Evanescence (Black Rose #1) (20 page)

"A few, when you were a child. But they were immediately disposed of. You see, we rather not kill at all, but to protect this family, and to keep them from telling our whereabouts, and yours, we mustn't allow them to go free."

"And that's why you were watching me. In case they had found me. I would be defenseless."

"Yes, and so, you must be wondering what startled everyone the other day?"

"Yes."

"When you and Cedric…"

The door opens startling us.

"Brother, don't you knock?" he exclaims to Abel.

"Well, my apologies but I was excited to hear that nephew had come? Did you not allow him to say hello?"

"Hi uncle," I say giving a smile.

"Hello Evan," he hugs. "A pleasure it is; might I steal him for a bit?"

"Well you are interrupt--" my father says but is interrupted.

"Splendid! Please Evan, come with me. I'll have you back shortly. I promise."

"We'll finish later," my father says.

Without any word Abel leads me out of the room. My father goes behind his desk and takes a seat. We begin to head back down the long hallways leading to the front of the mansion.

"I watched you as a child," he says. "You were quite impressive in many things. But I knew, there was more to you than that. You are indeed special Evan, different from us all." 

Where is he going with this?
We approach the bottom of the staircase and stand next to the fountain.

"Your birthday is very soon," he reminds. "I wanted to ask if you would like to share it with us. Here. By afternoon, Sarah will be back and instead of heading up, and us coming into town, the strangers and outcasts, everyone can come here. Would also be nice for you to meet some friends of the family."

"Other vampires?" I ask.

"Ehh, no not all of them, but uh, what'd you say?"

"Sure, I would love that actually."

"Great. I thought it would be nice being that we haven't had your birthday here in quite a while."

"I can barely remember."

"Gentlemen!" yells a familiar voice.
Gee, I wonder who
.  "Great to see you!" Mike calls from the second floor railing.

"Hey, Mike" I say.

"Sorry. Was napping." 

"You sleep?"

"He tries to," Abel laughs. "Being the immortal that he is I would say it's rather difficult for him. He hasn't got it down just yet."

"Yeah, well, I'm getting close. I think it's all the excitement," he says.

"I concur," Abel responds. 

Abel begins to head back upstairs and I follow. 

"Essence, Bianca and Valencia seem to be having a good time. You hear that laughter?" he asks.

"What are they doing?" Mike asks meeting us at the top.

"Making jewelry and birthday planning," I say. 

As we get closer to the room, the laughter continues. Abel knocks, and then opens the door.
Wow, he does knock before entering a room. That's a first.
 The three of them sit on the bed next to a pile of albums. 

"Awww look at his little bottom! He is so gorgeous," Essence laughs.

"Mom, I can't believe you kept this one!" Bianca exclaims.

"Well of course! It is too cute!" 

Abel and Mike look over at me and smirk then back at them.

"Can we ask what's the laughing matter here?" Abel asks.

Bianca stands to her feet holding a naked baby photograph.
Yup, it's me
. Has to be. The embarrassment sets in as Abel and Mike join in the laughter. I blush.

"Okay get it all out," I cross my arms smiling and shaking my head. "At least now I know there are actual baby photos of me in the world.”

A firm hand grips my shoulder. It hurt. It is my father.

"Dad, you scared me," I say trying to relax. His eyes are still and his expression is blank.

"Dad?" I say. The laughter dies down. He presses and leans against me almost knocking me over. Mike and Abel catch him.

"Whoa, easy does it, brother," Abel says. Mother, Bianca, and Essence rise to their feet and meets us by the door.
Something isn't right.

"What's wrong dear?" She asks holding his face. He looks sick. I never knew he can get any paler. He looks at everyone and begins to stutter then turns to me and whispers like he's in pain.

"Cedric."

He falls to the floor. 

"Kaius! Kaius!" my mother calls holding his face.

He is as stiff as a statue; his eyes are lost. Father brings his hand to his chest. Bianca, Abel, Mike, and my mother step back and hiss. A deep bite wound is pressed into his mark. My heart pounds against my chest.

What is going on?

"Where is he?!" Abel yells. "Where's Cedric?! Cedric!" Abel yells again.

"Mike, come with me. Now!"

Mike follows Abel out of the room.

"What do you think happened?!" I ask Bianca as my mother holds father in her arms.

"Cedric bit him," she says.

"How do we know it was him and not another vampire. Dad just told me that from time to time--"

"We know Cedric’s bite. He bit him. He did this."

"He's already a vampire, what would Cedric biting him possibly do to make him react like this?"

"When we bite we inject a venom that paralyzes the victim," my mother says. "It's how we feed. A bite from another vampire isn't much, but on your mark, from a vampire of a different clan and bloodline, it is as lethal as a punctured artery, and tampers with your blood. The venom will be just as effective as it is on humans and animals; paralysis, sometimes, death. Most do this during war to either disable or instantly kill their opponent when removing a head becomes difficult. I could only hope Cedric wasn’t actually trying to
kill
his uncle."

“But I still don’t understand what father said before about Lucid,” I say. “If Cedric’s father is his brother, how could they be of a different clan and bloodline?”

“Kaius was adopted.”

My heart sinks deeper into my gut.
Father was adopted.

"What should we do?! Can we take him to a hospital!" Essence exclaims.

"Oh definitely not," I say. "That will expose him."

"Either way," Bianca says. "No medicine will work."

"So what can we do? We just can't leave him like this!" I say.

"There's nothing we can do," my mother responds. "Your father is going to have to fight this. I need you all to go and find Cedric."

I shake my head. 

"Where is he?"

"Not sure," she responds unbuttoning father's shirt. "He hasn't been home since --"

Mother and Bianca jump back and hiss once again. Essence and I crawl away.

"What's wrong?!" I yell.

"The charm!" Bianca says. “It's gone!"

I crawl back to my father and his neck is naked.
Cedric.
I scurry to my feet and run out of the bedroom. 

"Evan!" Essence calls.

I hop over the banister of the second floor and shove open the red doors. The wind fills the mansion and the chandelier rocks back and forth wildly. I step outside and into the drizzle of rain.

"Evan!" I hear a voice call from the forest through the wind. Abel and Mike emerge from the trees and run up the hill towards me.

"We can't find Cedric!" Abel yells to us.

What does Cedric plan to do with a charm he can't use?
Essence and Bianca comes outside. 

"Do you see him anywhere?" Bianca yells.

"No," Mike calls back. "He's gone!"

"Look!" Essence yells pointing up the mansion. We back away to get a better view and see a small figure standing on top of the bell tower just beneath the clouds that tumble atop each other, hiding the sun.

"It's Cedric!" Mike calls. "He's wearing the charm!"

"Oh no," Abel says. "Even worse. The charm is glowing.”

Cedric looks down upon us with piercing, red eyes. The charm around his neck glows a dim green.
Has the charm chosen him? How can someone as maniac as Cedric even be considered by Viscus to be Dracula, a leader? 
Cedric is no leader. Cedric is an abomination.

"Dad had told me that the power of the Dracula can only be used by its reigning king, but since the king is dead, the power can't be used until it has chosen another," I tell Abel.

"Yes, that is true."

"Is that why the charm is lit?" I ask. "Has the charm chosen, Cedric?"

"No, it's lit green, yes, but not in respect that Cedric is chosen," Abel says. "Green was the color it emitted when Cedric's father was in power and alive. When a new Dracula is chosen, it should be a shade of red and orange, like fire."

I think about how I lit the candles that day Essence and I were at the beach.

"But if the charm is green, wouldn't that mean…?" 

"No," Abel interrupts. "It would not mean Cedric's father is still alive. Your father watched Lucid die. The power of the Dracula is much greater than what you see now, but I believe, since Cedric is the son of the reigning, yet dead Dracula, his father, he can tap into some of that power by direct blood relation. And if this is not the case, and the charm is not lit because of Cedric’s relation to his father, then my brother has some explaining to do about what
really
happened to Lucid Verin."

"This isn't good Abel. We have to do something," Mike says.

Cedric yells to the sky and we shelter ourselves. The light emits stronger, the wind becomes strong, and the water below moves like a raging river. 

"Abel, we need dad!" Bianca yells through the wind.

"You saw what happened! He is in no shape to be out here! We need to talk Cedric down!"

"Talk?!" Mike says. "Look at him! Does he really look like he wants to talk?!"

Cedric stands still with his head to the sky.

"Then what do we do?" Essence asks.

"I say we fight!" Mike exclaims.

"No," Bianca shakes her head. "He's family. We just need to calm him down and see what's wrong."

Mike holds Bianca's face between his hands.

"Listen to me. Look at him," he points to the top of the mansion. "He already put Kaius out of commission. If we don't stop him now, what's to say he won't do the same or worse to us? What if he tries to kill someone? I won't let him hurt you."

My eyes look over to Essence. She stares at Cedric in fear and shelters herself with her hands. I pull her into my arms.

"I don't think you should be out here," I tell her. "You should go back inside with my mother."

"No, I'm staying with you, Evan."

"Essence please," I ask grabbing hold of her hands.

"No, Evan!" she yells withdrawing them. "I was here from the beginning and I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere! I told you that! I meant it!"

I try to battle the urge to persuade her to leave, but I can see in her eyes that she will not submit.

"Alright," I nod my head. "Just try not to get too close. I can't lose you."

She shakes her head.

"You won't."

Cedric continues to look into the sky as thunder rumbles and lighting rips through the clouds.

"Let's go," Mike says. "We can take him. He can't handle all of us."

"Wait," Abel says placing his hand in front of Mike. "It's worth a try…Cedric!" he yells cupping his hands next to his mouth.

"Cedric! Stop this!" Bianca yells.

"Do you think he can hear us?" Essence asks.

Abel nods his head.

"He can hear us, but who we see now may not just be Cedric. Just – anger. Malevolence. It's taking over." 

Cedric doesn't budge. Thunder roars and lighting strikes his body, but he doesn't flinch. The power in the mansion goes off. The electricity runs across his body. He raises his arms above his head to the sky, it gathers into his hands, then he throws his arms and fists towards us.

"Look out!" Mike yells.

I dive onto Essence and the crunching explosion connects nearby, knocking the sound from my ears and blinds me like flash bang grenade. The force of the explosion throws us across the grass. When I find the strength to sit up, white and red dots blur my vision momentarily. When my sight stabilizes, we are scattered about. Bianca holds a hand to her head as she sits up. Mike is comforting her. Essence is next to me, where I want her, in my arms.

"Are you alright?" I ask her placing a hand on her shoulder.

She sits up and groans a bit, holding her head.

"I'll be okay," she responds and coughs. 

I look around, and Cedric is still above. 

"Uncle!" Bianca yells scrambling to her feet, now sprinting. Abel lies farther away from the rest of us on his side. We rush over to him, and smoke rises from his body and jacket. We turn him onto his back and he groans pain. His side is exposed through his clothing showing a nasty burn.

"Abel," I say.

Mike stands to his feet and looks up.

"What is he doing?"

Bianca continues to comfort Abel.

"How is he able to do that?" He asks. "Is it the charm?"

Bianca nods.

"Partially. He's using himself as a strike zone for the lightning. When he is struck, the lightning coils around his arms and fists, then he redirects to towards us."

"I thought lightning couldn't strike in the same spot twice?" Mike says.

"You also thought vampires and Draculas didn't exist."

"What do we do?" I ask.

When I look to the sky, Cedric's arms are raised and he throws them towards us again.

"We have to--" 

"Mike, look out!" I yell, holding a hand out to him. My warning is too late. I place my arms over Essence to protect her. Mike is struck, thrown towards the forest, and hits a tree. It splits and he flops to the ground.

"Mike," I whisper to myself. "Mike!"

"Mike, no!" Bianca yells going over to him.

I glance up to the sky at the bell tower. Cedric is still. His eyes and charm glow.

"We have to move him, before Cedric does it again," I say. We throw both of Abel's arms over our shoulders, but he withdraws.

"I'll be fine," he struggles to say looking at his burn. "I'm not fragile, but this sting really burns."

He chuckles and I fail to join in the humor. 

"You two alright?"

"Yes," I say.

"We're fine," Essence responds.

"Okay, good. Go check on, Mike." 

We run over to Mike and Bianca who holds his head in her lap. Mike groans and shows his fangs with a hiss. 

"I'm going to kill him!" Mike yells trying to push himself up. "Ah!" he holds his hands at his midsection as Bianca tries to comfort him.

"Try to relax," Bianca tells him. "You're hurt. You'll make it worse."

"I'm fine," he responds through clenched fangs.

I look up to the sky and Cedric is gone. He stands on the edge of the cliff. He holds a malicious smile, exposing his top and bottom row of fangs. His eyes and the charm begin to dim. He stares as Abel joins us in helping Mike to his feet.

"Cedric," I say. "Why are you doing this?"

He lets out a chuckle then smiles menacingly. We stand at the edge of the forest. The trees are behind us.

"Why?" 

"Yes. What have we done to you?" I ask.

"
They
have done nothing! It's you!" he yells. In an instant he is gone. 

We look around for him, but fail. The wind picks up.

"All of this because of you!" The tree next to us begins to fall. Cedric's hands are placed against its body as he pushes with all his might.

"Move!" Abel yells. Bianca pulls Mike away to dodge the falling giant. We all dive out of the way as it slams to the ground. We lay still and await his next move.

"Where is he?!" Bianca yells.

"Over here," we hear him call from a distance. 

He stands at the cliff again, his arms hanging to his sides. He breathes heavily, beneath his hair, each breath, blowing strands away from his mouth. 

"You all look scared of me."

"Cedric, you have to stop this," Abel says stepping forward and out to the open. We follow closely behind. "This has gone out of hand. What would Kaius think?"

"Kaius is not my father!" he yells. Thunder above roars across the sky as the rain gets heavier.
Why is he so angry?

"This is nonsense, Cedric!" Bianca calls.

"Cedric," Mike says stepping forward. "If it's a fight you are looking for, I'm more than willing to--"

"You should just be quiet," Cedric interrupts. "You're still as weak as the human you once were."

"And you're still as weak as you have always been."

"Enough!" he yells.

His eyes and the charm begins to glow again.

"Oh no," Bianca says.

"Abelll," Essence says. "What do we do?"

"I'm working on it."

"Now you will witness how strong I am and how weak you all are!"

He crouches low to the grass, then runs towards us. We brace ourselves, but then he's gone. We look around, but nothing.

"I can't believe he's actually doing this?" Bianca says.

I pull Essence behind me to shelter her. Mike, Abel, and Bianca stand their ground.

"Hey!" He yells.

We turn around and he's in the air, coming towards us. When he's close enough to grab, a foot connects with his face and sends him into the forest. A loud bang follows in which the trees and bushes shake. 

"Mom," I exclaim as she hugs us.

"I see things have escalated a bit too much."

"He's lost his mind," Mike says.

"He needs help," Abel exclaims. "It appears the source of his tension is with, Evan. Not sure over what exactly, but he did make it known."

"And I see he isn't being cooperative," my mother says.

"Not the slightest," I respond.

"How's father?" Bianca asks.

"He will be okay. Still a bit stunned, but he will be fine."

"Do you hear that?" Essence says. We listen. "It's coming from the forest."

We look to the forest and see a large object coming towards us.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Everybody move!' Abel yells. The object escapes from the forest. We jump out of the way and it disappears over the cliff. 

"What was that?!" Mike says.

Abel exhales deeply and moves his hair from his face.

"It was a tree."

"A tree?" Mike says.

"Uh huh," Abel responds.

"What kind of vampire throws trees?" Mike says perplexed and confused.

"One that is upset apparently."

Cedric steps out of the forest placing his hands onto two trees that stand on each side of him. He pushes his arms apart, and the trees begin to snap from the root, and fall against two others.

"No more of this!" he yells pointing to me. 

"Cedric stop!" Abel commands.

Cedric prowls to the ground. In an instant, he runs, practically glides, across the grass, towards Essence and I. 

"Evan!" he roars. Mother cartwheels and lands another hit. He spins sideways in the air like a wheel before she strikes his body again throwing him into a tumble across the grass. He immediately recovers and stands to his feet. 

"Your mother has quite a background with killing vampires. Cedric wouldn't be a match," Abel comments.

"Cedric! You stop this nonsense now!" she yells pointing a finger to him.

"This has nothing to do with you! Any of you! This is between me and Evan!"

"What do you have against Evan?!" Bianca yells.

"Be quiet," he tells her.

"What has he ever done to you?!" Essence says.

"SHUT UP!" he yells as wind gusts around us, his hair blown above his head. He sprints towards us again. 

One by one they sprint towards him. I keep Essence behind me. Abel attempts to grab hold of him and fails. He is pushed to the side and tumbles across the ground. Mike tries to charge through him. Cedric flawlessly leaps over him, plants a foot into his back and pushes with a force that knocks Mike across the grass. Bianca swings towards his face. He catches her arm, puts his back into her torso, and flings her over his body. Our final hope, my mother, goes for a grab. He ducks and wraps his arms around her waist and tries lift her from behind. She locks her ankle around his. He moves his foot, and tries again. She throws an elbow over her shoulder to hit his face. Cedric ducks, lifts her onto his shoulder, and pushes her legs up. She flips over and her falls onto her back.