Scarlet Dusk (15 page)

Maledictus couldn’t think of any vulgar retaliation to the marine’s words. He couldn’t bring himself to think or say anything as he smashed the marine’s head repeatedly into the side of the police car until there was nothing left of the mouth that had spoken those cold, defeating words to him;
him
! The marine hadn’t been afraid of him, hadn’t cowered or groveled or begged, hadn’t even screamed when he’d finally been slaughtered. The damage had been done—his typical confidence, vicious and unwavering, had been tamed and skewed. Even when he’d killed the rest of the police and the firemen—even after ripping through the SWAT that had shown up in response to the last officer’s call—he couldn’t bring himself to taunt or laugh; he couldn’t do anything but slaughter the lot of them and soak in the energy of their deaths.

“Hero?”
Maledictus spat the name like a bitter taste, “Is
that
what the gods want to see Zane as?” He shook his head and glared up at the night sky, “Let me
show
you—once and for all—that there are no more heroes!”

“DAMMIT, SERENA,
WHERE ARE YOU?” ZANE SHOOK his head, “So much for the hero always winning,” he snarled as he slammed his fist into the wall as he stormed out of the infirmary, stopping in time before colliding with Celine.

He watched
as Celine’s eyes widened at his fury and he shook his head, not wanting to startle her any further. Her emotional trauma was the
last
thing he needed added to his laundry list of reasons to go insane.

Besides, he
wasn’t about to make more of a scene within the walls of the Vail Clan with all the chaos already plaguing them.

It just wasn’t fair to everyone else.

He remembered past instances when he’d taken his rage out by punching the walls. Gregori, when he’d still been alive, would’ve complained about the costs of fixing all his damages when he got like this, and the fear of his mentor-slash-father figure’s rants about repair costs had been enough to stay his hand… most of the time.

Glowering, Zane desperately wi
shed for the strength his Gregori had possessed; he needed it now more than ever before.

You’re
NOTHING
without me, Zaney-boy. Face it!

Shaking his head, he let out another growl and slammed
yet another hole into the wall, ignoring Celine as she yelped and jumped back.

Maledictus…

That smug, arrogant beast! He wasn’t his only strength! He couldn’t be!

Dammit
, he felt his blood boil and, without the threat of his curse to force him to fight against it, he threw a few more punches into the wall for good measure.
Fuck the cost!

He needed Serena’s warmth!

He needed Zoey’s guidance!

And, instead, he got Celine’s vacant doe-eyes shimmering in fear at his rage.

He sighed,
Figures.

Though they
still
hadn’t found any sign of what was wrong, Zoey was, thankfully, in stable condition in the infirmary. Their medical staff had told him that it was some sort of seizure—something that shut down all but her most basic functions—and, without any clues as to
how
she’d been put in such a state, any attempts at reversing it were a risk.

“Z
-Zane?” Celine’s nervous whisper brought him back from his thoughts and he turned to her.

“What is it?” he grumbled.

He watched as she stepped back and let out a deep sigh. Growing impatient with the prolonged display, he ran a hand through his hair, wincing as his fingers caught a tangled patch of dried blood.

Suddenly he was painfully aware that, in Serena’s absence,
he’d barely changed his clothes or taken any steps to keep up with his appearances.

He was certain he looked like hell
.

And, coupled with his exposed temper, he figured that’s what had Celine so tongue-tied.

“Sorry. I’m just going through some shit.” Zane sighed and rolled his eyes, “As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now.

“We can talk if you’d l
ike,” Celine smiled.

“I-
I’d really rather not,” Zane shook his head, still not fully trusting her, even if he didn’t have a real reason not to, somewhere inside of him didn’t want to trust her. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but the two people I trust most to talk to about this sort of shit are now
both
out of my reach. Talking to you is just…” he shook his head, “I just can’t. I just don’t know
how
to talk to you after all these years.”

“Come on, don’t you remember what we used to have?”

~Fall, 2001~

It had been a month since Zane had met Celine and while their time was brief in comparison to many other couples Zane had encountered, he felt a strong connection to
her. She was kind and sweet, not to mention beautiful. Despite this, he continually found himself craving something—
somebody
—but not feeling instinctively drawn to
her.

And while he’d felt guilty about this, he often found himself turning down her offers for pleasure out of a natural lack of interest.

Though that wasn’t to say that his new vampire body wasn’t lusting for
something.

Some
thing Zane didn’t recognize at its core.

Something that he only felt close to in his dreams…

Zane opened his eyes to a familiar brightness. Cautiously, he squinted against it and, realizing it was the sun, began to step back in fear of being burned.

Crying
out in fear of the pain and potential death that he’d been warned of, he’d waited—held in the throes of panic—for the agony of the sun to take him.

But nothing happened.

He shook his head; finding the courage to open his eyes once more and was met with a feminine silhouette with features hidden from the sun’s rays. He stared at her, watching as she stepped forward and her long hair swayed around her, the golden hues of the sun radiating off her and giving her a golden halo.

He smirked, somehow knowing that the woman in front
of him was someone special; someone no other could take the place of for him.

Someone he’d take on the devil to stand beside.

“You came,” her sultry lips let out a hungry purr as she took the last step to reach him.

“You were waiting for me?” he tilted his head; confused at the familiarity she presented him with.

“Of course, you created me after all, Zane,” she grinned teasingly.

“I did
?” he asked.

“Don’t act so surprised. Y
our innermost desires created me,” she smirked as one of her hands caressed down his bare chest.

He tilted his head, noticing that he was now as naked as she was and he watched her mouth open to reveal a pair of fangs extending past her lips.

“I’m so parched,” she whimpered, leaning forward. “Can I take a bite?”

He groaned, his shaft instantly hardening at the idea of her feeding from him. He somehow felt if she didn’t bite him soon, he’d go out of his mind from need. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her into him, arching his neck enough for her to leave her mark. The sharp pain was quickly remedied by an intense pleasure as she began to drink from him. His hands found her golden orbs and relished in the heat she seemed to radiate with. As she went to pull away, he felt her lick around the puncture marks.

“So beautiful,” he leaned down, “I think I should return the favor.”

“Mm, what are you waiting for?” she shivered and pulled him down to her neck. “Just do it!”

Taken aback by her forwardness, he quickly went to work and pierced her with his new fangs as his cock throbbed with a need to pierce her in much the same way. Seeming to know what he was thinking, the female ran her hands across his shaft and pressed it to her entrance. In one quick motion, she wrapped her legs around his waist and slid his entire length inside her. He cried out as he was met with her heated tightness as he drank her hot blood.

“Zane! Don’t stop!” she cried out, “don’t leave me now!”

He bit his lip, not understanding the last part as he went to thrust inside her more, continuing to drink her sweet blood. He shivered at the sudden chill that ran down his spine and the emptiness that came with it. The woman he was holding dissipated into a chilled mist and he looked around, desperate to find her.

He turned, hoping to find her in the sun and frowned, watching as a black inky liquid began to slide across it. T
he air turned frigid as the sun was completely encased in blackness and Zane fell to his knees.

His body felt just as cold as his surroundings and he screamed out as he begged for the woman in the sun to return.

“No!” Zane cried out, jumping up from the bed, still sporting an erection.

“Zane? What’s wrong?” Celine cried out as she hopped from th
e bed to make her way to him, “What happened?”

He frowned, catching his breath and turned, noticing her eyes falling on his crotch and he bit back the sudden need to cover up. Coughing into his hand, she looked up and he watched as she paled from the knowledge of being caught by him.

“I had a crazy dream,” Zane admitted.

“I bet,” she whispered. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

About me fucking a sun goddess? Or about the fact that I’ve never felt that kind of pleasure with you?
Zane bit his lip, guilty at the thoughts.

“I
… I can’t really remember. I just felt…” he sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t remember. If I do, I
will
let you know…”

“That’s fine,” Celine offered him a soft smile.

The moment was interrupted as three familiar knocks sounded at the door, and Zane silently thanked Raith for his timing.

“I take it you are going out with
him
again?” Celine sighed.

“I am, but it won’t be long and I’m
also picking you up a surprise,” Zane smiled and watched her eyes light up. He had gone into town a few days ago and picked out a ring to get her. While it had only been a month and he’d hoped to use the intended promise ring as a sign of his thanks for her patience and support, he had a feeling he’d be forced to treat it as something more.

“Well, I
do
like surprises,” she sighed. “Just be careful, please?”

“I will!” With that, he
forced himself to kiss her cheek and hurried to get ready.

~
Present Day~

Zane rubbed the back of his neck as Celine proceeded to move closer to him and shook his head, pulling away from her.

“I…” he sighed and pulled away, starting down the hall, “I need to go check on Zoey!”

He sighed, trying to shake the chill he got from Celine’s advances and barely noticed Raith in front of him as he
walked headlong into his friend.

“Raith! Sorry a
bout that,” he sighed. “I-I must not have been paying attention.”

“
Seems pretty common around here, mate. You alright?” Raith frowned, “You look… I don’t know,
more
worked up than usual.”