Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) (30 page)

He knelt by the water,
knowing that he had not miscalculated, and wondered what he would do
next. He paced underneath the branches of a nearby tree, spooking a
family of owls in the process. The adult owls attacked him with their
claws causing blood to drip from his head and arms onto the bushes at
his feet. The sound of the owl’s attack drowned out the screams
of the pregnant slave girl who was being splattered with his blood.

Cheyenne looked at
Isidora now with new eyes. She was the one holding Efia while Grigor
was standing above them bleeding from the owl assault. Izzy was
protecting her once again from Grigor and his hunger. She was not a
threat but a hero. No wonder she was allowed on the compound with no
question.

“
I
had ingested just enough of his blood to make it impossible for me to
remain human,” Efia said, walking up behind Isidora. She placed
a hand on her shoulder and gave her a nod.

“
Isidora
was forced to smuggle me to the edge of Grigor’s property and
helped deliver my daughter, Sarai. She then continued to feed me her
blood until I became an adult. The day that I turned 18, I wished to
die instead of becoming a Vampire, but, by that time, Sarai was 5
years old and my only reason to live. Isidora Embraced me the same
night. She sat with Sarai while I went through the transition. It
took days because we were unaware of the exact dose to use, and at
one point she thought that I would die.”

Isidora looked at Efia
with the same look of motherly love that Efia had given me and Chloe.
It felt as if we were interrupting a family moment and turned away.
Zander grabbed Violeta’s hand and squeeze slightly as she
nodded at something he whispered in her ear. Jordan and Tabitha were
there as well. And Solomon, he was watching me as if he expected some
transformation to happen.

“
So,”
I began, tentatively, “you also saved Violeta from Grigor.
How?”

Isidora looked from me
to Violeta, confirming permission to resume the story. I wasn’t
sure what the deal was, but I liked the concept of other people not
telling your business unless you okay it first. Violeta looked at me
and her dark eyes revealed the pain that she tried so hard to hide.
She squeezed Zander’s hand for comfort and nodded toward
Isidora to continue.

“
Eighteen
years ago Grigor set a trap in the attempt to catch any of Efia’s
people unaware. Violeta was his prize.”

Isidora made it sound
just that simple but I knew there was more to it. I had trained with
Violeta for months and I knew that there was never a second of any
given day that she was ever unaware. I wondered what type of trap
Grigor had been able to set that would outwit my masochist drill
sergeant and came up empty. When I looked around to see if anyone
would give me a hint, everyone’s eyes were diverted to the
ground; even Efia’s. My approach would have to be direct if I
wanted answers, and I did want answers.

“
How?
How was Grigor able to trap you, Violeta? I can't think of one single
trap he could set that you couldn't out-smart. What could have caused
you to give yourself up?”

“
You.”

Violeta’s voice
was so soft I thought I had heard her wrong. She didn’t repeat
herself but I heard it echoed over and over in my head. Her gorgeous
face had tears streamed down her cheeks and she began to shake. She
had let go of Zander’s hand and had fists at her side trying to
calm herself.

“
Grigor
had someone follow Zola before you were born. When his men set a trap
to capture the two of you, she went into labor. We arrived just in
time to safely deliver you and give you to Solomon for transport to a
safe house.”

“
Grigor
and his people took her. They held and tortured her for years until
Isidora and another Vampire helped her escape.” Zander was
looking at his bride-to-be with an admiration that surpassed all
else.

No one here pitied
Violeta. On the contrary, her actions were looked upon as heroic and
selfless. I understood why she kept me at arm’s length. She had
sacrificed herself because I was too weak to protect myself. I was
determined to make sure that I was never that weak again.

The urge to hug hug her
was overwhelming but I was afraid that it would be corny. Wiping my
face with the back of my hand I just stood there while Zander
continued.

“
When
she came back to us she was all but broken and had only one thing on
her mind. She wanted to make sure that you were trained to protect
yourself against Grigor and his people. That's why she is so hard on
you, Chey.”

Information overload
was too much for me. My knees were weak and I slowly let myself sit
down in the middle of our group. Solomon sat down opposite me, still
clearly making sure that I was doing okay. Chloe came and sat right
next to me, putting an arm around my waist and her head on my
shoulder. I felt instant comfort from her contact, as if she had just
made the entire world slip away and it was just her and I.

“
I’m
sorry, Violeta. I’m sorry for not trying harder or being
better. I just thought you hated me and that I was never going to get
it and that I was just a clumsy human teenager that you resented me
for taking up your valuable time and that you just wished that I'd
just go away and…”

I was talking so fast
that I didn’t give myself a chance to take a breath. Everyone
was looking at me now, with either a look of confusion or amusement.
I rambled on like this for a few more seconds before Violeta put me
out of my misery.

“
Will
you shut up already? You are late for training and you know very well
that I do not do late!”

With that, and a wicked
smile, Violeta turned and walked toward the house. Zander and Jordan
burst out laughing and followed her, trying to talk as fast as I had.
Efia took Isidora by the hand leading her away while Chloe and
Tabitha walked in the opposite direction. That left me alone with
Solomon. He continued to stare at me…still waiting for that
transformation that I was sure would never come. He helped me to my
feet when he saw that my knees were still wobbly but didn’t let
go of my hand.

“
Cheyenne,
there will come a time in your future when all of your past will
catch up to you.” Solomon’s voice sounded ominous as it
echoed off of the nearby trees. “You will have a choice such as
Isidora, Efia and Violeta had. It will mean the difference between
life and death and the choice will be yours; solely yours.”

With that, Solomon
smiled and turned to walk away. I watched his large shape take a few
steps before I called after him.

“
Why
me?”

He gave me that
brilliant smile of his and simply shrugged. For a moment I didn’t
think he was going to answer me. Then he cocked an eyebrow up and
said, “It is in your blood.”

Chapter 22

The Stewards and the
Fare were helping us pack for the trip. It would take us a little
less than 3 hours to arrive in Las Vegas and another hour to check
into our hotel and get settled. It was risky, truly, I knew, trying
to rescue the woman who had conceived me just for a chance at
immortality. It was unheard of. But, if there was a chance that we
could save her, it was a risk I was willing to take.

It had been decided
that only Tabitha, Jordan, Zander and Violeta would escort me to
Vegas. This angered Solomon and Chloe to no end and they were not too
shy to voice it. Solomon had been charged with the welfare of any
descendant that had yet to the Embraced and took great insult to
being relieved of his post.

Chloe likewise had
valid reasons for being upset with the exclusion. Having been taken
from Zola at birth, Chloe was raised by Efia and the others. She had
been trained to fight and kill Vampires and was far better at
everything combat than I was. Efia feared, however, that Grigor might
take the opportunity to grab the both of us and save Chloe for her
18th birthday. Being drained by Grigor was a risk I was willing to
take, but I didn’t want to put my newly found sister at risk of
the same. When I asked Efia to make her stay, Chloe gave me a look
that could kill. The unfortunate thing was that I knew she could back
it up.

I couldn’t help
but feel badly as I saw Chloe sitting on the edge of my cot watching
us pack. She had been so helpful with my training and family history
lessons and I would miss her company. I had never had a sister and
the last thing I wanted was for her to be angry at me. I stopped
packing and walked over to her.

“
What’s
up?” she asked.

“
I
just want to make sure that we’re okay.”

“
Look,
Chey, all I have ever wanted to do was kick Grigor’s ass. It’s
what I’ve been trained for my entire life. So, yeah, I’m
angry that you get to go and I don’t. But, I’m not
stupid. If he gets a hold of the both of us…Well, I just don’t
want to think about it.”

I could tell that Chloe
was sincere and I reached out to give her a hug. She was the toughest
15 year old I knew, but she collapsed into my hug the second I had my
arms around her. I would do anything for this kid even if it meant
killing someone.

I put my chin on the
top of her head and held on for dear life until Artemis came into the
cabin and barked once; loudly. We hesitantly let go of one another
and got off of the cot just as Samuel the butler walked in, looking
at us with a mixture or sadness and pride.

“
Are
you ready?” Samuel’s smooth baritone voice slid through
me like a knife. This trip would be the culmination of months of
training and education and I didn’t want to come back in an
urn.

“
Yeah,
Samuel, I’m ready.” I lied straight through my teeth and
he knew it, but simply inclined his head and put his hand on my
shoulder in support. Stewards never touched Vampires unless necessary
and Samuel was no different, so the physical contact made it clear
the amount of danger we were in.

I placed my hand on top
of his and looked straight into his eyes.

“
Samuel,
you take care of Chloe. That is your only job now. Keep her safe.”

“
It
will be my pleasure.” With a practiced bow, Samuel waited for
Chloe to stand.

“
I
don’t need watching after. I can take care of myself,”
Chloe turned and stormed out without a backwards glance.

“
She’ll
be fine,” Samuel assured me, and then turned and left.

The fact that Chloe was
acting out because she was afraid, but it didn’t make me feel
any better. She had just found me and now I was leaving her again. I
knew the feeling and wanted to comfort her. My only goal, however,
was to sneak into Grigor’s compound and rescue my mother. Piece
of cake.

With my personal bag
packed and ready to go, I went to find the others. We were to meet in
the subterranean garage were they had readied the SUV. I had asked
why we didn’t fly directly into Vegas and was told that Grigor
was watching all travel into and out of the area.

Tabitha and Jordan were
in deep conversation when I stepped into the garage. I was used to
them being so close and wondered when Efia would officially allow
them to become a couple. They had long since stop trying to hide it
in front of me once they were outed by Chloe during practice one day.
Although it had been extremely embarrassing for me, the two of them
took it in stride and laughed it off.

Tabitha looked like she
was angry at Jordan and he seemed unconcerned, as if he had dealt
with her anger before. As I approached, Tabitha continued to talk but
lowered her volume. So, she was talking about me. Again. Tabitha, was
suppose to be my best friend but she acted like an over protective
aunt most of the time. I wasn’t sure whether I was offended or
flattered at her obvious love for me. My reactions usually depended
on how long she kept something from me.

“
So,
what’s up?” I asked, as if we weren’t about to go
on a suicide mission.

“
Tab
is angry at me because I got you a gift.” Jordan’s smile
told me that the gift was likely a weapon.

I became giddy like a
school-girl and tapped my feet quickly on the metal floor. I held my
hands out in front of me and wiggled my fingers until he put a wooden
box in them. The box was heavy. So heavy, in fact, that I nearly
dropped it. I looked at it closely and saw that it had a Calla lily
carved into the top of it. It was gorgeous. The lid was held shut by
an elaborate pewter locking mechanism. I had never seen anything like
it.

Walking over to an SUV,
I sat on the rear bumper and turned the box around in order to view
it from all sides. The workmanship was amazing. The only metal on the
box was the pewter lock holding it shut. I set the box down and
started to open the lid when I felt a sharp pain in my head. Falling
to the floor, I writhed in agony while Tabitha rushed to my side.
These bouts of pain had been coming with entirely too much frequency
now and I was worried.

Tabitha had gotten into
the habit of carrying a piece of plastic and placed it securely in
between my teeth to keep me from biting my tongue off. I sent a
grateful look her way just as I was racked with another jolt of pain.
Efia had assured us that these episodes would end once I was
Embraced, but I wasn’t so sure. It had been my decision not to
be Embraced before we went after Zola to keep Grigor from detecting
me. Now, I was regretting my gift of persuasion.

The convulsions lasted
for the next 5 minutes or so before the episode ended. The Elders
would want another vat of blood for testing after this one and I
wasn’t looking forward to it. Tabitha and Jordan helped me into
the SUV. Jordan’s forehead was wrinkled in concern but he kept
quiet. He was smart enough to not suggest what I knew he was
thinking; that I stay home. Instead, he tried to smile and handed me
the box.