Silk Over Razor Blades (33 page)

you dead>

She nodded.

‘I know.’

Lenina nodded again and opened
her eyes. She imagined closing the lid on a plain wooden box and
felt her connection to Tristen click off.

‘You’ll just have to help me,
won’t you?’

Though she couldn’t see him,
Lenina had the distinct impression that Saar was smiling.

<<<<<>>>>

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Hi everyone, Ileandra here
^_^

Thank you so very much for
reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story as much as I enjoy the
fact that you’re holding it.

Silk Over Razor Blades
is
the first in a trilogy (named Saar’s Legacy) which follows the
journeys of Lenina and Saar over a period of around twelve months.
Yes, Saar too. You didn’t think that was all you were going to get,
did you?

If you want more, the best way
to stay abreast of news regarding the rest of the trilogy is to
become a
Childe of Saar
and join my
readers’
group
.

I send newsletters once a
quarter and keep my new children well informed of how the
Saar’s
Legacy
project is progressing. I also give out regular freebies
(such as short stories and discount codes).

Sound good? I hope so.

If you have the time, I’d be
eternally thankful if you’d write a review. Reviews help me know
what you like and what you don’t, all the better to make the novels
that follow as awesome as they can be.

As additional thanks for joining
me on this journey, please enjoy this, the opening chapter of
Walking The Razor’s Edge,
second in the
Saar’s Legacy
trilogy.

Lenina Miller leaned against
the bedroom door, gazing at her engagement ring. The diamond winked
in the morning sunlight streaming through the window. It should
have brought happy memories, pleasure and pride, but she longed for
nothing more than the freedom to dive beneath her duvet and
hide.

She looked up. Though alone in
the room she heard it clearly, a whisper in the deepest corner of
her mind.

‘Leave me alone.’ She scratched
her left cheek through a layer of medical gauze.

The act of speaking to an empty
room sent a chill down her spine. Suddenly the gentle sunlight
offered no warmth, merely highlighted the loneliness of the space,
filled with clothes and shoes belonging to someone else. Lenina
longed for the comfort of her own things, the comfortable warmth of
her dressing gown, the faint coconut scent of her hair brush. Even
the dust bunnies in the corner of her bedroom seemed a sad omission
from the space.

But beggars couldn’t be
choosers. She heard the old saying in her mother’s voice and
silently agreed.

A trill from the front doorbell
followed.

‘How did you know?’

Smug pride filled the voice.

‘I’ve been a vampire for two
days. Give me a break.’

the voice
corrected.

Lenina rolled her eyes.

‘Chuck, the police are here.’
This voice came from downstairs. Unlike the first, this belonged to
a man Lenina knew and loved: her father.

‘Coming.’ She wiped her face.
Sucked in a few more nerve-steadying breaths. Her heart continued
to race in her chest, a rapid, patter-patter she felt sure everyone
would hear. Hadn’t she finished with the police yesterday? What
more could they possibly want? Did they know she’d lied?

Silly law-men would know nothing more than I choose>

‘And that’s exactly why I
didn’t. You can’t just—’ she lowered her voice. The last thing she
needed now was for her father to hear her talking to herself. As if
he wasn’t worried enough.

Lenina preferred not to
question if he was strong
enough
. She was barely sure of
herself.

When certain she could do so
safely, Lenina left the sanctuary of the bedroom and trudged down
the stairs.

Rattling the bars of his mental
prison, the ancient creature living in her mind paced and peered
through her eyes to assess the scene in the sitting room.

Tense and straight-backed on
the sofa, a short female PC narrowed her eyes when Lenina entered.
Her hands twitched towards the speedcuffs she wore on her left hip.
Beside her, wearing a watery smile, a male officer sat with his
hands in his lap. Opposite them, her father, Raymond Miller, held
out his arms. She accepted his hug. Through his clothes she heard
the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His skin smelled of Old Spice,
soap and leather. Like childhood. Safety.

‘You don’t have to do this now,
Chuck. They can’t make you.’

She sighed. ‘They can.’

‘You’ve done nothing
wrong.’

The presence inside her agreed
wholeheartedly. Saar, Egyptian soldier and two-thousand-year-old
vampire, crooned to her like a worried parent. The runt wants you dead. You protected yourself. Saved us>

She pulled away from Ray and
addressed the male officer. ‘Officer Jackson, isn’t it?’

‘Hello again, Miss Miller.’
Shawn Jackson looked much as he had the night before, though now
his curious eyes studied her through narrow-framed glasses. Like
last night, his dreadlocks were gathered at the nape of his neck,
neat and unobtrusive. His gaze touched the bandage on her left
cheek. The wince of sympathy seemed an unconscious reflex. ‘This is
my colleague Officer Bristow.’ He gestured to the woman. ‘I’m sorry
we have to bother you so soon after what happened. I hope you know
we’re incredibly sorry for your loss.’

Lenina cringed and swallowed
over a sudden thickness in her throat. Guilt and misery crawled
through her insides as she broke away from her father to lean next
to a low cabinet filled with DVDs. ‘Thanks.’

He nodded, adjusting his
glasses across the bridge of his nose. ‘I want you to know, in
light of what happened to Detectives Blake and Thorne, the Chief
Inspector tasked an equally efficient and talented team to find the
man you described.’

Lenina bit her lip, twisting
her ring around her finger. They would never find him; he’d died
the night before. She watched it happen. After bleeding out from a
stab to the heart, Jason’s body crumbled away into a soft pile of
golden sand, packaged in filthy grey clothes. A god-touched
death.

Ray cleared his throat. ‘I hope
these are somewhat
more
efficient and talented than the last
pair.’

PC Jackson narrowed his eyes.
‘Excuse me?’

‘One of them kidnapped my
daughter and took advantage of her grief under the pretence of
protecting her. He held her in his house then murdered his
partner.’

The younger man fiddled with
the strap holding the radio in place on his right shoulder. ‘At
this time I’m not at liberty to discuss matters relating to the
case, but I—’

‘Officer,’ Ray loaded the title
with skewer-sharp sarcasm. ‘
You
can’t tell me anything, but
Lenina is right there. I
know
what happened. Tristen Blake
is a murderer and a serial womaniser. Brad Thorne was incompetent.
Neither of them had any chance of finding who killed Nick and I
hope they weren’t the best you had.’

‘Daddy, please . . .’

Ray’s lips snapped closed. An
instant later his shoulders slumped. ‘Tea, anyone?’

‘Yes, thank you.’ Lenina had no
intention of drinking anything, but the shaken police officer
needed time to recover. ‘Two sugars.’

Her father frowned. ‘I know how
you take your tea, Chuck. Anyone else?’

Bristow shook her head. After a
pause, Jackson did the same. ‘Don’t let me trouble you, Mr
Miller.’

‘If it was trouble, I wouldn’t
offer.’

‘Daddy!’

Muttering, Ray slouched into
the kitchen and slammed the door.

Lenina unfurled her fists and
touched her flushed cheeks. ‘Sorry about that.’

Jackson nodded. ‘I
understand.’

‘No, you don’t.’ She glared at
the officer until he lowered his head. The tiny pulse in the side
of his throat quickened. She licked her lips as his nerves began to
stain the air.

‘You’re right. I’m sorry. But I
meant what I said, Miss Miller; I wish I could do more. But right
now all we can do is follow up on last night with some questions
before handing over to the new detectives.’

cannot help>

Lenina ignored the voice in her
head and shifted away from the officer.

him care for you. He will go away>

‘I’ve already told Chief Hobb
everything. I don’t know where Tristen is.’ Lenina’s voice trembled
at the lie. She could feel her missing sire even in that moment, a
constant presence in her mind she longed to block. ‘He killed
Inspector Thorne and . . . took advantage of me.’

PC Jackson softened. He wiped
the sounds of his mouth with the tips of his fingers and glanced at
his partner. PC Bristow said nothing, but her eyes screamed ‘liar’
so loudly it made no difference.

threat. Be no threat>

Lenina hesitated, then allowed
herself to slide to the floor, back pressed to the wall. When PC
Jackson started forward, she hugged her knees to her chest.

‘Miss Miller?’ His scent
changed. So did the pulse in the side of his throat.

Lenina watched him from the
corner of her eye and realised Saar was right. Much as she hated to
admit it. She allowed her voice to quiver. ‘I don’t know what else
to do—sorry—I want to help—what do you want me to say?’

‘Nothing, Miss Miller. I’m
sorry to cause you distress. Maybe we could come back tomorrow . .
.’

Though his lips continued to
move, Lenina no longer heard him speak. Instead she listened to the
thud of his heart, the rush of blood in his veins. It seemed louder
than usual, pulling her away from the conversation until all she
could hear was the life in his body.

She whimpered.

Saar grunted.

‘I can’t—’ she began.

Saar’s impatience flared, then
died, replaced by a rush of wary concern. Then anger. Then
excitement. His voice pounded through her brain like the echoes of
a megaphone.

‘What?’

Lenina leapt to her feet, a
smooth, boneless move. Her heart beat a furious triple step against
her ribs. Every nerve in her body tingled with the sudden rush of
nervous energy. ‘Where?’

PC Jackson yelped at the sudden
change, scrambling back towards his partner. ‘“Where,” what?’

The doorbell rang.

PC Bristow tensed on her seat.
Her fingers tugged at the shaft of her asp baton. ‘Expecting
anyone?’

‘Ramona should be back soon,
but she has a key.’ Lenina shook her head as she crossed the
sitting room. ‘I’ll get it.’

Before she could reach the
hallway, Ray strode from the kitchen. He clutched a steaming mug in
one hand and a tea towel in the other. Shoving the former into
Lenina’s hands, he scurried into the hallway. ‘I’ll get that. Stay
with them.’

‘No!’ She darted after him,
ignoring startled looks from the officers.

‘I’ve got this, Chuck, don’t
worry.’ Ray reached the door. Tugged it open.

The lock cleared the hatch.
Sunlight streamed in. A savage impact jerked the door from his
grip. Framed pictures shook and tumbled from their wall hooks.

Two men stood on the step, one
with long, greasy hair, the second flashing gold-capped teeth and a
tongue piercing through a wolfish grin. ‘We’re looking for Lenina
Miller,’ he said. ‘Is she home?’

The prickle of otherworldly
energy sizzling across her skin told Lenina more than Saar’s
frantic cry ever could. She froze, the mug of tea searing her
fingers.

Ray glanced back at her. His
shoulders stiffened. ‘And who are you?’

Gold Teeth shared a look with
his companion. ‘Call us . . . concerned citizens.’

‘Daddy,’ began Lenina.

‘I’d rather know exactly who
you are.’ Ray folded his arms. ‘And how you knew to find my
daughter here.’

Spurred by the voice, by the
terrible golden grin, by the terrified thudding of her own heart,
Lenina flung the tea, mug and all. It cracked off Gold Teeth’s
forehead and doused him in hot fluid, streaming down his face like
sugary tears. While he screamed and cradled his scalded cheeks,
Lenina kicked the door shut. Bolted it.