The Vampire's Retribution, page 3
Fast-forward four years… I practically ran out of La Bella Cucina with Celia protesting, “I called but there’s no answer, Ally. I mean, turning twenty-one is a big deal! Dad agreed to invite him because—”
“No, he didn’t so don’t lie to me,” I replied totally hurt and angry. “Daddy B doesn’t trust Michael, which means he doesn’t trust me.” I made it to Broadway with Celia still trying to keep up. “I love him. I know what he is, but I love him. Don’t you get it?”
“Yes, I get it. I really do, but you don’t seem to realize that he’s not a man—at least not a living one. And Michael’s been around since 1690!”
“For the past five years he’s had my back. I’ve practically thrown myself at him. I’ve kissed him…that’s all. How can Dad be so unsure of me? I’m untouched. Virginity rules—no matter how much I want to… I honor my vow. I wouldn’t be alive to see this birthday if it weren’t for Michael. Maybe I’ve had enough of this. Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore.” I stopped at the intersection, waited for the red hand to disappear so I could cross. “I’m a senior in college, and I’ve upheld my end of this mission. But if Michael leaves me, I…I’ll die.” Tears blurred my vision and the red hand began to swim.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have had all that champagne, Ally. You hardly touched your dinner, and you’re not thinking straight.” I pushed Celia’s hand away and stepped off the curb. The theater crowd pushed onward. “Dad says he hasn’t been seen in over a week. Michael’s gone, Ally. Maybe it’s time to move on.”
“No. I won’t move on. We’re connected—deep down in my soul I can feel him.” I left Celia B standing on that street. I just walked away, and a few blocks later I took a taxi to Central Park..
The September night chilled, and I shivered in my short black dress. As soon as I left the well-lit, paved pathway, I yanked off those tight black shoes and threw them into the trees. Rarely worn and uncomfortable though stylish, I hated walking in high heels.
Then I came to the spot where I first met Michael Malone. Sinking down to the damp leaves, I sobbed his name, over and over. Vulnerable and exposed, I didn’t care. Memories of him hammered my mind.
Hours slipped past. The heavens rumbled above. It broke the reverie. Demons were near and I flailed my fists at the night sky. “I don’t give a damn! Let them come. Let all the vampires come! I defy You. For the first time in my life, I turn my back on this mission. You made him leave me. And I hate You,” I screamed into the cold air. It would be over soon enough. I’d meet death after some vampire’s fangs sank into my throat. I wouldn’t fight it. Another dead Guardian. Another life lost. A sour taste filled my mouth and I threw up the contents of my churning stomach. Then I sat back on my heels, waited, and cried.
You stepped out of the trees with fury etched on your handsome face. “What do you think you’re doing? If a vampire finds you like this, it will mean your death!”
“Why would you care? You left me,” the words choking out of me. I lunged at you with mystical strength and landed several blows. “Go away and stay away!”
It took several attempts before you finally grabbed my wrists.
“Stop this right now,” came as a warning, but I continued my assault. A quick jab to my upset stomach was what finally did it. I was suddenly over a shoulder, with you running with vampire speed through the empty streets of the city, taking me to the safety of your brownstone. My anger revved again when you shut the door and I slid off your shoulder—landing on an uncarpeted floor with a thud. You pulled me to my feet, saying nothing. Nothing at all!
“You left me!” I hissed.
“Are you going to start that again?”
My fists clipped my hips, incensed by the calm reply. “You betcha, buddy.”
“You look like a bad version of Kate in Taming of the Shrew.” Your smirk was cutting.
“You left me!” I repeated, poking a finger at your chest.
“I merely stepped away for a while.”
The simplicity of your arrogant tone took me off guard. “Why?”
With your arms locked across your chest, you answered a brisk, “Because.”
“That’s not an answer!”
“Well, it’s the only one I’m going to give, so get over it.”
My reply was to slap your face, and as I did, I knew I’d gotten to you. Your dark eyes closed… your nostrils flared. Still turned aside, you whispered, “I shouldn’t have brought you here.” Then my hands rested on your chest. Was it my touch? Did it drive you crazy? I know my heart began to race. “How could you even think I would leave you? I’ll love you throughout eternity.”
The kisses that followed were insatiable, hungry… My hands slid down in a greedy way. Your hand slipped under my dress, driving me wild. I could only gasp as you slid me up your body and my legs locked around your hips. The feel of you. Your tongue in a dance with mine—I went wild, throbbing with anticipation, excitement. I ran my hands through your thick, wavy hair, kissing you deeply, panting with need.
“Alana… I can’t—”
“Don’t say it,” I sighed, the need building even higher.
I shivered against the pressure of you carrying me up the stairs to your bed. No. I didn’t fight. I didn’t say stop, either. Deep in my soul, I knew I belonged to you. Loving you was as natural as breathing. Although I’d never been with a man, instinct told me what would drive your desire. What would drive you insane. And only you could fill the emptiness within me.
Every experienced move you made had my body quivering. I ripped at your shirt, and you pulled my dress over my head. When my fingers unnotched your belt, you unzipped your black jeans. By the time our bodies hit the bed we were naked in each other’s arms.
Oh, the way you touched me. It made my breath hitch, coated my body with desire I had never known could exist. Every temptation led me to freedom, my mind lost in forbidden pleasures. Your masterful touch prepared me, eased the pain when you entered me.
What shot through me was pure bliss and I quivered as you began to move inside of me. When I felt you hesitate my eyes eased open. And I knew…
A deep growl sounded, raspy and threatening. Your eyes were a feral-yellow, and I came face to face with the beast-within. Its sharp fangs skimmed my breast and then slipped into my neck.
In that instant my mind cleared. My mystical strength emerged and I pushed the beast off my body. “You are not the man I love,” I whispered, desperate to have you back.
But you weren’t a man. You were a vampire. It was my blood on your fangs. You had tasted me. I had broken a solemn vow. I rose from the bed to study the lascivious beast-within, now fully exposed.
You threw back your head in an arrogant manner. An uncharacteristic sneer appeared as I pulled on my dress and backed away from the bed, stopping in the doorway once again. I watched with shock as the beast-within licked its lips. My blood. Guardian blood. It growled. Bared its fangs as I whispered your name.
“Such sweet blood, so hot, so strong,” said in a different voice, one sinister and depraved. “My craving for you will never end.”
When you lunged, one kick to the center of the chest sent you sprawling across the bed as you leered at me with lust in your feral eyes. Yet I turned and walked out of the room. I went down the stairs.
“I’ll come for you, my guardian,” you called out. “I’ll take you again and again. You will ache for only me!”
I stepped through the threshold of your brownstone knowing full well that my only protection would now be daylight hours.
Alana studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “So young and headstrong…I didn’t think, I didn’t want to know.” That one night had her heart full of regret. Although no one said it, everyone knew what she had done.
Weeks of terror ensued before Philip, Dan and Rob, all experienced Guardians, helped Alana lure Michael into the passageway. His beast-within continued to be obsessed with Alana. Celia, with her mystical mind inexplicably powerful, managed to open the portal in the passageway just as Michael took the bait, finally cornered her. Miles pushed him through the swirling mist, and Helena took him away. “I will always hate myself for pushing you so far that you lost control.”
When the Georgian Sovereign Council convened to discuss her broken vow of purity, it was decided that because her mystical strength had not lessened, she could continue her mystical mission. Too many long, lonely years remained.
What happened that September night had changed her. Losing Michael brought her to a sad, empty place. She’d never allow her love for him to show, but it would always be there. Right under her skin. Branded on her soul.
When Michael reappeared in the city, Miles confirmed that he was, once again, in control of his beast-within. It didn’t matter because he’d never touch her again. The few times they spoke it was brief and purposely distant. But was he watching out for her? Always from a distance? The Guardian in her knew it to be true.
Touching each other again was never going to happen—even after her mystical mission ended. The cost was too high. She’d have to drive a stake through Michael’s heart to destroy the beast-within. She’d have to destroy him.
The depth of misery is often profound. And love can haunt one’s heart forever. No one mentioned his name around her. Philip looked out for her. No other Guardians spoke to Michael except Dan and Rob.
The day Alana turned twenty-seven, after another uncomfortable full year of completely avoiding Michael, she left the city. Moving to Portofino meant beginning a new life, a healthy one that might include a “normal” relationship with a man she might learn to love.
Walking across her bedroom, she couldn’t shake the weird sensation crawling through her mind and settling in her heart. She pulled on a pair of jeans. You’re in trouble, and I’m thousands of miles away. Oh God, I can’t help you. Her fingers shook as she buttoned her blouse. Sinking into the Queen Anne chair next to the bed, her elbows landed on her knees and her head dropped into her hands. “Michael, my love, what have you done?” When she heard the sound of the house phone’s ring, she jumped up and literally ran into the living room to answer it.
****
Celia let out a loud sigh of relief when she heard her adopted sister’s voice say, “Celia B, please… Tell me what’s happening?”
“This is bad, Ally, really bad. Michael’s in major trouble. Every right kind of good psychic in this dimension is chanting for his protection. I threw in some ‘go into the light’ mojo for the Hell-beasts. I’ve warned the local Guardians in case they’re needed.” Celia stopped talking. Because she rambled, which she only did when extremely nervous.
“What’s going on in Manhattan? I had this really strange dream. What did he get himself involved in?”
“Something very big and scary, I think. You had a yucky feeling, right? Mine was more like a vision—a mind picture while awake, you know? I’m getting the sinking feeling that Michael put a bee in someone’s bonnet. My guess is NWT. Now that’s major evil if you ask me.”
“Philip told me he made some kind of deal with Clayton Mails. Has an office, locates and recruits wicked rich humans to work for the sorcerers. Do you think they finally hauled his evil vampire ass to Hell or something?”
“He’s not evil, Ally, he still knows right from wrong,” she said in Michael’s defense. “And as for hauling away that gorgeous ass of his, I think they brought Hell to him.” She didn’t care for his cocky antics, but she was certain he still loved Alana deeply—very deeply.
“Come again? Brought Hell to Manhattan? Now that’s new.”
“Ally, I’m sensing you love him and don’t love him at the same time.” Celia cleared her throat shifting from foot to foot. “No offense, but… You can get difficult, especially when it involves Michael. Uh… I don’t think you’re getting the big picture here. I mean, right now he’s fighting a never-ending parade of demons. His son’s glued to a really filthy floor, close to the action by some mysterious power. I can see those sandy curls. Lukas isn’t too happy with the sticky thing, but if Hell-beasts get a whiff of him—”
“Did you say his son? Why would he be there? Did Lukas enlist inter-dimensional demons to finally put an end to dear old dad? I hear he’s got rage that just—”
“Whoa, stop,” she cautioned, hearing anxiety in her adopted sister’s voice. “I’m not getting that. Really, I’d tell you if it were the case. I don’t think Michael even knows Lukas is there.” Her tone softened. She took in a breath to relax and stopped shifting from foot to foot. “Thorn’s missing. I-I mean, I know he’s all right, but I can’t sense him anywhere. Anyway, that’s not the only reason I’m calling.” She had to approach this with care. “Look, I know you won’t get to Michael in time. If our incantation works, and we incinerate the beastly things, he’s going to need help, Ally. I’m getting another feeling, too. Don’t ask me to explain, but I think something’s going to like…bite him.” She heard the gasp.
“Do you mean like a vampire—or a bug?”
“No, not like a—something a lot bigger, and it looks kind of, well, dirt brown. I caught a glimpse of it in my vision. The thing has three heads, all snapping and snarling. These mini-mind-messages can be vague sometimes.”
“I’ve seen many a weird-looking creature, but the idea of one flying around with three heads and taking a bite out of him is making me crazy. You’ve got to warn him.”
Celia’s free hand flew up, exasperated. “You know I can’t do that. Whatever’s going down in the city, your Michael is a major player. There are so many evil elements at work against him. Just keeping them safe is taking all our collective energy. Evil doesn’t like to play by the rules, Ally.” She paused to contemplate this convoluted mess.
“Celia… Are you still there?”
“Yeah… sorry but look. If Michael survives, he’s going to need help. So will Lukas.”
“Tell Dad to bring them here. They’ll both be safe with me.”
The line went dead and she whispered, “That’s exactly what I hoped to hear.” She ran up to her suite at the Georgian Estate to get her laptop and some personal items. There was no need to explain her return to Manhattan. The meditation group would understand. Her father would meet with the Georgian Council to approve an extraction plan. It was going to be necessary to get both father and son to Alana in Italy. As Celia reached the front door, a taxi pulled into the circular drive.
****
Alana had not waited for a response from Celia. She hung up the phone, lost in memories and holding on to hope. I don’t care what the Georgians think. I don’t care what Dad thinks. I have to help him. I want him with me. We belong to each other, and we always will.
She sank into the beige leather armchair in the living room, more on edge. That demented child has resurfaced, and he’s dangerous. Every Guardian in the city knows what Lukas is capable of doing. Where has he been for the past year, anyway? Michael never told her about Lukas. Miles did. Her adopted father remained convinced that NWT had something to do with turning the angel-faced teen into an uncontrollable lunatic. Lurking around the brownstone, living on city streets, stalking Michael with one purpose in mind: torture and destroy.
I remember the day Daddy B told me he disappeared. It was months before I moved to Italy. Dan and Rob said drop it, and I did. Philip said it wasn’t my concern. Now Celia says he’s not crazy anymore. Well…I’ll have to see for myself.
She twisted her hands, something she never did unless already beyond edgy.
Chapter 4
Father and Son
Michael Malone had had enough. It was payback time. He knew he couldn’t win this final, self-imposed battle. He’d destroy as many Hell-beasts as possible before anyone dragged his soul to Hell. His foolhardy plan to kill all three sorcerers at once had almost worked. Then the last dead thing went and raised its burning hand just before it collapsed. That’s when thunderous roars from Hell pierced his ears, and he knew the evil thing had opened the biggest portal in the city. In an instant, he accepted his last act on this good earth—one against many, a fight to the bitter end.
Both day and night had been long and complicated. It pushed him to his limits and beyond. Seeing his boy had made it worse, and drugging Thorn meant he had gone too far.
But this had to end.
Revenge took months of quiet preparation to bring all those soul-suckers down. Research had been meticulous. And he thought his strategy foolproof. Rob and Dan would stake the Summoned Six in the outer conference suite while he destroyed Hell’s ambassadors in the penthouse’s inner sanctum. Then, a quick bullet to the brain would put Clayton out of his misery as well—because Rob was good with a gun. The power-hungry liaison deserved no less for starting this. That sniveling bastard had led him to his brainwashed boy in the sorcerers’ realm. Clayton knew that to keep Lukas from killing himself, Michael would sign away his soul to NWT…eventually. It took a year of his raging son hunting him, the child edging closer to being seriously injured or getting killed.
He swiped demon blood from both eyes and ran his hand down the leg of his jeans. As for the last part of his plan? Although he and the researcher despised one another, Miles was an honorable man. Michael had left instructions. Miles would watch out for his boy.
“Fuck it,” he mumbled, aiming at another Hell-beast, “Evil gets as evil does.” The sinister forces unleashed upon him were unrelenting. My destruction is their purpose. Their destruction is mine.
He raised the bloodied broadsword once again.
With every deathblow, another creature lunged. Implications of what he had done and whom he had lost weighed heavily upon his conscience. Survival meant putting everyone he cared about in harm’s way. Only ending this existence would keep Lukas and Alana safe.
He sensed the hour. Sunlight would incinerate him along with these demons. In the long run, it didn’t matter. Either way, I lose.
Ever watchful, with all senses heightened, he twisted to the left to skewer another Hell-beast. They kept staggering through the portal, and he readied his stance once again.
