Blood Awakening (4 page)

Well, perhaps you should shut-up then, little—

Of course I can hear you!
Napolean’s eyes never
veered from Nachari’s.
I have the blood of every male in the house of Jadon
in my veins, including your own: I know where each one of you is and what each
one of you is doing...at all times. Trust me: I can do far more than intercept your
private communication at will. I am your Sovereign, and I can reach into places
you do not even know exist, youngster.
There was a clear note of warning in
his voice.

Oh gods—
Nachari shrank down on the sofa—
I’m
sorry...milord.

Napolean smiled then.
You are young and proud, wizard.
There is no offense taken...yet.

Just then, Nachari’s cell phone went off, and he
reached into his back pocket so fast one would have thought the thing was on
fire. “Excuse me,” he said, opening a screen to read a text. He immediately turned
to Marquis. “Brother, Chad has been trying to reach you for the last hour; is
your cell phone off?”

Marquis shrugged. “I don’t know...maybe.” He
checked all of his pockets. “I must have left it in the truck.”

Having the ability to either fly or materialize at
will, vampires rarely drove their vehicles. Unfortunately, Marquis had needed a
way to transport Ciopori and Vanya to Napolean’s, and it wasn’t possible for a
vampire to materialize carrying anything more than fifty-pounds at one time. As
for flying, he could have easily carried them both, even cloaked their
appearances for safety; however, soaring through the air at supernatural speed
might have been a bit much for Vanya at the time. Of course, learning about the
automobile had been an adventure in its own right for both females.

“Well, it looks like there’s a
situation
at
the casino,” Nachari explained, showing Marquis the text.

Marquis took the phone from Nachari. Chad Baxter,
his security chief at the Dark Moon Casino, rarely, if ever, tried to get a hold
of Marquis at home, unless there was something really pressing going on. “Do
you mind if I step outside and make a call?” Marquis asked, addressing his Sovereign.

“Not at all,” Napolean answered.

“Thank you.” Marquis headed for the door. On his
way out, he heard Vanya whisper to Napolean—

“What’s a...call?”

Marquis just shook his head. Communication was
going to be a major challenge between himself and Ciopori for a while. He was
hoping like hell he could simply transfer huge blocks of information to her at
one time: the same way he could with his Vampyr brothers. Otherwise, she was
looking at relearning everything—including a new language.

 Marquis dialed the casino and smiled at the thought of spending that much time
with Ciopori.

“That you, boss?” The voice on the other end of
the phone sounded anxious.

“You texted Nachari: What is it?”

Chad sighed like he had something to say but was
afraid to say it.

“I haven’t the time, Chad,” Marquis warned his
employee.

“It’s Kristina...and Dirk.”

“Again?”

“Yeah...”

“How bad?” Marquis asked.

“Well, she certainly can’t work her shift tonight,
and I’m afraid if she goes back home...he’s gonna kill her this time.”

Marquis frowned. Kristina Riley was more than just
the casino’s most productive cocktail waitress; she was a close friend and ally
to the Silivasi family: Only eight years earlier, the human female had been a
homeless runaway when Kagen Silivasi had brought her into the house of Jadon. He
had been flying over the outskirts of Silverton Park one night when he heard a
woman cry out from the back end of a dark alley. Though vampires rarely got
involved in human affairs, the unmistakable scent of a Dark One had permeated
the air, and Kagen had known, instinctively, that one of two things was about
to happen: Either a Dark One was about to feed on a human—draining her of every
drop of blood she had—or worse, he was going to take her back to his lair,
impregnate her, and force her to undergo a gruesome ritual which would end in
her agonizing death and the birth of his twin sons.

Marquis shook his head. He didn’t want to think
about that. He didn’t want to remember his youngest brother’s recent death at
the hands of Valentine Nistor—a son of Jaegar who had done the exact same thing
with Shelby’s
destiny,
leaving the youngest Silivasi brother to die at
the hands of the Blood Curse.

Fortunately for Kristina, Kagen had slain the son
of Jaegar and brought her back to the Dark Moon Health Center before the Dark
One could carry out his plan. After learning of her circumstances, he had given
her a temporary place to stay and worked with Marquis to find her a job at the
casino.

Kristina had worked out beautifully.

And over time, she had become an ally if not a
friend.

Due to her deep gratitude and absolute ability to keep
a confidence, Kagen had not erased her memories. He had allowed her, instead, to
retain full knowledge of who and what the sons of Jadon were, knowing that
every now and then, having a human who could go human places, do human things,
and move undetected in the deepest arenas of the human world came in handy. Having
a second set of eyes at the casino had proved to be especially useful.

Marquis scowled, thinking about Kristina’s idiot
boyfriend, Dirk. The man was a human menace, or at least he wanted to be. He
rode around on a purple Harley with a tattoo of a scorpion on the side of his
neck, another of a python on his steroid-enhanced left bicep. He smoke, drank,
cursed like a sailor, and tried way too hard to convince the world that he was
the scariest thing next to Satan. Marquis scoffed. He could have squashed the
human like a bug on several occasions, drained the blood right from underneath
that ridiculous scorpion, but Kristina had strictly forbidden it. In fact, she
had begged Marquis to stay away from him. What she saw in the imbecile, Marquis
would never know. Still, he had always respected her wishes—

Until now.

Enough was enough.

“Where is Kristina now?” he asked.

Chad sighed. “She’s in your office. We cleaned her
up, but she needs to see a doctor.”

Marquis restrained an instinctive snarl. Chad had
no idea he was a vampire. “Where’s Dirk?”

“Don’t know—probably down at the bar getting drunk.
He’s not in the casino, but that’s just a matter of time, especially if she
doesn’t come home after her shift.”

“Well, keep her in my office; I’ll be right
there.”

“Will do. Oh, and boss—”

“What?”

“Sorry to bother you away from work.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Marquis hung up. He placed
the phone in the inner pocket of the light-weight jacket he wore over a
well-fitted, black muscle-tee and turned around just in time to catch the beautiful
sight of Princess Ciopori stepping out onto the front veranda.

Her hair was twisted to one side, the ends collected
in a thick, looped braid that hung enticingly over her bare shoulder, and she
was wearing a sleeveless, ruffled dress that hugged her curves like it had been
made just for her—another thoughtful contribution from Napolean.

Marquis placed his hand over his heart. There were
no words.

Ciopori instantly brightened. “Do you see
something you like, warrior?”

Marquis stepped toward her and purred, a deep
throaty growl rising from his broad, muscular chest. As he bent to taste her
lips, his hands found their way to the small of her back and he pulled her
tightly against him. “Mmm,” he moaned, his tongue sweeping over hers. “Yes, I
do.”

Ciopori smiled, and then she took a step back. “Something
troubles you, warrior, and it is more than the concern you share for myself and
Vanya.”

Marquis shook his head, not wanting to let go. “It’s
nothing—just business...work. Just something I need to take care of. Believe
me, I will handle it as quickly as possible and return to you this night...I
promise.”

Ciopori’s eyes positively sparkled. “And I will
hold you to your word.” She rested her hand on her stomach and became all at
once serious. “I must confess, I am fearful of falling asleep again. After twenty-eight
hundred years in the ground, I am terrified that the spell might—”  

Marquis pressed his finger against her lips. “Shhh.
None of us will let you slip away, Ciopori. Don’t worry about such things.”

The princess smoothed out her dress then. “I’ll
try.” She looked off into the distance, took a deep breath, and turned back once
more to look at him. “Now then, as for your proprietary affairs. Be it known,
warrior, that I do understand a man’s obligations. Do not forget that my father
was the king”—she stumbled over the word
father
, her losses too great to
comprehend, and then, she simply collected herself with an ingrained dignity
and continued—“but if you do not wish to share the details of your business,
that is acceptable as well.”

Marquis reached out to take her hand, still
enamored by the way she spoke. He gently pulled her back into his arms. “It’s
not that, Ciopori. It’s just that it’s ugly business...nothing you need to
concern yourself with right now. Trust me: You will see more of my life than
you care to, soon.” He gently nipped at her throat, nibbled just beneath her
ear, and kissed his way forward from her jaw to the corners of her mouth.
Blessed
gods
, he couldn’t help himself. The door suddenly opened, and they quickly
broke apart.

Nachari poked his head out. His deep, forest green
eyes appeared darker in the natural light, and his thick mane of hair fell forward
as he glanced around. “Did you get a hold of Chad?”

Marquis shot him an annoyed glance. “
Yes
. What
do you need, brother?”

Nachari looked at Marquis, glanced over at the
princess, and then stared at Marquis again....smiling a huge
cat-that-ate-the-canary smile.

Marquis sighed. “Do you have a purpose, Nachari?”

Nachari blanched, feigning insult at Marquis’s
blunt dismissal. “Do you mean right now—or as in life in general?”

Ciopori cleared her throat.

Marquis turned to regard the princess then. “Forgive
me; have you met my youngest brother?”

“No, I have not yet had the pleasure.” Her voice was
deliberately kind. “I believe he was speaking with Napolean when I passed through
the room.”

Marquis gestured in Nachari’s general direction. “This
is my brother, the Master Wizard Nachari. He was born of the last set of my
mother’s twins.”

“’Tis a pleasure to meet you, wizard,” Ciopori
said.

“The pleasure is all mine, princess. And I have to
tell you, it is a gift from the gods to have you and your sister back where you
belong.”

Ciopori nodded and smiled, her manner gracious.

And Marquis waited...while the angel of his dreams
took her first real, in-depth look at his little brother.

There was no question: All of the Silivasi
brothers were handsome to a fault, and Marquis’s harsh beauty had a powerful
effect on females, but Nachari Silivasi was in a class all to himself. And
unfortunately, he knew it. Whenever he flashed that radiant, flawless smile—and
his ridiculously perfect features lit up like he was more god than man—women
lost their composure. They swooned. Stuttered. And sometimes just stood dazed with
their mouths gaping open, until eventually, they got used to the sight of him. His
masculine beauty was arresting.

Ciopori looked back and forth between the two
brothers. “While the adjustment is overwhelming, we are fortunate to have been
found by my brother’s descendants.” She quickly turned her gaze back to Marquis,
her eyes glistening with adoration...for only him.

Marquis glared at Nachari. “Well?”

“My phone,” Nachari said.

“What?”

“
My phone
. You asked me,
what do I need—
I
need my phone back.”

“Oh.” Marquis retrieved the phone from his jacket
and tossed the thing so hard it became a missile, the casing shattering upon
impact with Nachari’s hand.

Nachari cursed and glowered at Marquis,
incredulous. Fortunately for the Master Warrior, all vampires had lightning
quick reflexes, or the phone might have entered the house and struck the
king—or worse, Vanya.

“I’m sorry,” Marquis quipped. “I—”

“Yes, I know,” Nachari snarled, “you
underestimated your own strength.”

Marquis peered at the hundreds of little pieces of
metal in Nachari’s palm. “Did the SIM card make it?”

Nachari frowned. “You need therapy, my brother;
you really do.”

Marquis waved a dismissive hand. “Our kind does
not...do therapy. Why do you always say such...inconsequential things?”

Nachari rubbed the bridge of his nose with his
free hand. “Why, indeed, Marquis.”

Marquis pulled back. “You are angry now, wizard? I
can buy you another phone.”