Marcus stood there with the girl, neither of them moving. Mel stood and walked toward them. Marcus was right; the closer one got to her, the stronger she was. She was standing next to her when she realized that the girl was reading her mind. Mel let her to a point, but kept a great deal from her. She was not bad for a person without training and Mel was equally impressed that Sara had such control.
“
Hello. You’re Sara Temple. I’m Melody, his queen.” Mel nodded toward Marcus. “I want to show you something.”
Mel turned to Marcus and took his arm into her hand. “Marcus is my guard, and as such, he can’t be hurt by you. I can cut him.” Mel sliced her own blade over his arm, drawing a line of blood. “But you—”
Mel was suddenly on the floor with a small, very sharp blade to her throat. The girl…Sara was straddled, her holding her down.
“
No,” Mel warned Marcus when he drew back his sword to what Mel was sure to end Sara’s life. “She was doing just what we need her for. Protecting one of my own.”
“
You were trying to prove a point? Wow, you’re a real piece of work, lady.” Sara stood and looked at her as Mel rose as well. “I’m so out of here. See you around, Marcus.”
When Sara turned to leave, Mel stopped her with a question. “Sara, did you use your magic to throw me down, or was it your body? Either way was impressive. But I’m thinking you used your powers.”
“
I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re nuts. No one has magic.” Sara still hadn’t moved when she continued. “People would hurt someone if they had magic, don’t you think?”
“
Yes,” Mel agreed. “But not where I’m from.” Mel took a deep breath, tried another approach, and whispered through her mind. “I can help you with it if you’ll let me. I can show you how to control all of it.”
“
In exchange for what? You going to slice open my head and see how my brain works? Tie me to a chair and put wires on me and shock me?” Mel felt her snort and nearly burst out laughing. “No thanks, been there, done that.”
Mel wondered what else the girl had been through and then realized she would probably not tell her if she asked either. “No, I don’t need a blade to see what’s in your head nor your heart. Come with us, Sara. I swear to you if you don’t like it after one week, I’ll bring you back and pay you for your time.” Mel held her breath while she waited on Sara.
“
You won’t hurt me?” she asked as she turned.
“
No, child, I won’t hurt you.” Mel put out her hand. “And so long as you’re working for me, no one will ever hurt you again.”
Sara nodded then took Mel’s hand. As soon as they touched, they were all three in Molavonta.
“
Mother fuck,” Sara said on a sigh. Marcus burst out laughing.
~~~
Fifteen Years Later
Aaron looked at his friend and day walker, Duncan, and wondered, not for the first time, what the hell he was doing. If Aaron lost this, then Duncan would die. He looked around the entrance hall again while he waited for Carlos Sanchez to receive him.
“
Duncan, perhaps we should talk about this again. I don’t think I can stand for you to—”
“
Sire,” Duncan began, exasperation in his voice. “I do believe we have re-mashed this several times already. I also believe that if you fail, you will be in no position to worry if I am dead as well. I do not believe that you will fail, but should you, then you will not even know that I have met my demise. You yourself will be ash and no longer aware of me anyway.”
Aaron couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing. “I suppose you’re right. And it’s rehash, not re-mash.” They both turned as one to the doorway when they heard the footsteps coming toward them.
“
You will do well, sire,” Duncan said as he straightened his collar on Aaron’s shirt. “This man needs to be removed from his position and you are the man to do so.”
Aaron nodded before they both turned toward the vampire who had showed them in. He didn’t look any better this time than he had the first time.
His hair was unkempt and lank-looking. His cheeks, his entire body, looked gaunt and his skin, pasty white. He looked starved and Aaron thought that for a vampire of this one’s apparent age, it had to have been weeks since he’d last fed and fed well. But for all his sickliness, his uniform was in pristine order.
Clean and pressed, even his shoes were polished to a high glossy sheen. Like the house and its contents, money had been put into appearances and not into those that lived there. Aaron shook his head at the waste of money.
Carlos Sanchez had been the master vampire of this little realm for nearly three hundred years. Aaron had moved here several weeks ago when a few meetings with some other vamps had told him what was going on. Aaron might not have thought the cruelty was true had it have been only one or two stories, but he had heard the same thing over a dozen times.
Carlos was abusing his position as master. Not only was he taking more than sixty-five percent of their total income, but he was not setting up anything in return for them. There were no health benefits for the human servants nor was there anything set up for the orphans of vampires killed in fights or by humans. Then there was the physical abuse as well.
Starving them was bad enough, but he was also killing them. Murder of one’s own kind was punishable by death. Only when challenged could a vampire kill another. But he was killing for pleasure, to show others what would happen if they crossed him or tried to leave his realm.
As soon as they were led into the large receiving room, Aaron knew he had to win. The smell of death was everywhere and the three dead women and the one man, all humans on the floor before them, were sickening to say the least. Aaron gained strength in knowing that he would win for the people of the realm.
“
Ah, Aaron MacManus. What brings you here tonight? Come to finally pledge to me, have you? It’s about time. I was about to send out my troops to bring you in and make you do it.” His laugh grated along Aaron’s skin. “Well, my boy, let’s get this over with.”
“
No, I have not. I’ve come to challenge you. Challenge you to your death for rules and rites of passage.” Aaron drew his sword and slammed it deep within the carpeted floor, never taking his eyes from Carlos.
Carlos laughed again, but this time, Aaron could hear the forcefulness in it. “Surely you jest.”
“
I assure you that I do not. I, Aaron Xavier MacManus, pledged to no master, hereby challenge you, Carlos April Sanchez, to rules and rites of passage of this realm. I challenge you to your death.”
Carlos looked at the men and women around him. Two of them stepped away and then flashed to the door and out of the room. One of the women made her way toward Aaron.
He wasn’t sure what her intent was, but she was stopped by Duncan who simply stood in front of her, blocking her way.
“
The last three times someone challenged me, I was the victor. You think you—”
“
They were not me.” Aaron said, cutting him off. He pulled his sword free and held it before him. “Are you afraid, Carlos? You should be. For I plan to make your death count for so much.”
“
You’re going to regret this, MacManus. I haven’t lost a fight yet and I don’t plan to do so to an insolent prick like you,” Carlos snarled as he stood.
Aaron grinned and knew that Carlos could see no humor or friendliness in it. “So be it.”
~CHAPTER ONE~
Sara paused only slightly when she felt it. Someone or some...thing had moved into her zone. As she continued to vacuum the carpet in the little Cessna, she reached out and touched the other people she knew to be inside the hangar.
Maybe,
she thought,
one of the others had brought in a visitor.
The mechanics, Mark and Tully, were in the outer bay; Maria, the cleaning lady, was in the waiting area, and the Carlovettis, Demetrius and April, were in their separate offices in the back of the hangar. No, they, because now she knew there were six, had come in as a group and they were not with anyone that she already knew.
Sara Temple was an amazing telepath. Her ability to reach and search out those who were near was extremely strong and only one of the many and varied talents that she had. She knew the building like the back of her hand, so she could also able to tell where they were headed or where they already were.
At first she thought it was the High Council of Magick and that they had finally found her after four long years of hiding from them. Then she realized that had it been them, they would have simply materialized behind her, slit her throat, and then dematerialized again, all without leaving a trace of themselves behind to lead anyone back to them. That was the penalty for high treason and the presumed kidnapping of the Queen Melody, Mistress of Light, Keeper of Magic—instant death. But she could not think of them right now, or of Mel, her friend. She needed to focus on the here and now.
No, their signature, or tag, was different. These...beings were not someone she had encountered before. She was able to track them moving from the front of the building toward the offices to the rear of the large hangar.
Vampire—all six of them were bloodsuckers,
she thought,
and by the signature that they were sending off, most were heavily armed too.
As she turned off the vacuum, she reached further, gently, so as not to alert those to her mind search, and looked to see why they might be there. She scanned each person separately to see what their intentions toward the Carlovettis were. She realized in that moment that they were not only there to kill the oldest vampire in their group, but to blame Demetrius and April Carlovetti, her new bosses and the owners of the airliner where she worked, for his murder.
Sara was always armed, so she was well prepared to defend herself and others if need be. She was in constant danger from one source or another and lived in mortal terror because of it. She moved out of the plane easily enough and was on her way to the offices when she felt the presence of the new life. April was pregnant. Sara’s sole purpose changed in that second. Now the need to protect April and the innocent life that she carried became Sara’s number one priority.
All of the vampire newcomers were older than both the Carlovettis, especially April, who had converted just a few weeks after she started working for them eight months ago. Sara had known all along that she worked for vamps, just as she knew that Charlie Wolff, her former boss, was a werewolf. She just chose to ignore it. It didn’t matter to her what kind of being they were, as long as they did not snack on her.
As she moved along the outer walls of the building, she kept her focus on any movements inside and around the offices that would alert her to sudden danger. She knew that one of the men was moving toward April’s office where April was, so Sara picked up her pace. There were two more surrounding the oldest vampire. They were all with Demetrius, who was just inside the first set of rooms with the larger group, talking. She moved into the mind of Demetrius to see what was happening. It was easy, all she needed was a touch of bare skin and she could usually talk to or read a person’s mind. The conversation centered on the oldest vamp, the newest Master of the Realm, a man called Aaron MacManus, and what his plans were with his new realm.
Demetrius was wondering about the man’s intentions in coming to the hangar without notice, and seemed to have no idea that he was close to his own death.
The first vampire that Sara had encountered was still where she had felt him, standing outside the little reception area not ten feet from the others. He would have to be dealt with first and quickly. If she did not, then he would let the others know before she had a chance to try and save April and the babe.
As Sara moved toward him, she reached inside of her left boot and pulled out a long, silver blade. It would not be considered a knife by most as it was just a one inch strip of stainless steel with a fine coating of silver, and with a small handle that fit Sara’s hand perfectly. Another blade laid hidden in her other boot. Down the back of her neck, a blade wider and longer by several inches awaited her usage. Two more blades, attached to bands up each sleeve of her shirt, were ready to be ejected into her hands when she applied pressure to her wrist.
Sara was surprised at his size when she saw him; he was very big. Tall, but that wasn’t all; he was really fat. She had never seen a fat vamp before and it surprised her. His thinning dark hair was pulled into a tight stringy mess at the back of his head. His dark suit fit him well enough, but she was sure that he would have a lot of difficulty if he were required to button the jacket. His tie was dark and matched the equally dark shirt he wore. He had on well worn, brown cowboy boots. But it was the automatic weapon he had resting across his arms that really drew her attention. Not the weapon itself, but the fact that it had a silencer on it. Whatever they were going to do to the old vamp, they had no intentions of letting anyone else hear.
She was nearly to him, but at the very last second, the vamp turned toward her. She knew she had made a small noise to alert him, his hearing, like all vamps, being very acute. Before he could react, she sliced his head from his body. Sara proved her blade and exceptional strength were better than any weapon he carried.
Sara crouched to catch his head as his body disintegrated before it hit the floor. His head followed his body seconds later, still receiving input as it had not yet realized that his body was gone. It took just a little longer.
Killing rogue vamps was not a messy job. Add a little silver, a little sunlight, and voila, nothing.
She nearly giggled out loud at this wayward thought.
It was better if she stayed on guard,
she thought with a grimace.