internet of a hole in the ground in a cemetery. It was on the Internet news. They thought it was
grave robbers, but I remember thinking that it didn’t look like someone dug a hole into the grave, but that someone had gotten out of the hole.” Jupiter shrugged, nodding. “How he managed that is beyond my comprehension. You saw Luther. Alive, and yet not alive.” Jade scowled, horrified. “You buried Hades that way? Alive and yet not alive?” "That was his punishment. His crime was unforgivable. One does not go against the authority of the family.” Jupiter took a step toward her. “You don’t seem to understand, Jade. You are trying to give Hades human qualities. He is not human. He is evil. Whatever he wants of you cannot be good.”
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE "He’s hiding something,” Jade whispered after Jupiter left the room. Demetrius tried not to show his surprise. It seemed strange Jupiter had not been more specific. What rule had Hades broken? What crime had he committed that was so unforgivable? Instead, he sat beside Jade on the couch. “Why do you say that?” Jade shrugged. “I just have this feeling…” Her voice trailed off. Apprehension shivered through Demetrius’s body. The same kind of feeling she had when she thought of her story? His life? Rosaline’s life? He put his arm around her shoulder, grateful she was awake, thankful her beautiful eyes were once again open. He lifted her hand before his eyes, inspecting it. Her skin was smooth, no sign of the ugly gashes that had marred it the night before. “How do you feel?” Jade turned her head to look at him. “Thirsty.” "Sit.” When she retook her spot on the sofa, Demetrius reached over to a side table where a glass of ice water sat. He handed it to her. Jade studied the water for a moment. “Aren’t you supposed to give juice to someone who has lost a lot of blood?” Demetrius shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.” Jade smiled and took a sip. ~* * *~ Demetrius sat on the couch, his legs stretched out before him, his arms extended across the back. He watched Jade pace the room, back and forth. Like a caged lion. She had studied the entire room, roaming about, touching the wood, turning the television on and off. Sitting, standing, sitting and finally standing. "How long do we have to stay here?” she asked. "I don’t know,” he answered. He understood her restlessness. She was a runner. Whenever there was trouble, she took off. And now she was trapped in a place she didn’t know with people she didn’t trust and no escape. She plopped herself down onto the couch. Demetrius reached for her. She was up again, pacing. Finally, she stopped and looked at him. “We should leave.” "And go where?” He stood and went to her, running a hand along her cheek. “We’re safe here, Jade. There is no place safer right now.” Jade shook her head. “There’s no window. No sunlight. I feel like I’m in a crypt.” Demetrius lifted an eyebrow and a corner of his lip quirked up in a grin. Jade rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” She shook her head. Demetrius chuckled softly. “Looks like you have to get used to some things.” A grudging smile spread across her lips and she bowed her head in embarrassment. Demetrius hooked a finger beneath her chin and lifted it. His gaze traveled slowly over her face, from her large eyes shining in happiness to her pert little nose and finally to her luscious lips. He pressed his mouth against hers and instantly hardened. It had been too long since they had been together. He wanted her again, but this was not the place. He quickly stepped away
from her and pointed to a table across the room. He eyed her blood‐spattered jeans. “You’re driving everyone crazy.” Especially him, but his madness had nothing to do with the blood on her jeans. “Venus left some clothes for you.” Jade walked across the room to the table. "In a bag beneath the table,” Demetrius explained. Jade bent and pulled the brown bag from under the table. She set it on the top of the table and opened it. A soft gasp issued from her lips as she pulled out the silky red fabric. She reverently held it up to her chest. “I can’t take this.” "Yes, you can. And you will. For your own safety.” Jade ran her fingers over the fabric again. “Where can I change?” Demetrius pointed to a door at the far end of the room. “It’s a bathroom.” Jade grabbed the bag and headed for the room. Demetrius sat on the couch, listening to the rustling of clothing. He turned on the television and scanned the news stations for any attacks or anything unusual that might indicate what the Malachite or Hades were up to. From the bathroom, the shifting of clothing stopped and Demetrius straightened. He debated rushing in to check on Jade and waited a very long second before he stood. The door opened a crack. “I can’t wear this,” Jade called from the mere slit. "Doesn’t it fit? Venus is usually very good at sizing people.” "No. It’s just…not something I would wear.” Jade emerged from the bathroom. Demetrius’s jaw dropped. String straps held the silky red shirt that invited touching. It knotted at the junction of Jade’s breasts, leaving a ‘v’ above and below, revealing far too much skin. Her stomach was flat and white and the shirt moved over her with an elegant caress. The denim skirt she wore started just below her hips and was far too short, leaving her long legs bare. Demetrius swallowed heavily. It was something Venus would wear, but she would know Jade wouldn’t. Damn her. “Are you…” He cleared his throat. “Are you cold?” Jade walked across the room and Demetrius thought he would die for want of her. "No,” she said quietly. “It’s just that…” She wrapped her hands around her waist, covering her bare stomach. “Don’t you think it’s too…revealing?” Demetrius tried to count to ten before answering. He only got to three before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the passion and all the want scorching through his veins. Her tiny body pressed against his and he ran his hands along the soft silky top. A knock sounded on the door. Jade pulled back, her eyes lidded with a sultry invitation. “Can I take that as a yes?” "Too revealing for everyone but me.” He lifted his black t‐shirt over his head and handed it to her. Jade slipped the shirt over her head. When she pulled it down, it fell below the skirt line, making her appear as though she were only wearing his shirt. Demetrius silently cursed Venus again and then called, “Come in.” The door opened and Apollo announced, “Luther is awake. He would like to speak with you.” Demetrius looked at Jade. “I’m not leaving you alone. If you want to go with me, I’ll go.” Jade stepped forward, eased her hand into his and nodded.
~* * *~ Demetrius clenched his teeth at the door to Luther’s room. All he wanted to do was rip out Luther’s throat. What could Luther say to him after his betrayal? What could he tell him? Apollo opened the door and stepped into the room, standing aside to give Demetrius entrance. Demetrius followed, grateful Jade was with him. She calmed the anger bubbling inside him, and gave him a sense of peace. He squeezed her hand. Jupiter leaned against the wall near the bed, his arms crossed. Venus sat on the bed beside Luther. Ares lounged in a chair near a table not far from the bed. Bags of blood lay spread out on the table. Diana stood at the other side of the bed opposite Venus. Demetrius wasn’t fooled by their calm demeanor. They weren’t here because of worry over Luther. They weren’t here to offer comfort for a sick vampire. They were here to make sure he didn’t kill Luther. Luther sat up in the bed. His dark eyes shifted to Demetrius and Jade as they entered. Demetrius’s lips thinned at the sight of his brother. He started forward, but when Jade held back, he paused and turned to her. He kissed her hand and then released it to approach the bed. Venus rose and moved past Demetrius, looking at Jade with a chuckle of amusement. She found Jade’s choice of clothing entertaining. Demetrius disagreed with a quiet hiss. Jade hugged herself as if she were cold, but didn’t move from beside the door. Demetrius stood stoically at Luther’s bedside. He had no greeting for his traitorous brother, no warm smile. He fought to keep his calm disposition. “What do you want?” Demetrius demanded, not quite succeeding in keeping anger from his tone. Something flashed in Luther’s eyes before he bowed his head. “You know.” Demetrius clenched his jaw. “Why?” he growled. "So many reasons,” Luther said softly. "List one,” Demetrius commanded. Luther took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Demetrius’s face twisted in rage. He wanted to grasp Luther and pull him from the bed to pummel him. His fists clenched at his side. “You killed the woman I loved. How could you not have meant to hurt me?” Luther didn’t look at Demetrius. “I thought you would forget her. You had an eternity to search for someone else.” "I didn’t want anyone else. I wanted Rosaline. And you killed her and made it look like the Malachite did it.” "I didn’t realize how much she meant to you.” His words were soft. "What about Jade? You knew how much she meant to me.” Luther sat, unmoving beneath Demetrius’s accusations. "I killed the Malachite because of you. I slaughtered them when they had nothing to do with Rosaline’s death!” He stopped when Jupiter pushed away from the wall and took a step toward
him. Ares rose out of his chair. Demetrius couldn’t control the fury sweeping through him like the winds of a hot storm. “And what of Bastian? You said nothing when I condemned him. You stood there and let me do it.” Demetrius’s eyesight changed then. He saw everything. The shadows faded and all light was allowed in. He knew his eyes had changed to black, but he couldn’t stop the bolt of rage shooting through him. “He was your brother, too.” "It was too late then. I had already done it. I couldn’t take it back. I couldn’t tell you.” "Because you’re a coward!” Demetrius roared. “All these years of fighting…for nothing! You let me live as a monster. My life was an immortal death without her!” Luther helplessly shook his head. Demetrius lunged forward, seizing his shirt in his fists. His teeth lengthened. “Tell me why. Why did you do it?” Hands grabbed Demetrius by his shoulders, pulling him, but he fought them, staring Luther in the eyes. “Why?” "I wanted immortality!” Luther hollered. Demetrius let out a tormented wail as they pulled him away from Luther. Jupiter held one of his arms, Ares the other, and Diana held him around the waist. He still surged forward with a growl. "You had everything!” Luther shouted, standing. “You were the best knight! You had Rosaline! And the de Nouviants wanted you. I had nothing. Always following in your footsteps! Always second. Well, damn it, I wanted immortality!” Demetrius growled, pushing toward Luther as the three held him back. In a flash, Luther shot past him. Demetrius whirled to see Luther stalking Jade. Molten rage erupted inside Demetrius. "And what of Jade?” Luther asked, his hand snaking out to capture her wrist. "Luther!” Jupiter warned. "Your special little Jade?” Luther taunted. Powerful fury flooded through Demetrius and he flung Jupiter aside, tossed Ares into the table and shoved Diana away as easily as a volcano spews ash. He burst forward and slammed Luther into the wall by his neck so hard he dented the wooden paneling. “I’ll rip off your fucking head if you touch her again.” Luther smiled. “Did she tell you?” he gasped. "Demetrius!” Jupiter commanded. “Release him. Now.” Demetrius clenched his fist around Luther’s throat as burning rage flamed through his veins, heating his senses, boiling his blood. "Demetrius.” Jade’s voice filtered through his blazing vengeance like sunlight. Her touch on his shoulder cooled him like rain on fire. He looked at her, standing beside him. Her concerned blue eyes doused what remained of his anger. Demetrius released Luther and stepped away, dropping Luther to the floor. Demetrius clasped Jade’s hand, an anchor against the storm swirling inside him like a typhoon, threatening to break through his calm. He headed for the door. "Did she tell you?” Luther called. Demetrius opened the door.
"Did she tell you about her power?” Luther demanded.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR Jade stiffened at Luther’s words and hesitated in the doorway. Her hesitation was enough to give Luther the opportunity to continue. “Tell him, Jade,” Luther spat. “Tell him how you call Hades.” Dread slithered through her. She glanced around the room. Even though Diana was helping Ares from the floor, her stare pinned Jade. Venus and Jupiter stood frozen, staring at her in confused surprise. “No. It’s not like that,” Jade responded. “I don’t call him.” "It doesn’t matter, Jade,” Demetrius said, putting a hand to her lower back to guide her from the room. “His words are nothing but lies.” "You know, Demetrius!” Luther called. “The first time it happened you were in the hotel room. She touched you. You felt it then. We all felt it. Even Hades.” Jupiter stepped toward them. “What is this about?” Demetrius was gazing at her speculatively. Jade shook her head. “It’s not like that. It has nothing to do with Hades.” Luther climbed to his feet, relishing the moment. “It has to do with all the immortals. We all feel it.” Jade could do nothing but shake her head. She held her palms up to Demetrius. “I try to help people.” "You have a power?” Demetrius asked in disbelief. Jade bowed her head, looking at her hands. “It’s not a power.” She curled them in and pulled them against her chest. “It’s a curse.” She looked up at him, his dark eyes full of shock and incredulity. She couldn’t bear it if he looked at her like the others had, with accusation and suspicion, like she was a freak. Tears blurred her image of him. She hadn’t wanted him to find out. Ever. "What is it?” Jupiter asked from his stance just behind Demetrius. Jade shrugged, not taking her eyes from Demetrius. “I heal people.” "Oh, she is being modest!” Luther quipped. “She takes death away.” Stunned, every person’s gaze bore into her. "No. No. No. I just heal them. I just take their hurt away.” Luther smiled. “Tell them about Trina. Tell them how she was shot and dying in the alley. Would she have survived if you hadn’t taken her hurt away?” Shocked, Jade could only stare at Luther. Was that what she was doing? Cheating death? “She was my friend. I had to help her.” "Of course, that was before you touched Demetrius, so we didn’t feel it,” Luther explained. “But that little girl. You can’t tell me you didn’t know she was dying.” Jade shook her head, helpless. She looked into Demetrius’s eyes, searching for acceptance, searching for comfort. There was only confusion. “I didn’t know it was so bad,” she told him. "The girl was stabbed, multiple times. She was dying.” "I couldn’t let a child die. I just wanted to help until the paramedics arrived.” "What do you do to them?” Diana asked. She had moved closer, and the vampires formed a semicircle around her. “How do you save them?”
Jade swallowed. Trapped, she looked from one to the other until she came back to Demetrius. Please, Demetrius, she silently begged. But she found no acceptance in his gaze, only condemnation. “I take it into my body,” she whispered, defeated. "As we all know, she heals incredibly fast,” Luther explained. “She takes their injury into her body and heals.” Silence consumed the room. Jade knew what they were thinking. Tests. Draw her blood. Poke her with needles. But none of that mattered. Only Demetrius mattered. Already she saw the look of horror, the look of disapproval, creeping into his eyes. Repugnant, repulsive, reprehensible. She blinked back the tears. Not Demetrius. "Show us,” Jupiter commanded. She jerked her gaze to him. The soft lighting in the room made him appear angelic, casting an aura of golden light around him. His dark eyes bore into hers, compelling. She didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want Demetrius to see her freakish power, but they all stared at her expectantly and she knew she didn’t have a choice. “No one is hurt,” she whispered. They stood for a moment, Jupiter and Ares towering over her by as much as a head. The two women were intimidating by the nature of how stunning they were. And there she was. An outcast already. Dwarfed and ugly. Mortal. She didn’t belong there. And now they wanted to further ostracize her by making her use her power in front of Demetrius. He stood before her, as surprised as the rest, staring at her. She needed him to defend her, to tell them to stop. He was all she had here, all she had anywhere. And she loved him so very much. "Here,” Diana called. Jade looked at her to see a slice mark that ran from her wrist to the middle of her arm dripping blood. She hesitated. She knew she could heal her. It would require only the briefest of attention. And still, Demetrius said nothing. Jade lifted a trembling hand, suspended it over Diana’s arm. She expended just a little energy and Diana’s wound vanished, transferring to Jade’s arm. Gasps erupted around her. Joy. Elation. Disbelief. "Do you know what this means?” Jupiter asked. Jade bowed her head, embarrassed. "She can heal all of us!” Ares said. A tear trickled from her closed eyes. "We can find out which gene causes her to heal and give it to the rest of us,” Diana added. “She will save our family! This will finally give us the upper hand over the Malachite.” Jade watched the slice on her arm close and heal, but knew her heart would never recover. ~* * *~ They gave Demetrius and Jade their own bedroom. Demetrius stared at her back as she sat on one side of the bed, her legs hanging off, her head bowed, shoulders slumped. “When were you going to tell me?” he demanded in a commanding voice. "Never,” Jade answered. "Never?” he asked. “Don’t you think I deserved to know something like that?”
"No,” she replied. How could she have kept something like this from him? “You can heal others. You have the power to save someone from death. And you don’t think that was something I should know?” "No.” Demetrius turned away from her. Damn it. She was so stubborn. “What else don’t I know?” "I want to leave,” she whispered through a thick teary voice. Anguish rose inside Demetrius. He understood her fear of needles and of tests. But it was too late for that now. His family knew about her power. Maybe if she had told him, he could have kept it from them. But she hadn’t told him. She hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him. He shook his head and sighed. “You can’t.” "They’ll want my blood, now.” "Yes,” he answered quietly. “This power you have can save us all. We’re outnumbered. This will put us on an even field.” "Would you let them hurt Rosaline like this?” Stunned, he could only sit in silence. He never would have let anyone hurt Rosaline. And here, here he sat unable to protect Jade. Unable to protect Rosaline. Again. Guilt washed over him like a wave. “What would you have me do, Jade?” Jade shook her head. “You could have defended me in there.” "You didn’t tell me! I was as shocked as everyone else. I’ve never seen anything like…” His voice trailed off. "Me,” she finished weakly. "No,” he said. “Like what you did. You healed Diana. What you have is special.” "Special enough to steal my blood? Special enough to put me through all kinds of tests? Special enough for you to turn your back on me?” "I never turned my back on you,” Demetrius argued. “You didn’t tell me! How was I supposed to defend something I knew nothing about?” She came to her feet, whirling on him. Her tiny fists clenched, her lashes clumped together from moisture, her eyes ringed with torment, her beautiful face wet with trails of tears. “By telling them to leave me alone!” Demetrius frowned. "But you stood there and watched, just like they did, like I was some sort of freak.” Demetrius stepped forward, his heart twisting, his hands outstretched. “Jade…” She put her hands up. “Don’t touch me.” Demetrius halted, frozen by the pain in her voice, the agony on her face. She turned her back to him, wiping her face with her hands. "I won’t let them hurt you,” Demetrius promised. "You already have.” ~* * *~ The elaborate room was designed for gods. Fourteen karat gold inlay lined the white walls. Plush red velvet couches and throw pillows were placed sporadically throughout the large room. A fire pit in the center of the room had all but died out. Wooden tables and game boards were placed against the wall. A projector screen television lit up an entire wall.
Jupiter hated this room. He tolerated it only because the others felt so relaxed here. This was their kingdom, their sanctuary. Just like the old days. He entered with Ares, Diana, Venus and Apollo, the other members of Council all lounged about. Vulcan sat in his wheelchair near the fire pit in the center of the room, poking at the dying embers. Hera played a game of chess with Ceres against the far wall. A half‐clothed mortal woman was stretched out on a red chaise lounge near the fire pit. Her blonde hair fanned over the velvet in an erotic invitation, her wide blue eyes blank and glassy. Hermes drank from the woman’s neck while Vesta sucked on her wrist. Poseidon lounged on a couch watching the television. Minerva sat next to him doing a crossword puzzle. "How did it go?” Vulcan asked, shoving a piece of wood over with the poker, sending a spray of sparks into the air. Jupiter shrugged. “Well, considering…” Ares grumbled, moving to the mortal woman’s side. “Demetrius should be punished for treating us as he did.” He sank his fangs into her breast. She gasped and arched her back. Jupiter brushed it off with a flick of his hand. “Luther goaded him. But we did acquire valuable information.” Apollo’s blue eyes glowed with excitement as he hurried across the room to a small black bag on one of the wooden tables. He opened it and pulled items from the bag, laying them out on the table. A syringe, a needle, a blood bag. A smile played on his lips. “She is remarkable.” "The mortal girl?” Hera asked with contempt, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder she looked up from her chess game. Diana’s eyes shone with the same exuberance as Apollo. “She has the ability to heal others.” "Like a healer?” Minerva asked, lowering the crossword puzzle. "More,” Apollo whispered with relish. “Oh, so much more.” Jupiter sat on a chaise lounge beside the couch, grabbed the remote and turned the television off. “Demetrius was as surprised as we were.” "I don’t think he knew,” Venus agreed. Her shapely lips were twisted in a subtle grin. "You should have seen it!” Diana exclaimed, examining her arm. “I cut myself and she took it away as if it were nothing.” "What do you mean ‘took it away’?” Hera asked, curiously. "She put her hand over it and it was gone!” "Come, now,” Poseidon scoffed. “You must have simply healed. Mortals don’t have that kind of ability.” "She did,” Diana said. “I could feel it tingling through my arm. It was remarkable.” "How did she acquire it?” Poseidon asked in dubious caution. "Can we turn her?” Hera asked, studying the chessboard. Apollo shook his head. “I don’t advise it, yet. We don’t know what would happen to her power if she turned. She might lose it completely. Maybe it would evolve into something different. We’re not sure where she gets it or how she does it.” He lifted a syringe to inspect it, his eyes wide with excitement. “I’ll have to run some tests to find out more before we consider turning her. Right now, I think she’s better used as a healer.”
"Demetrius is okay with this?” Minerva asked, tossing the crossword onto the table. "No,” Jupiter said. “He’s very protective of the mortal.” Apollo slowly lowered the syringe and agreed with a nod, a scowl marring his forehead. “He may become problematic.” Ares lifted his head from the mortal woman’s breast. He ran his sleeve across his mouth. “It wasn’t my idea to turn him. He was too cocky. Always did what he wanted.” "He has proven himself to be a valuable fighter,” Jupiter said. “He will not betray us.” "What about the rest of our fighters? Do we have any more information? How many survived the Malachite attack?” "There has been no word from any of the other fighters,” Hermes said, licking a drop of blood from the neck of the limp woman. “I’ve tried to contact everyone. I’m sorry to say that I believe Demetrius and Luther are the last fighters we have.” Jupiter shook his head. “Such a loss.” "It’s a catastrophe!” Ares shouted, throwing up his hands. He stood and began pacing. "Don’t be dramatic. We’ve had worse, Ares,” Minerva calmly said. “Remember just before Demetrius? We had no fighters. The Matriarch had wiped us out at the Battle of Agincourt.” Ceres nodded wistfully. “Such an ingenious way. None of the mortals suspected the beheadings were related to us.” Ceres moved a pawn a space. “Just part of the brutal English French war.” Ares smiled full out, remembering. “Wars are such a delightful time.” Poseidon nodded. “But the Malachite have had their share of downfalls, too.” "Remember when we set that trap for them in Pompeii?” Ares reminisced. Vulcan chuckled. “They never saw that coming.” "Imagine if our fighters could be healed instantly. This girl could be a remarkable asset to us, possibly the best thing that has happened,” Hera said, reaching for the queen, but stopping at the last moment. “If we learn how to use her power.” "There is one other problem to consider,” Diana said. “Hades. He can’t be allowed to roam around. He is too unpredictable. To volatile.” "How did he get out, anyway?” Ares asked, pacing. “I drove that stake into his heart myself.” "And we all were there when he was buried,” Vulcan agreed. "Regardless. He is out,” Hera said, placing her fingers on her queen. She hesitated as she scanned the chessboard. "The destruction and arbitrary death since he’s risen have increased,” Minerva mused. “We can’t allow it to continue. It won’t be long before he makes a serious mistake and reveals us to the mortals.” Jupiter crossed his arms and leaned back on the chaise, his eyes narrowing. All these unpredictable elements were what made the game so much fun. He knew about Jade being Rosaline, but there was no reason to tell the others. It would ruin his fun. "Then we have to stop him,” Ares said, stopping before the mortal woman. He gazed down at her thoughtfully. "We can’t even find him, let alone stop him,” Vulcan said, stabbing a piece of the wood in the fire pit.
"Wait. What was that Luther said?” Diana questioned. “The mortal girl can call Hades?” Apollo nodded. “For some reason, we immortals can feel when she heals another mortal. Luther said it had something to do with cheating death.” "Then we have the girl call Hades and drain him and stake him. Maybe remove his head this time.” Hermes sat back from the mortal woman with a satisfied sigh. "I suggested that last time. We should have finished Hades then. He was weak. Now, he’ll be prepared.” Ares took a seat across from the Hermes near the mortal woman. "Hades is our brother,” Jupiter warned. “He will not be killed.” "But Jupiter –” Ares objected. "Jupiter is right,” Hera agreed. “We will not kill our brother.” "The question is…will he kill us?” Minerva asked, twisting to look at Jupiter. "That is why we set a trap for him. Have the mortal girl be bait for Hades.” Venus shook her head. “Demetrius would never allow it.” "Then we’ll have to do it without his knowledge. We are, after all, Council. Our word is law.” Hera moved her queen across the chessboard. “Check mate.”
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE How could he respond to her condemnation? Demetrius stared at the cup of blood he held. He swirled the red liquid around in the white cup. And worse yet, he didn’t think he could make it right. How could he stop his family from taking her blood? How could he stop them from trying to learn about her power? Part of him resented that she didn’t want to help his family, and part of him understood why she didn’t. All her life she had been trying to keep her power a secret. All her life she had been running from exactly what he brought her to. "Tsk tsk tsk,” a voice said. Demetrius heard Venus enter the kitchen behind him. “What do you want, Venus?” he growled. "Trouble in paradise?” He wasn’t going to fall into her little games. “No.” Venus smiled. She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle full of red liquid. “Don’t patronize me. My hearing is excellent.” Demetrius grimaced as she sashayed to a seat beside him. "Tell me,” she insisted, opening the bottle and taking a deep drink. Every movement she made was sensual, every look sexual. Demetrius stared down at the cup in his hand, but said nothing. "Then let me tell you,” Venus said and leaned forward, giving him an ample view of her cleavage. When he sighed and turned away from her, she continued. “Women like to feel cherished. They like to feel as if they are all that is important in your world.” "Impossible,” Demetrius snapped. "Of course it is. But it is the illusion of being worthwhile they crave.” "You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Demetrius said and waved her off. "No? All the mortal girl wants to know is that she is an important part of your life. Like Rosaline was.” Demetrius lifted his gaze to Venus. She was very close to the truth. His lips thinned, but he remained silent. Venus leaned back in her chair, a triumphant grin on her lips. She crossed her long legs. “See it from her view. She is competing with a woman you’ve put on a pedestal. A ghost you loved more than life itself.” Demetrius turned away from her, shaking his head. Jade was Rosaline. How could she be competing with herself? "And then she is swept up in your world. A world she thought never existed. Vampires are hard for any mortal to swallow. And on top of all of this craziness, is her power. A power she has kept secret for her entire life. A power that even now would be hidden if she hadn’t fed Luther her blood. Who knew the bastard was so vindictive?” Demetrius clenched his teeth together. “So what am I supposed to do?” "Oh, Demetrius, being dead so long has made you cold.” "Being a fighter for so long has made me cold.”
Venus smiled. “It has nothing to do with being a fighter. In your journey to avenge Rosaline’s death, you’ve forgotten the very thing that made you mortal, the very thing that made her fall in love with you.” She stood up to drape an arm across his shoulders. “You’ve always been so handsome. And strong. That alone draws the women.” She brought her lips close to his. “But it’s not enough to keep them.” His gaze dipped to her lips. He felt no stirring of desire like he did with Jade. He felt no need to kiss Venus at all. “What is?” Demetrius demanded. "Compassion. Understanding.” Venus slowly stood, towering over him. She looked down at him through lidded blue eyes, eyes any man would be crazy not to desire. “Love, Demetrius. Do you love her? Or have you forgotten how?” Demetrius was not any man. “It’s none of your business.” Venus flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Because she loves you. She always has. Look at her stories. How can you write that kind of passion without feeling it? But it’s beyond that now, isn’t it? She loves you in real life, too.” Demetrius shook his head. She was out of her mind. Jade couldn’t love him. He was a monster. “She doesn’t love me.” "You’re either blind or just plain stupid. Can’t you see how she adores you? Do you really think she’d still be here if she didn’t?” Demetrius still refused to see her reasoning. Jade would be out of her mind to love him. To love a vampire. “No.” "You’ll lose her. Is that what you want?” He should push her away, for her own protection. She couldn’t be a part of his life. It was too dangerous. And yet, he remembered the ache in his soul, in his very being, when she was gone. He remembered how angry he was, and how lonely. Jade filled an empty part of him, became a part of him. He looked down at the glass in his hand. He knew he should let her go. But he couldn’t. How could he live without her? She was everything he desired, everything he needed. He couldn’t let her go. So, he would have to fight for her. He would never turn his back on her. “I won’t let Council run tests on her. She doesn’t want to be poked with needles.” Venus smiled. “That’s the Demetrius Rosaline fell in love with.” Demetrius stood, downed the glass of blood and whirled, heading for the door. If Jade wanted to leave, who was he to keep her here? Just because she had a special power didn’t change the fact he loved her, had always loved her. He wouldn’t lose her again. He paused in the doorway. “Thanks.” "My pleasure,” Venus assured him. ~* * *~ Demetrius had left Jade under the pretense of needing to feed. She knew it was just to get away from her and the strained silence that had settled between them. Her stomach rumbled and she rubbed it. She was hungry, too. She turned the television on and flipped through some stations when the realization hit her. She was alone. She glanced at the door. The instinct to flee consumed her, to run away from the tests and the needles and doctors and x‐rays. That was how she had survived all these years. Running.
She was halfway across the room when she stopped. Demetrius. How could she leave him? She had searched her entire life for him, writing about him when she didn’t even know where the inspiration came from, thinking about him standing beside her when they were sticking needles in her arm to draw blood. And now, now she had found him. And he wanted them to run tests on her. To help his family. She reached for the door handle. He was right. He wasn’t the man she wrote about. Because that man would always defend her, would never let her be hurt. She opened the door… To find Jupiter and Apollo standing there. Jade pulled back, seeing the doctor’s bag in Apollo’s hand. "One of our mortals has been hurt,” Jupiter explained. “You’re the only one who can help her.” Jade stared at him for a moment, her brow furrowing. She looked down the hallway. “Where’s Demetrius?” Jupiter smiled gently. “There’s no time to find him. She will die if you don’t come.” Jade chewed her lower lip, debating. She didn’t trust them. Not for a second. “We should find Demetrius. He’ll worry.” "I’ll find him,” Apollo said, turning down the hallway. “Go. Heal her. I’ll bring him,” he called and moved off. Jade looked at Jupiter. He swept his hand magnanimously out before him, showing her the way.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX "How much farther?” Jade asked with trepidation. She followed Jupiter down a long, sterile hallway that reminded her of a hospital, glancing over her shoulder. Where was Demetrius? It seemed like a long walk and the farther away from Demetrius she got, the greater her apprehension became. "We’re almost there.” "How badly hurt is she?” Jade asked. "Pretty bad.” "What happened?” "She was in the house when the Malachite attacked. Luckily, she was not the focus of their assault or she would be dead. They didn’t pay her much attention.” He began to ascend a flight of stairs. Jade took the first step. If the woman was hurt badly, Jade would be rendered helpless after she took the injury from her. This wasn’t right. She didn’t want to be incapacitated around these vampires. Not that resisting would help her. They were too strong for her to fight off. She didn’t feel comfortable doing this. “I think we should wait for Demetrius,” Jade said, stopping to glance once again over her shoulder down the long hallway. "There’s no time. He’ll be there. Jade, you can’t let her die.” Jade hesitated. She didn’t want an innocent woman to die because she wanted to wait for Demetrius, because she was scared. She continued cautiously up one stair and then another. "This woman is like family to us, to Demetrius,” Jupiter said. “If you can help her, she could give us valuable information about the Malachite and the attack.” Still, Jade hesitated. Something didn’t seem right about this. "Think of how much it would mean to Demetrius,” Jupiter encouraged. There was something almost sinister in the way he said that. Jade paused and looked up at him. A grin curled the corners of his lips. Jade scowled. If the woman were hurt and she was like family he wouldn’t be grinning like this was some sort of a game. “If she means so much to you, why didn’t you bring her into your safe house?” Jupiter didn’t answer, merely opened the door and stepped aside. The cool air of night flooded in. Jade was far enough up the stairs to see large trees outside. Leaves scattered the ground, blanketing it in muted color. It looked like a forest. As she stepped out of the tunnel, the setting sun washed over the graveyard she emerged into, casting it in a red hue. Near one of the tall trees, Diana knelt beside a woman. “Hurry,” she called. Instinctively, Jade moved forward. The woman’s blonde head rested against the tree, a large scratch mark ran across her cheek. Her hand lay on the ground, twitching. As Jade approached, she saw blood on the ground. Only when Diana moved aside did she see the severity of the woman’s wounds. A large gash ran across her stomach and was spewing blood. “Why didn’t you have Apollo treat her?” she demanded, kneeling where Diana had been. “Why didn’t you even attempt to stop the bleeding?” Every instinct told her something was very wrong. The entire thing seemed suspicious.
Diana gazed down at her. Her eyes were completely black. “It’s very hard for us to treat mortals without becoming thirsty.” She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was wrong. Why hadn’t Apollo tended this woman? He could have at least stopped the bleeding. Her gaze swept over the woman. The stomach wound was the worst. She knew she could take the other wounds. “I can stop the bleeding, heal her. But she’s hurt too badly for me to take everything.” Jade glanced over her shoulder at them. Still, they stood there, watching. As if they couldn’t wait to see how she healed the woman. “Did you hear me?” Jupiter nodded. "Apollo should prepare a room or something. He’ll still need to help her. She’s lost a lot of blood.” She was stalling. She didn’t want to do it. It was so much. She looked back at the woman. She had to do it. She couldn’t let her die. And they knew it. That’s why they brought her. Jade glanced over her shoulder at the open door. “Where’s Demetrius?” "He’s coming,” Jupiter said. Jade nodded, but didn’t believe them at all. Why did they want her to do this? Was it some sort of test? Did they want to see how much she could take? She couldn’t allow the woman to bleed to death. She couldn’t let her just die. Jade took a deep breath and extended her hands over the woman’s stomach. ~* * *~ Children had always tasted the best to him. Sweet, innocent. He drank from the ten‐year‐old boy. Two friends, wandering alone through the woods. How could they have known what waited for them, what lurked in wait? The only problem was disposing their bodies afterward. This time would be easy. He would slice them up and bury them in different parts of the forest. No one would find them. Hades enjoyed the last drop of the child’s blood. He sat up and wiped his mouth clean of any blood with the back of his sleeve. With a quick flourish, he ripped off the dead child’s arms and legs. He was moving to the other when the power struck him, almost toppling him. He whirled toward the origin. Jade. He raced off. ~* * *~ Jade closed her eyes. She imagined the wounds healing, imagined them closing. "Jade,” a voice whispered. She couldn’t stop. She hadn’t taken enough of the woman’s wound. The woman’s pain filtered through Jade’s fingers, moving up into her hands and through her arms, across her chest and into the core of her being. Her stomach began to rip and tear from the inside as she took the woman’s injury into her body. Hands surrounded her wrists and a bolt of warmth rocketed through her arms, severing the healing. “Jade,” a voice called more desperately. “Stop.” Jade opened her eyes and swiveled her head to see Demetrius kneeling on the ground beside her. The concern in his dark eyes touched her and she withdrew her hands from the woman. At the sight of him, a breathless happiness filled her and a grin started on her lips. As her cheek rose with the smile, a throbbing blasted her face. She lifted her fingers to touch the side of her face and felt the gash in her skin. Blood soaked her fingertips. She gasped, straightening and a sharp slicing
pain split her stomach. She curled her other arm about her abdomen and immediately felt the liquid soaking the t‐shirt. Demetrius seized her shoulders. His worry mirrored her pain. “Jade,” he called desperately. She stared down at her blood‐stained hand for a moment. The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been with Trina, so Jade knew it would only be time before she healed. Still, she was losing a lot of blood and this on the heels of her feeding Luther could prove dangerous. Her head swam and she reached out to Demetrius to steady herself. “It takes a little while to heal,” she said, trying to instill confidence in her voice. “I’ll be okay.” "What are you doing out here?” Demetrius asked. "Jupiter said she needed healing. That she was part of your family.” Demetrius looked at the woman on the ground as she began to sit up. “She’s not part of our family.” The woman touched her stomach, probing. Her lips parted in a silent gasp and she lifted wide, horror‐filled eyes to Jade. “What did you do?” Jade stiffened at the condemning words. The same words Trina had gasped. The same words her foster mother had muttered. She covered the gash on her cheek with a trembling hand. Demetrius had seen her power. He knew what she was. He knew what she could do. She didn’t dare look at him for fear of the disapproval in his eyes. He turned to her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw his furrowed brow, his reproachful eyes. He could have been looking at her with marvel, with glorious unsullied delight. But she wouldn’t have been able to see it. She was so used to horror and dismay that was all she saw. That was all she expected. With a muted cry, she bowed her head. The last thing she had ever wanted was for Demetrius to see what a freak she was, the horrendous power she had. She shook her head and curled into herself. Tears filled her eyes. Demetrius reached for her, his fingers brushing her wrist. She pulled away from him, unable to stand the disgusted way he looked at her. “Don’t look at me,” Jade whispered. She lifted her hands, her palms stained with her own blood, and covered her face, blocking it from his view. "I want to look at you,” he said firmly, pulling her hands from her face. “You’re amazing.” "No,” she moaned, turning her head from him. She wasn’t amazing. She was abhorrent. She didn’t want him to look at her with the other woman’s wounds marring her body. “I’m horrible. I’m a freak. Don’t –” Demetrius grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tight against him. “You are no more a freak then I,” he whispered against the top of her head. “You’re an angel,” he said softly, reverently. Jade pulled back to look into his eyes. There was no disgust, no disapproval. Marvel and awe shone from his dark eyes as they swept over her face. Stunned, Jade stared. How could he think she was an angel? How could he not be repulsed by her power? "What you can do is remarkable.”
Remarkable? She stared into his eyes for a long moment, trying to discern the truth. She was afraid she was dreaming. Afraid he wasn’t saying what she was hearing. Was it wishful thinking? He couldn’t be serious. She was not remarkable. Her power, her curse, was repulsive. It made her different. He pulled her against him, crushing her to his chest and whispered into her ear. “Don’t listen to that spiteful wench. She doesn’t know what you do. How you gave a part of your life so she could live.” Jade gasped. No one had ever described her power so eloquently, with so much admiration. He turned his face, pressing his lips against her slightly parted, shocked ones. "How can you say such a thing?” she asked into his kiss. She felt Demetrius’s smile against her mouth. "Because it’s the truth. A creature of light who gives life. What else can any power that comes from you be?” Tears of happiness rose in her eyes. He didn’t think she was horrible, or repulsive. "Everything about you is wonderful.” Her lower lip trembled and she kissed him gratefully, longingly. She squeezed him tightly, refusing to relinquish the treasure she had found. Her Demetrius. Demetrius stroked her hair, holding her in his arms. He chuckled. “You needed a vampire to tell you that?” She tightened her hold around his broad shoulders. “I love you, Demetrius,” she proclaimed softly. “I love you so very much.” Stunned, Demetrius pulled back. Had she said something wrong? Jade wanted him to know how much he meant to her. He framed her face with his hands, careful of the healing cut on her cheek, as if holding the most precious treasure. “You don’t know what you’re saying.” "Yes,” she groaned, a moan wrought from the very depths of her soul. “They see me as a freak. A monster. No one has ever called me an angel before.” "Monster?” he echoed in disbelief. “I’m the monster. You give life. I take it away.” She shook her head. “You’ve given me life. I’ve never felt as alive as I do when I am with you. You give my heart life.” He opened his mouth to speak. "Hades,” Jupiter called. They whirled to see a man in a rugged plaid shirt and jeans leaning against a tree. “Demetrius,” he cooed in an angry voice. “You always were so devastatingly charming.” Jupiter took a step forward. “Good to see you, brother.” Jade stiffened, recognizing his long dark hair and elongated face. Demetrius protectively swept Jade behind him with his arm. "Is it?” Hades asked in a disbelieving voice. “I can’t say the feeling is mutual.” "That was a long time ago, Hades,” Jupiter said. “Surely you don’t hold a grudge.” "A long time to be buried in the ground. A long time to spend in the dark, waiting,” Hades answered.
Jade peeked around Demetrius’s shoulder to look at Hades. His long hair lifted in a slight breeze stirring the leaves in the trees above them. A rain of leaves fell upon them. Familiarity burned within Jade. She knew Hades. Just like she had known Luther. Hades caught sight of her. “A long time to wait. But the waiting was worth it. I am here to take her. Give her to me and I will leave in peace.” A threatening growl erupted from Demetrius’s throat. "I only ask what is mine,” Hades said with a shrug. "She isn’t yours,” Demetrius growled. Hades’s brow rose in surprise. “Haven’t you told him?” he asked Jupiter. Demetrius didn’t turn away from Hades. Jupiter sighed softly. “She belongs to Hades.”
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN Jade inhaled a gasp at Jupiter’s words. She reached out to touch Demetrius’s arm for comfort. His muscles were rigid and corded beneath her palm. "Never,” Demetrius snarled. Hades straightened away from the tree, confident. His hands dropped to his sides. His eyes burned red hot in anticipation. "Relax, Demetrius,” Jupiter said patiently. “I didn’t say we’d give her to him.” "It’s always games with you, Jupiter,” Hades said between clenched teeth. “I warn you not to toy with me this time. I will see it as somewhat…unfavorable.” "You had your chance with her,” Jupiter explained. “The Council of Twelve gave her to you as a gift. We hoped to appease your wild nature. She was such a tempting creature of light. We had hoped some of her kindness would rub off on you. But that was not to be.” Jade stared at Hades, a furrow of confusion on her brow. He was tall and thin, his eyes narrowed to mere slits. Why didn’t she remember Hades? Was what Jupiter said true? How could they have given her to him? When she was a child? Demetrius’s hand encircled hers protectively. "Instead of learning from her, you raped her. You beat her. You tried to force your lascivious nature upon her. You tried to corrupt her and make her as dark as you.” Jupiter frowned at the memory. “We were appalled at what you did to her.” Jade stepped closer to Demetrius, seeking comfort in the power radiating from him, seeking safety from Jupiter’s words. Why didn’t she remember? Was she blocking it out? "I was…untamed then. Restless,” Hades defended. He spread his hands out before him in supplication. “I have grown.” "She doesn’t want you,” Demetrius savagely called. "It is not her choice,” Hades said calmly. Why didn’t she know this story? Why didn’t she remember it? Was it too horrible? Or was it because… Jade straightened as a thought occurred to her. She stepped to Demetrius’s side to confront Hades. “I’m not that woman any longer. I don’t belong to you.” The brilliance of Hades flashing smile burned into her mind, igniting memories. “You have always belonged to me.” Her heart pounded as she faced the vampire. “If you think I am this woman from very long ago, which I remember nothing of, then I must be Rosaline, too.” "Yes,” Hades hissed, his skin glowing beneath the rising moon. She was Rosaline? Jade glanced at Demetrius, but there was no surprise on his face. Only anger and protectiveness. That was why she was able to recall Rosaline’s story. She was Rosaline! She had lived Rosaline’s life as surely as Demetrius had. The revelation was startling, but she knew in her heart it was true. "Yes,” Hades nodded in delight. “You are Rosaline. You remember that past.” "She doesn’t remember the past with you,” Jupiter said. "What are you talking about?” Demetrius demanded. "It was a time before you,” Jupiter explained.
Jade didn’t really believe Jupiter or Hades. How could she have lived two lives before? She shook her head. But even as she denied it to herself, pieces were falling together. She squinted her eyes at Hades. “Why did they stake you and put you in the ground? Was it because you were coming to kill Rosaline because she had already found her true love with Demetrius?” Shocked, Demetrius glanced at Jade and then looked back at Hades. A thin smile crept over Jupiter’s lips before it vanished. A low rumble of deep dark laughter started in Hades. “Is that what you think? That I was going to harm Rosaline?” The air in the cemetery changed, becoming thicker and more palpable. Ares stepped from behind a mausoleum on their left. Apollo suddenly appeared across the cemetery, opposite Ares. Hades didn’t take his eyes from Jade. “Oh, yes. I was coming for Rosaline. I tried to hurry when I realized what they were planning…” He glanced at Jupiter with a mocking, cold smile. “They needed fighters then. The Malachite were powerful and had many vampires to battle against the de Nouviant. They needed the best, the most powerful men.” He looked at Demetrius and his lip curled to reveal sharp teeth. “The best. You were the best knight. Unbeatable. With training, they knew you would be unstoppable. There was nothing they wouldn’t do to convince you to join them.” Jade glanced at Jupiter who leaned his hip against a tombstone, stifling a yawn. "They needed and wanted you badly,” Hades continued. He then looked at Jade. “But they knew you would never agree to immortality when Rosaline was mortal.” "They never offered Rosaline immortality,” Jade said. "Of course not. Venus was very jealous of her beauty. She didn’t want Rosaline to be immortal. So they all agreed on the same course of action. There was only one way to get Demetrius to become a de Nouviant.” Jade glanced about the graveyard. Ceres, Venus, Ares, Poseidon, Hera and Jupiter were on the left side of them, forming a side of a semi‐circle. On the other side were the rest of Council, spread out through the graveyard, mixing with the mist suddenly forming and snaking around the tombstones and stone statues. They should be safe, Jade knew. There should be nothing to worry about now the de Nouviant were all here. Surely they could defeat Hades. But there was something in the impatient way they stood, the excitement shining in their eyes, that made Jade nervous. "Yes,” Hades continued. “I was coming for Rosaline. But not to harm her. Never to harm her. I loved her. I was trying to save her.” "What are you saying?” Demetrius demanded. "They would do anything to get you to be in their family. Anything. Especially…kill Rosaline.” "Liar!” Demetrius roared. “Luther killed her. I saw it in her memories. He stabbed her with a Malachite dagger.” Hades grinned tolerantly. “Before your precious Council could do it. He just got to her first. If they had done it, you would never have found her body.”
Jade turned to Jupiter. His hip rested against the tombstone, his head tilted to one side as if this were the most boring event he had ever witnessed. Jade looked back at Hades. “How do you know? How do you know what they were planning to do?” "They sent one of their fighters to stop me, to delay me. That was why I was too late. I had to battle that weak fool. When I took his blood, I learned what they had planned.” He looked at Jupiter. “And you called me a barbarian.” Demetrius stiffly turned to Jupiter. “Is that the truth?” Jupiter didn’t look at Demetrius. He swiped lint from his shirt with the back of his hand. “We didn’t kill her. It was Luther.” "Were you going to?” "It doesn’t matter,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder. “Luther did it all.” Demetrius clenched his jaw. “Did. You. Plan. To. Kill. Rosaline?” Hades put his hands on his hips. “When they found the dead fighter…I can’t even remember his name anymore…they condemned me for going against family law. Family law.” Hades scoffed. He shifted his angry glare to Jupiter. “You could have given her to me.” "Demetrius would never have given up looking for her,” Jupiter rationalized in the uninterested tone of one who had told the story a thousand times. “It was too late to give her to you. They had already fallen in love.” Demetrius stepped toward Jupiter. “You son of a bitch. You planned this. All of it. You and Council.” Jade reached for Demetrius, eyeing the others. Something wasn’t right. "We needed you. We needed strong men. Nothing else mattered,” Jupiter stated. "How does it feel to be a pawn? To be on the outside?” Hades taunted. “Maybe you’ll be the one staked and buried this time.” A feeling of doom settled in Jade’s stomach. But not for herself. For Demetrius. She would do anything to see him safe. Anything. Suddenly, Demetrius whirled toward the open part of the semi‐circle Council formed. Jade followed his gaze to see at least ten other vampires, their legs bent ready for battle, their eyes glowing red, teeth gleaming in the misty moonlight. "Malachite,” Demetrius hissed. Her hand tightened around his. "You didn’t think I would come alone this time, did you?” Hades asked.
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT Demetrius stepped back, closer to Jade. He needed to concentrate, but how was he supposed to do that if he knew every single one of these bastards would be after Jade? Hades, with his singularly obsessive desire to possess Jade, was capable of anything, and the Malachite would hurt her simply to get to him. If anything happened to her, Demetrius wasn’t sure he could control himself. He couldn’t lose her again. And what of Council? Where did they stand in all of this? They had Jade heal a mortal, but for what reason? To call Hades? To have the remaining Malachite come? For one final battle? At least he knew they would fight the Malachite with him. De Nouviant hatred for the Malachite ran deep. He pulled Jade against him, knowing he had to see her safe first. "Give her to me, Demetrius,” Hades commanded, stretching out his hand, palm upward. “She will be safe with me.” "Like hell,” Demetrius growled. His eyes shifted, opening his pupils. He could see clearly now, no shadows darkened his vision. There was no place for them to hide. Although he doubted that was their plan. Instinctively, Demetrius turned to Jupiter to ask him to protect his Jade, but then realized how foolish that was and turned away. Jupiter wasn’t his friend. He had plotted to kill Rosaline to get him to join the de Nouivants, just as Luther had. Jade would not be any safer with him than with Hades. A squeaking sound drew his attention. Across the cemetery, between the tombstones, he saw an elderly woman rolling her wheelchair towards them, flanked by her one remaining bodyguard. Her gray hair flew in wild strands about her head, her eyes white. He had never laid eyes upon her before this moment but he knew exactly who she was. Surprise mingled with trepidation inside of him. He never thought to ever actually see her in person. The Malachite leader usually stayed hidden, letting only rumor and speculation surround her existence. She must be confident in winning this battle to come out into the open like this. "You still think you can win?” Hades asked. Demetrius stayed silent, calmly assessing the situation, his surroundings. "Then you are the only one,” Hades scorned. He stepped back and the cemetery exploded with action. Demetrius had been a fighter for a very long time. Even with Jade so close, distracting him, he had already scanned the graveyard to see what he could use as a weapon. As the first vampire came at him, he reached back, pushing Jade hard away from him toward the ground. Demetrius ducked and the attacker flew over his head. The Malachite landed lithely on his feet several yards beyond Demetrius. Demetrius whirled, knocking a second Malachite back away from him with a swift kick. He leapt out of a third monster’s way and ripped a metal bar from one of the crypt’s gates as if it were a piece of paper. He swiped at the vampire behind him, hitting him in the head and slamming him back against a tombstone that exploded under the impact, sending small stones and dust shooting into the air.
Demetrius spun, impaling a blond Malachite on the long bar, plunging the metal right through his chest. Blood gurgled from the blond vampire’s mouth, oozing around his fangs. Demetrius spun, flinging the impaled Malachite off the pole and into another vampire, knocking the approaching vampire backward. Holding the bloodied bar like a sword, Demetrius glanced at Jade. She was just falling to the grass covered ground from his shove. One of the Malachite jumped on him from behind, his mouth opened, his fangs extended and pulled back for penetration. Demetrius shoved the bar over his shoulder and up into the Malachite’s mouth just as another Malachite slammed into him, grabbing him around the waist and pushing him back into a mausoleum. The impact was so hard it cracked the stone. The Malachite with the pole shoved in his mouth twitched and shook at the end of the pole. Demetrius kneed the vampire gripping his torso in the face, once, twice. He grabbed the dazed Malachite around the waist and tossed him aside. Another vampire came at him with the jagged points of an entire mausoleum gate. Demetrius barely had time to jump aside as the sharp edges of gate grazed past his chest. The sharp metal spikes plunged into the stomach of the Malachite trapped behind him with such force they went completely through him, grinding against the stone crypt. More Malachite came at him relentlessly. He dodged one, only to take the next one down, smashing his face with a sharp blow from his fist. He somersaulted out of the way of another, his back pulverizing a small tombstone in his frantic maneuvering. He looked up in time to see a large statue of an angel toppling down toward him. He rolled out of the way, and leapt to his feet. In the distance, Council still stood in their semi‐circle, watching. They had not moved. What the fuck were they waiting for? Confusion and rage filled him. What the hell were they doing? Why weren’t they helping? A Malachite slammed a rusty tire iron down across the back of his neck and Demetrius fell to his knees beneath the impact. His world spun, but his survival instinct was strong and he managed to dodge the next two swipes, rolling out of the way. He hit a tombstone and then rebounded from it, rolling into his attacker’s legs. As the Malachite fell, Demetrius rolled up his body and drove his elbow into the monster’s neck, crushing his larynx. Demetrius grabbed the fallen tire iron and drove it into the Malachite’s chest, then using it as a pole vault, kicked another vampire back. Always in motion, he used the impetus to leap to his feet, swinging the iron at another Malachite. Another vampire crashed into the back of his legs, sending the tire iron and Demetrius flying. Demetrius struggled with the monster, rolling over again and again until a large tombstone stopped their momentum. The vampire lifted his chest so he had enough room to rain one blow to Demetrius’s face, then another and another and another. Demetrius grabbed his fist, stopping the wild swings. He snarled at him, showing his sharp fangs. A Malachite with heavy scars on the left side of his face suddenly loomed over him with a tombstone raised above his head. He brought it down and Demetrius bucked the monster on top of him forward while pulling his arm to block the crushing blow. The crunching sound of a skull
being smashed resounded. Pulverized stone showered down upon his face. Demetrius shoved the Malachite off of him and leapt to his feet. He glanced at Jade to see she was sitting up, staring at him with wide blue eyes. Her lips were parted in horror as she watched what she could of the battle. His heart twisted to see her so afraid. The scarred Malachite blasted into him, grabbing his neck and shoving him back. The force sent him banging back hard into a stone mausoleum. The entire thing shook with the impact. Demetrius grabbed the Malachite’s arm and used his strength and his foot to push off the mausoleum, flipping the monster onto his back, pinning him against the gate of the stone structure. Demetrius pummeled two blows into his face before the scarred Malachite’s grip loosened and his eye swelled. Another Malachite jumped on his back, capturing him in a headlock, pulling up as if to rip his head from his shoulders. Demetrius flipped over, slamming the Malachite on his back up against the mausoleum. The mausoleum shook again and showers of dust fell from the grinding stones. The vampire held him tightly around his neck, wrenching upward. The scarred vampire with the now swollen eye surged forward, capturing Demetrius’s arms at his side, holding him about the waist against the stone crypt. Demetrius twisted, trying to break free of their hold. The Malachite on his back had his arm locked around his neck and yanked up. The vampire before him pushed him back against the crypt and he couldn’t get a foothold to shove away from it. Another Malachite fighter approached, palming the tire iron, a vindictive grin on his face. At Jade’s muffled groan, Demetrius swiveled his gaze away from the Malachite. She stood, her hand on a cross tombstone, clutching it tightly as if to steady herself. He stared at her as the blow struck his face hard. He heard the crunch of bone as the tire iron crashed into his cheek. Shooting bright lights of pain exploded through his head. "No!” Jade gasped. The entire side of his head rang as agony reeled in his mind. His gaze never wavered from Jade. Tears fell from her eyes as she reached her hand out towards him. He wished he could get to her, to comfort her, but the hold around his neck and torso held him firm. A Malachite suddenly appeared steps behind her. Anger surged through Demetrius and a growl started low in his throat. The next blow from the tire iron dislodged his jaw, maybe even broke it, sending spiraling agony through his body. He desperately pushed the pain aside to concentrate on Jade. The bastard Malachite slowly approached her, a hungry look in his black eyes. Demetrius wrenched an arm free before the next swing, and held it up, blocking the strike. He grabbed the tire iron, ripping it from the Malachite’s hand in one movement. He plunged it down into the heart of the bastard holding him around his torso. As the vampire crumpled, Demetrius reached back, grabbed the vampire on his back and flipped him over his head and into the other one standing in front of him. Demetrius surged toward the Malachite near Jade, plunging a hand through his back into his chest cavity, removing
his heart with a vicious strike. A snarl ripped from the very depths of his soul as he tossed the still beating heart aside. Demetrius stood over Jade, staring down into her heavenly blue eyes. His very being ached to touch her. A slight whoosh from behind him was the only warning. He instinctively put his arms about her and leapt to the side, landing on top of a mausoleum just as a Malachite appeared at the place they had just stood. Another vampire landed at the bottom of the mausoleum Demetrius bent his knees, about to leap on the monster when a third vampire appeared at the other side, and then another appeared until the mausoleum was surrounded. Demetrius backed Jade to the very edge of the stone crypt. "The girl is not to be touched,” Hades commanded the other vampires from across the graveyard. "You do not give us orders,” one of the Malachite called to him. "Let her be!” The voice echoed through the graveyard. All turned toward the Matriarch who stood shakily from her wheelchair. “Our battle is not with her. That mortal is not to be harmed.” Some of the Malachite on the ground turned toward the blonde woman Jade had healed. Her blue eyes widened and she began to run. Demetrius knew it would do her no good. She rounded the side of a crypt, disappearing into the mist. Her scream lasted only for a moment and drifted off into the night air like the wispy strands of the surrounding fogs. Agony flamed through Demetrius’s head like a scalding pot of water. His left eye was beginning to swell closed. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up. He had to finish it now. He turned to Jade. Her gaze swept his face and she gasped. “Oh, Demetrius,” she whispered in agony. She lifted her hands toward his face. But there wasn’t time. He grabbed her wrists and shook his head. He attempted to speak to her, but it was too painful to move his mouth. He shook his head. The vampire with the swollen eye flew at him from the ground, his foot outstretched. Demetrius grabbed his leg and flung him to the side, away from Jade. He leapt after him, driving his hand downward for his chest cavity. The Malachite quickly rolled out of the way, but Demetrius anticipated his movement. He tracked his opponent, plunging his hand into the vampire’s chest, and ripped the heart from the monster. Demetrius barely had time to stand when something came from the left and hit him hard in the ribs. He felt a gruesome cracking in side and gasped as agony ripped through him. Demetrius cradled his ribs as the world shifted. Another blow to the head and he was flat on the ground on his stomach, darkness eating away at the edges of his vision. Another blow to his stomach flipped him over. Stunned and disoriented, he lay on the grass, the star lit sky above him. Ronald McColl came into his vision, a shovel in his hand. A crooked, dark grin spread over his lips. Demetrius tried to stand, but was laid flat by a scorching hot flash of pain. His vision slanted. He coughed and blood splattered from his mouth.
Ronald McColl’s grin stretched into a hideous smile. Demetrius’s entire body was on fire. It burned as though his veins were filled with molten lava, like his lungs were filled with fire instead of air. Ronald stood over him, a confident, mocking smile showing his fangs. He raised the shovel. Demetrius summoned all the energy he had and kicked the bastard’s knee cap. A loud snapping sounded and the Malachite went down hard. The other two vampires laughed from where they stood on either side of Demetrius. Ronald stood, his face red with embarrassment, fury and pain. He limped up to Demetrius. “You son of a bitch.” Demetrius’s world became foggy again as his vision shifted, distorting Ronald’s face. He shook his head to clear it. Ronald McColl swung the shovel down toward Demetrius’s chest.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE A hand burst through the center of Ronald McColl’s chest. For a moment everything stopped, suspended in time. Ronald held the shovel midway to Demetrius’s chest, staring down in confusion at the hand holding his beating heart. Uncertainty washed over Demetrius. Was this a dream? Was he dead? He looked for Jade on top of the mausoleum, but she wasn’t there. He tried to push himself up, but fell back beneath an inferno of agony. The hand retracted through Ronald McColl’s chest, leaving a wide gaping hole. A strong force shoved Ronald aside and his body pitched across the cemetery to crash into a cross tombstone, toppling it. Demetrius blinked. Bastian stood over him, shaking his head. He chucked Ronald’s heart after his body. There had never been a more welcomed sight in all of Demetrius’s very long life. Jade rushed to his side, dropping to her knees. She cradled his head, sobbing. “Demetrius.” She peppered kisses along the right side of his face. "I’ll take care of the rest of them,” Bastian said softly. "You will do no such thing,” the Matriarch called out insistently. “You are Malachite. You will do as I say.” Bastian took a deep breath. “I am a Mercer. I am Demetrius’s brother. This is where I belong.” Outrage shone in the old vampire’s sightless white eyes. She stomped her foot. Her teeth elongated and she hissed, “This is unfair! It is against the rules! Jupiter, do something!” Jupiter shrugged, his lips twitched at the corners. “You turned him.” Bastian’s knees bent as he prepared for battle. Demetrius watched him dodge the first vampire’s blow before turning his stare to Jade. Damn it. He couldn’t focus on her blue eyes. They swam before him in an eternal sea of brilliance. The cut on her cheek was almost totally healed. Whatever she had taken from the mortal woman was almost gone. He tried to speak to her, but a new wave of pain hit him hard. He closed his eyes for only a moment, but forced them open. He didn’t want to miss a moment with her. His vision seemed even more distorted because the left side of Jade’s face looked flattened and her cheekbone was not curvy, but broken. Her jaw slowly slid to the right. It took a moment for Demetrius to realize that pain did not throb through his temple, that he no longer felt icy shards along the battered side of his face, that his jaw was aligned again. Only a second after that, he felt the tingles of her healing touch radiating through his being, the wave of power flowing from her tiny body. And then, he understood what she was doing. She was taking his injuries into her body and healing him. But she was mortal! She couldn’t endure the brutal beating his immortal body had taken. He tried to move, tried to push her away, to stop her, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even lift a hand to rest it against hers. He was immobile beneath the palms of her hands hovering inches over his body. Power flooded through him, dousing any pain. Like liquid life, her energy touched him, renewed his spirit, caressed his heart, until every drop of his pain vanished, every drop of
self‐doubt and loathing disappeared. He saw himself as she did, not a monster, but a cherished man. Loved. A distant howling tugged him back from the miraculous power, away from its purifying touch. He understood why the mortal woman had looked at her the way she had. It was not horror, it was awe. Jade didn’t give just healing, she left part of herself. Jade withdrew her trembling hands. Demetrius didn’t want it to end, didn’t want to break the contact with her. He didn’t want to go back to his dark life. He wanted to bask in that power, wanted to stay with Jade, but reality slowly returned, the cool touch of the mist, a rock digging into his back. Jade’s broken body fell to the ground on her side. The howling he heard came from Hades as he screamed at her to stop. Bastian stood before Demetrius and Jade, his fighter’s body forming a wall between them and Hades. The other two Malachite fighters lay dead at his feet. Demetrius sat up. Jade lay on her side next to him. He knelt beside her, his hands outstretched. He wanted to draw her to him, to embrace her, but he hesitated. The left side of her face was smashed in, her breathing uneven and ragged. He was afraid to touch her broken body, afraid if he moved her he would kill her. “No,” he whispered. He couldn’t lose her again. Not again. “Jade.” Her eyes fluttered open and her beautiful face contorted with pain. Demetrius’s gaze swept her body. She gasped and clutched her stomach with shaking hands, curling around her broken ribs, her eyelids flickering over dulling orbs. "You took it all,” Demetrius groaned. "She is mine!” Hades roared. Bastian squatted beside Jade and Demetrius, keeping his gaze on Hades. “How is she?” Demetrius shook his head, words would not come to him. His throat closed. Jade reached out with her small hand and grasped his around his thumb. Even that small movement was too much for her and she stiffened with the effort and the agony it brought. His hand closed around hers. "Why did you do that?” Demetrius asked softly. “Why did you take so much?” A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. She shook her head. "You can’t heal from this. You’ve taken too much,” Demetrius whispered. He could hear the irregular beat of her weakening heart. “You’re not immortal. Your body isn’t as strong as mine. Why did you take it all?” "She is mine, Jupiter,” Hades growled. “Give her to me.” Jupiter looked at Hades, no longer bored, but a strange glow of excitement in his eyes. He shrugged. “Take her.” Demetrius heard his words and an unforgiving anger coursed through him. All this time he had been fighting for the wrong reasons, fighting his innocent brother, fighting the wrongly accused Malachite. His anger had been misdirected for so long, he wasn’t even sure what was
right anymore. All he was certain of was that he would not lose Jade again. Demetrius eased his hand from Jade’s and stood. Bastian rose beside him. Demetrius put a hand on Bastian’s shoulder, stilling him. “This is my fight. Stay with her.” He looked at Hades. “I don’t want to fight you, but Jade has the right to choose.” A look of repentant anguish crossed Hades’ face for an instant before it was gone beneath his hard glare. “She is mine,” he repeated. “I can’t live without her.” Demetrius recognized the same torment in himself that Hades professed. Perhaps Council had succeeded in their plan of giving Hades kindness and love through Jade, but it had become a misdirected kind of love, an obsessive twisted desire to own her. "I won’t let her go,” Hades proclaimed and approached in quick bursts of speed across the cemetery. Demetrius dodged his assault. Had Council been humane to Hades when they had staked and buried him? Was that more merciful than the centuries he had spent without Jade? Alive and yet emotionally dead. Regardless, Demetrius vowed he wasn’t going to spend another moment without her. He had found her and if Hades wanted to battle, then by God, in the way of ancient warriors he would fight for the woman he loved. At his full power, Demetrius was more than a match for Hades. He was an immortal trained to fight immortals. He pushed any feeling aside, sidestepping Hades’s angry lunges and kicks. He bent beneath one of Hades swings and responded with a punishing blow to his stomach sending Hades rocketing back into one, two and then three tombstones, each slab of stone crumbling and disintegrating beneath the violent force. Demetrius followed at a walk as Hades stared at him with wide disbelieving eyes and slowly stood. “I don’t want to fight you,” Demetrius reiterated. “For attempting to save Rosaline, I would grant you your life. For revealing the truth to me, I would grant you your freedom.” Doubt furrowed Hades’ brow. He looked at Council, his gaze sweeping over them. Then, he looked to Jade where she lay, Bastian beside her. "Don’t make me kill you,” Demetrius said. “To give Jade the opportunity to choose, I would do so.” "Are you so confident she would pick you?” Hades spat. "I am,” Demetrius answered. Hades exploded, erupting toward Demetrius, his hand outstretched. “You’re nothing but a pawn.” Centuries of battle made Demetrius quick. He leaned to the side, barely avoiding Hades’ grip. He delivered a stunning blow to Hades’ chin, shooting him up into the air. Hades came down hard, but landed lithely on his feet, confusion etched in his brow. He wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of his lip and stared at the red smear on his finger. “How can this be? I am of ancient immortal blood. How can you stop my attacks?” "Like Council, Hades, you have grown soft. You’ve been in ground too long to be a true threat to me. Just like they have become weak lounging in chairs, sending me out to do their battles. I am a fighter. One on one, I can defeat you easily.”
Hades stared at him through slit eyes. “I have not lived so long by being a fool. Perhaps you are strong now, but you will not always be this way. When you are weak and vulnerable, I will be there. And I will claim what is mine.” Demetrius’s fists clenched. “I granted your freedom and your life. And I will keep my word. Take them now and be gone. But know this, come near Jade and I will kill you.” Hades hissed and took a step backward. "It is not his right to grant life,” the Matriarch protested, pointing a gnarled finger at Demetrius. “Especially that of an ancient.” "He will not die by my hand this day,” Demetrius proclaimed. He turned his back to Hades and his eyes immediately came to rest on Jade. She lay in the grass, on her side, exactly as he had left her. Fear coiled around his heart. She was so still. He listened for her heart beat. Instead, he heard a whoosh. "Demetrius!” At Bastian’s warning, Demetrius instinctively sidestepped. A metal spike from an iron gate landed with a twang in the ground where he had been standing moments before. Demetrius whirled on Hades… But he was gone. The spot where he stood empty except for a stray wisp of fog. Demetrius backed away, returning to Jade’s side. Let Hades run away. He didn’t give a damn about him. He knew he should, but Jade was so much more important. The Matriarch began to wheel herself across the cemetery. “You’re just going to let the fighter walk away? After the way he condemned Council? He must be destroyed.” Shocked, Demetrius stopped. A Malachite speaking to Council that way, demanding his destruction? It made no sense. She was the de Nouviant enemy. Why didn’t Jupiter or one of the others simply destroy her now that there were no fighters to protect her? Jupiter crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m more curious as to what you intend to do with Bastian.” "Outcast,” the Matriarch said firmly, lifting her wrinkled chin. "Outcast from whom? Your family is gone,” Vesta asked. "It’s been a long time since we started out on even ground,” Minerva said. Demetrius frowned in confusion. Even ground? What were they talking about? "There are still three fighters left,” Vesta said. “We can have them battle it out between them to see who survives.” Jupiter smiled, eyeing Demetrius. “The brothers will not fight against one another.” Minerva shrugged. “Besides if Morta outcast Bastian, then she has no one left. We win.” "Win?” Demetrius echoed in disbelief. "It’s not fair if you start a game with a fighter like him,” the Matriarch complained. "Game?” Demetrius repeated. He blinked, not believing what he was hearing. A game? His life. Rosaline’s life. All the Malachite he had killed. Simply a game to them? Jupiter nodded agreement. “He has turned out to be our most impressive fighter, as I told you he would be.” "You like him,” the Matriarch gasped.
Jupiter’s smile widened. “I have become overly fond of him, I will admit. He has made life unpredictable these last centuries. And for that, I will reward him.” "What of the mortal girl? Her power is magnificent. I’ve never felt anything like it. I want her blood,” the Matriarch demanded. A low growl of warning escaped Demetrius’s throat. Jupiter shook his head. “No one will have her blood. She is dying.”
CHAPTER FORTY Dying. No, Demetrius thought. She was a quick healer. She would be all right. He raced to Jade’s side and stared down at her. The left side of her beautiful face was still smashed in, although her jaw had begun to heal, sliding back into place. Why did she do it? He could have healed himself. He knew why she had done it, even though he wanted to deny it. She had saved his life. He had no doubt Hades would have killed him to get Jade. An agonizing realization rose from the very depths of his soul. He hadn’t been able to protect Rosaline. He hadn’t been able to protect Jade, either. He had failed. And now, he was alive and well and Jade was lying on the ground hurt. The image of Rosaline lying on the ground, her chest covered in blood came to his mind. Not again. He couldn’t do it again. He couldn’t lose Jade. Jade had taken his injuries into her small, fragile body. It should be his to fight off. He could have done it. He was immortal. It would have taken time, but he could have cured himself. “Jade,” he whispered helplessly. He picked up her hand, desperately willing her to fight, to heal. He could hear the labored beating of her heart. Guilt and anguish settled across his shoulders like a heavy cloak. Her eyes were closed and he wished she would open them so he could see their radiance, at least a flicker of life, a moment of hope. Demetrius stroked Jade’s soft hair. He looked up to see them watching. Jupiter. For a moment, he thought of asking them for help. There must be some ancient remedy. Something. He would do anything to help Jade. He bowed his head over her hand. He knew what they wanted. Her blood. Jade was not important to them, he was a powerful threat to them. He knew for certain they would not help him. He had to get Jade away from them, somewhere safe. He looked up in time to see the Matriarch whisper something to Jupiter. His jaw clenched tight. Let them try to kill him now. He would gladly cut all of their heads off. What had they said? It was some sort of game to them? All these dead Malachites. All the dead de Nouviant fighters. Chip. And so long ago, his Rosaline. Her death had started it all for him. He looked down at Jade. Her jaw had shifted back to its normal place and her lips were slightly parted. Even though her cheek was still fractured and swollen, it was obvious she was healing. She wouldn’t die. She couldn’t. She couldn’t leave him. Not again. She needed medical attention. He cursed softly. The mortal doctors couldn’t help her. Her only help would come from her own body’s remarkable healing power. Demetrius felt useless, helpless. He was unused to the feeling and it only added to his frustration. "Take her inside, Demetrius.” He looked up at Jupiter who stood beside him. "So you can kill me and take her blood?” Demetrius shook his head. “I don’t think so.” "I’ll be here to watch over you both,” Bastian offered.
Jupiter lifted a surprised, speculative gaze to Bastian. Then, nodded agreement. "No,” Demetrius said adamantly. "You still need us, Demetrius,” Jupiter said softly. “We have fresh blood for you. Medical supplies for Jade.” "You also have the penchant for betrayal.” Demetrius carefully gathered Jade in his arms. She groaned, but settled into the crock of his arm. He took a step toward the cemetery gates. Bastian grabbed his arm to halt him. “He may be right. You can’t take her to a hotel, you have no money, no credit cards that will be approved. All of them belong to Council.” Demetrius whirled on Jupiter. “Get me a hotel room.” Jupiter bridled. “I know you feel we’ve wronged you, but you would be safer with your own kind.” "Wronged me?” Demetrius snapped. “You would have killed Rosaline. You would have done anything to make me your immortal fighter. I should have had the choice of which life I wanted.” He turned and walked past the rest of Council, daring them to stop him. "The Abbott on Main Street,” Jupiter called. “They’ll have everything you need.” With a burst of speed, Demetrius was gone. ~* * *~ Demetrius had nowhere else to go, nowhere to take Jade. He went to the Abbott and, just as Jupiter had told him, there was a room waiting for him. No questions were asked when he carried Jade into the lobby and ordered a room. No questions were asked as the bellboy escorted him to his room on the third floor. No questions were asked as the mortal closed the door behind him. The suite had a large common area, as well as two bedrooms. Demetrius carried Jade from room to room as he searched the suite thoroughly, half expecting an ambush. When he was satisfied they were alone, he placed Jade on one of the beds in the first bedroom. He sat beside her on the bed, holding her hand. They had been his injuries to heal. Part of him was angry Jade had taken his wounds, while part of him was worried beyond belief. He looked at her face. Her cheek was rounded and smooth once again and it gave him hope that she could recover. ~* * *~ Demetrius stared out the window as the sun rose. He let the bright light burn his eyes for a moment before pulling the heavy curtains closed. He climbed onto the bed, lying beside Jade and pulled her up against his body. He stroked her head, brushing her hair from her forehead. He waited anxiously as time passed, holding her against him, listening to the soft beat of her heart. She still hadn’t opened her eyes. Her face was healed. Her body seemed strong, with no sign of any wounds. Why didn’t she open her eyes? He sat back against the headboard, keeping her against his body. Why wasn’t she waking up? A knock sounded at the door, but Demetrius didn’t answer. He stared at the ceiling, wishing whomever it was to leave him in peace. Another knock at the door and then it was opened. Bastian walked down the hallway and paused at the open bedroom door, watching him. Then he bowed his head and turned away, entering the other bedroom, turning on the television. ~* * *~
Demetrius lifted Jade’s head and pressed a cup of water to her lips. She shook her head and turned away. She wasn’t drinking. She wasn’t eating. It had been two whole days. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t recovered. He touched her hand and was horrified to find it ice cold. He pulled all the blankets over her, piling them high until her tiny body was covered. She began tossing, whimpering. Again, he gathered her close and whispered soothing words to her, kissing the top of her head. He blamed himself for allowing those Malachite to touch him, to injure him so badly he could not defend himself. He hated that Jade thought him so weak he needed her to save to him. He rubbed his cheek against her chilled forehead, rubbing his hands along her arms, trying to heat her body. He stared down at her, at the lines of tension around her furrowed eyebrows, at the slight grimace in her beautiful lips. Was she dying? Agony pierced through his entire body at the thought. It made no sense. The wounds she had taken from him were gone. He held her tighter. “Jade,” he whispered, “Fight this. Don’t let it happen.” Her eyes opened slightly and seemed to focus on him. "Jade,” he begged. She was too weak even for talk and her eyes closed again. Another time came back to him, another memory almost mirroring this one. He held Rosaline, cradled as he did Jade, willing to trade his soul for her life. Now, he faced the same monster, the only one he was truly powerless against. Death. The bedroom door opened and closed softly. The darkness blanketed the visitor, but Demetrius could see as well as if he’d had the lights on. Bastian stood near the door, his hands on his hips. “Turn her,” he ordered. Demetrius shook his head, refusing. He would never subject her to a life of darkness. "You won’t have to lose her again. She will live forever with you.” "No. Never,” Demetrius growled. "You’re not a monster, Demetrius. You never were. And she wouldn’t be either.” "No,” Demetrius said firmly. Bastian sighed, shook his head and left the room. Demetrius remembered the agony of changing. The body had to die first. He didn’t want to watch her die, not even knowing she would become immortal. He couldn’t turn her. He didn’t want her to have to drink blood to survive. He didn’t want her to live like a shadow of death. Demetrius brushed Jade’s forehead. Her skin was as cold as snow. He wished he had warmth to give to her. He put his head to her chest, listening. Her heart was slowing, the beats coming more and more softly, the life‐giving organ barely able to pump blood through her tiny body. Pain pierced his heart, shooting needles of emotional agony through him. He was losing her. What had happened? She had healed. He couldn’t understand it. And he couldn’t fight what he couldn’t comprehend. He begged a silent invisible God not to take her from him. He would do anything. “Please, Jade,” he whispered. The beats grew slower as her heart labored. "Don’t leave me,” he whispered, half praying, half pleading. The sound of heart fell softer. Softer. Fading.
Demetrius steeled himself. His darkness had tainted her. In healing him, in touching him with her special power, she would die. She could not fight it off. And he could not save her. Not from this. He pulled her closer to him, willing her heart to keep beating. Another beat. And then silence. Demetrius mentally denied it, waiting for another beat. As the seconds stretched and silence was all he heard, a deep encompassing grief filled him. Still, he denied it. She couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t leave him. He pulled back to look down at her still face. Soft, flawless. His vision blurred. “Jade?” She didn’t respond. She didn’t move. Oh, God, no. Torment overwhelmed him. His chest tightened around his heart, squeezing until he ached with sorrow. Slowly, realization stung through him, ripping and tearing his insides. Jade. He threw back his head and a wrenching scream issued from between his grit teeth. It echoed through the hotel into the night sky. Jade was dead.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE Bastian raced into the dark bedroom, skidding to a halt in the doorway. Demetrius knelt at Jade’s side, holding her hand pressed to his forehead. “Get out,” he growled in a thick voice. "Demetrius –” Bastian began. Demetrius rose to his feet, his hands clenched into tight fists, his eyes burning red. His fangs, long and sharp, glinted in the light from the other bedroom. “Get. Out.” Bastian didn’t hesitate. He took a step back, quietly and quickly closing the door behind him. He had no sooner stepped into the hallway then the door to the hotel room flew open and Jupiter raced into the main room, his usually calm face lit with alarm. He started toward the bedroom door. Bastian stepped into his path. “Don’t,” he warned. “He’ll kill you.” "What happened?” Jupiter demanded. "Jade’s dead.” ~* * *~ Demetrius waited at Jade’s side for an entire day, until her blood was too old to drink, until her blood would no longer give up her secrets, until her soul was long gone from the body. He stared down at her for a long time. Her face was so pale, so white. It should be me, he thought. I should be the one who is dead. Tears burned the backs of his eyes, but he refused to shed them. His Jade. Gone. He was alone again. How long would he have to wait for her this time? A decade? A century? A millennium? He remembered how cold and alone he had been before she came back into his life, how futile his life seemed. He stood, like a statue, trying to squelch the agonizing maelstrom tearing his insides and ripping at his heart. His misery was so sharp it was a physical pain, like a steel weight had smashed his chest. Jade was gone. He stepped away from her, wanting with every fiber of his being to stay with her, but he couldn’t bear to see her like this. He couldn’t bear to look at her lifeless and still body. It was his fault. He couldn’t protect her. With a savage snarl, Demetrius whirled and fled the room. When he stepped into the hallway, he saw that all of Council and Bastian waited in the adjoining room. "Demetrius –” Jupiter began. The growl of warning ripped from deep within his broken heart. He raced from the hotel room, into the hallway. He just wanted to get away. He didn’t really know where he was going. He didn’t really care. He just knew he had to distance himself and get far away from them to try and escape the anguish filling him. ~* * *~ Two days later, Demetrius stood in the heavy night in the middle of the graveyard at Castle Mercer in England. It had not changed since that day many centuries ago when he had put Rosaline in the ground. Only a square stone overgrown with weeds and long grass marked her grave now. He needed no guide to find her resting place. He could have found it blindfolded.
First, Rosaline. And now, Jade. He would have to bring Jade’s body here and bury her next to Rosaline. The inner torment raging in him had not abated with the distance or the days of travel to get to this spot in England. He still wore the same clothing he had when he had last fought Hades and the Malachite, when he learned it was all a sick game. He had not bathed; his hair was unkempt. He didn’t care. All that mattered was dead to him. His body was like a weight pulling him down. He felt empty and so very tired. He didn’t want to go on. He didn’t want to continue an immortal life without her. He loved Jade and he had not even told her. "I thought I might find you here.” Jupiter’s voice rang across the graveyard. Demetrius didn’t look up from the grave marker. Maybe Jupiter had followed him to end his existence. He would offer no resistance, no battle, no more entertainment for Council. He was done with it all. "You left something behind,” Jupiter said. What was he talking about? He left nothing behind. There had never been anything to leave behind. "Demetrius…” The lyrical sigh froze him. Surely, his mind was playing tricks on him. He didn’t turn around, because he knew if she wasn’t there, he had gone made. Truly and irreverently mad. "Demetrius.” The word floated to him on a gentle breeze. Slowly he turned, afraid of what he would see, but more afraid of what he wouldn’t. She stood in a patch of moonlight, illuminated with a glow of pale light, like some glorious angel. So bright. So lovely. “Jade?” he whispered, unsure of what he was seeing. She couldn’t be real. He had heard her heart stop. He had watched her die. Jade took a step forward. She was real! Joy erupted in Demetrius, a magnificent, all encompassing happiness. He raced to her, sweeping her up in his arms, spinning her wildly around. He pulled her body close to his in disbelief, kissing her face, her neck. She was alive! He put her feet on the ground and pulled back, taking her face in his hands to gaze at her. Demetrius gasped. Her eyes. Instead of her lovely blue eyes, they were completely black. His joy disintegrated, shattered into a million bits of dashed hope. His gaze snapped to Jupiter. “You turned her?” he demanded. Jupiter held up his hands. “It wasn’t me!” "Please don’t be mad,” she whispered. Her voice trembled. Demetrius’s teeth clenched as his gaze swept over her face again. Her skin was a shade paler. Her cheek was completely healed. It was her eyes that gave her away. Who would have done this to her? Who could have done this? She had been dead when he left her! “Who did this to you?” Her eyes were round and innocent and strangely beseeching. “You.” Demetrius pulled back, dropping his hands from her. “No,” he whispered. “I never bit you. I didn’t turn you.”
"The nearest we can guess is she took part of it when she healed you,” Jupiter explained patiently. “She woke up this way.” "Woke up?” Demetrius echoed, staring at Jade. "Hours after you left, when the rest of Council had gone, she stumbled from the room, calling for you.” Anguish pierced his heart and he gently touched her shoulders in disbelief. He hadn’t meant to abandon her. She trembled with restraint. She was hungry. "Who fed her?” Demetrius asked. He remembered the ravenous hunger that consumed him after rising the first time. Someone had to have fed her blood. She was hungry now, but he knew that hunger was nothing compared to the pulse pounding need for blood she must have felt when she had first awoken. Just the thought of someone else’s blood in her veins caused anger to scorch through him. "She wouldn’t take any blood.” A new worry washed through Demetrius. Why hadn’t she fed? She must be suffering. Demetrius brought his wrist to his lips, slashing it with his teeth, and then held it out to her. She shook her head and backed up, refusing what he offered, but she was so starved she couldn’t prevent her fangs from lengthening at the sight of his blood. She covered her mouth and looked away from him. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want this.” The sorrow in her voice tore at his soul. How could he not want this for her when she was alive? When she stood before him? "I don’t have to drink blood,” she protested, weakly. Her voice was shaking with need, with want. How could she control it? “You do have to drink blood,” he said softly, loving her for her resistance, but knowing she had to drink to survive. He reached out to her, gently tugging her hands from her mouth. She shook her head, her whole body trembling as she stared at the red liquid seeping from his arm. “I’m so sorry.” "No,” Demetrius said firmly, cupping her cheek, forcing her to look at him. “I was dead until now. I…I couldn’t go through it. Jade…Jade…” He kissed her lips, marveling at how soft they were, how pliant. And how much he missed her. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her. “I never want to lose you again. I love you.” "But I’m a monster,” she whispered. "Never. You could never be a monster. Not even if you tried.” He lifted his wrist to her. “Drink, Jade. Drink and live with me forever.” Jade tenderly took his arm and brought it to her lips. Her sucking was remarkably restrained for a newborn, and very erotic the way her lips caressed his arm. Demetrius watched her fondly, a growing pride in his chest. What miracle had managed to bring her to him? What guardian angel watched over him, making him so lucky? He stroked the back of her head as she drank. How could he go in one moment from wretchedness to absolute bliss? What did it matter? Jade was here with him now. When she had taken enough to pacify her thirst, he eased his arm from her with firmness.
She looked up at him. Her eyes were still completely black; she was still hungry. "We’ll get more later,” he said, kissing her lips and wiping the blood off with his tongue. Her fangs retracted. He put his arm around her. Jupiter leaned against the tombstone, that infernal amused grin on lips, his arms crossed over his chest. "You brought Jade back to me,” Demetrius stated, trying to keep the awe from his voice. "Just call me the unwilling hero,” Jupiter said quietly. When Demetrius waited for a reason, Jupiter shrugged lazily. “I enjoyed our friendship. I enjoyed your unpredictability, your disrespect for authority.” Demetrius hooked an arm around Jade’s shoulders and faced Jupiter. “Is that why you tried to kill Rosaline?” Jupiter sobered. “It was not my choice. Council wanted you badly. They knew you would be a strong fighter. And I might add they were right. We were right.” "Do you know what you condemned me to? The years of loneliness? The years of angry vengeance? The years of emptiness?” "Redemption.” "What?” Demetrius asked. "Think of Jade as my gift of truce. Of redemption.” Demetrius shook his head. “That has been your problem all along, Jupiter. We are not here for your entertainment. Jade is not a token you can give.” He looked down at her. “She chooses for herself. As she chose me centuries ago.” "We all made choices centuries ago, didn’t we?” Demetrius pulled Jade close to him. She was his anchor against the rage Jupiter was stirring up. He shook his head. Jupiter would never understand. He would always see life as a game and people as pawns. Demetrius looked down into Jade’s eyes. Life was to be cherished. Even an immortal life could end. “Goodbye, Jupiter.” He turned to go, Jade at his side. "The Matriarch has insisted Bastian be outcast. She can’t get over his betrayal.” Demetrius kept walking. "Luther is our last remaining fighter.” Demetrius continued walking along the overgrown path out of the cemetery. He didn’t care. "We never caught Hades. He is still out there, somewhere.” Demetrius looked down at Jade. He would see that she was safe. "Council doesn’t know Jade is alive.” Demetrius halted. He glanced at Jupiter over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. Was this another game he was playing? Why wouldn’t he tell Council Jade was alive? "You’ll need to train her. You know how troublesome newborns are.” Demetrius doubted Jade would be any trouble at all. Not with the restraint she had shown today. "If she has any healing power, don’t let her use it. Council will know for certain she’s alive, if she does. And so will Hades.” Still, Demetrius didn’t trust him, not after all his betrayal. “Why? Why are you doing this?” "I figured I owed you a few years of happiness.”
Could it be that Jupiter was truly trying to make amends? “I’m still suspicious of your motives.” Jupiter grinned. “You would disappoint me if you weren’t.” "I guess I should thank you.” "Perhaps it is I who should thank you for the years of entertainment.” "Don’t push it.” Jupiter chuckled. “I’m certain I shall see you again.” Demetrius nodded, a bittersweet concession. “Most likely.” Jupiter looked at Jade. “You have been a pleasant disruption.” Jade smiled and took five steps across the graveyard to put her arms around Jupiter. Surprised, Jupiter stiffened. Then, he slowly relaxed as contentment and acceptance seeped into his body. He wrapped his arms around her small body. A moment of fierce jealousy scorched Demetrius before Jade withdrew her arms from Jupiter and returned to his side. He took her hand and together they began to walk out of the graveyard. "Will you teach me how to run really fast?” Jade asked. Demetrius chuckled. “I will teach you everything I know.” "Everything?” Demetrius stopped and turned to Jade. He pulled her close to him, caressing her cheek. “Everything.” Her eyes lidded in a sultry look that hardened him immediately. "Maybe there are things we can learn together,” she said softly. Demetrius leaned into her upturned lips. “Wanton little minx.” The kiss deepened and he found he had never been happier in his life. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Demetrius and he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. “So, is this the way you expected your story to end?” Jade chuckled. “I have made my Demetrius happy, haven’t I?” she mused. "You have, indeed.” "Are you certain?” There was real concern in her voice. “I mean, I am a vampire now.” "It isn’t exactly the ending I would have imagined, but it is a start.” "The start of a new book.” Demetrius’s eyebrows rose. Then he nodded. “Precisely.”
About the Author Laurel O’Donnell has won numerous awards for her works, including the Holt Medallion for A Knight of Honor, the Happily Ever After contest for The Angel’s Assassin, and the Indiana’s Golden Opportunity contest for Immortal Death. The Angel and the Prince was nominated by the Romance Writers of America for their prestigious Golden Heart award. O’Donnell lives in Illinois with her four cherished children, her beloved husband and her five cats. She finds precious time every day to bring her characters to life in her writing. Author Website – http://www.laurel‐odonnell.com
PPB
Pink Petal Books, an imprint of Jupiter Gardens Press, would like to invite you to explore the entire Jupiter Gardens, LLC family. Don’t forget to sign up for our reader’s loop where we have monthly giveaways, chats, and more! Information can be found on the Pink Petal Books’ website. Jupiter Gardens, LLC – http://www.jupitergardens.com/ Pink Petal Books – http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/ Jupiter Gardens Press – http://www.jupitergardenspress.com/ Thank you for buying and reading our books! Our authors appreciate your patronage.