Vampire King of New York (25 page)

Max frowned, every muscle in his body tensing. Holding her around the waist, they made for the door. The instant his hand touched the knob, he knew things had just gotten worse. “It’s locked.”

“That should be no trouble for you. Can’t vampires unlock doors? If worse comes to worst, you can tear it off its hinges.”

He led her away from the door. “We need that lock to buy us time.” The stairs creaked, and someone made their way up to where they were trapped.

Max picked her up into his arms. “Do you trust me, Evelyn?”

“Yes, Max.”

Cradling her tightly against him, he ran to the window to spot the limo and teleported to the street below with Evelyn trembling in his arms. Its door flung wide. Still holding her, he dove into the limo and slammed the door.

“Drive,” he yelled.

The limo’s tires squealed, roaring off into the night.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what possessed me to have to go into that store.”

“The master vampire is behind this.” He relaxed into the seat, though Evelyn was still in his arms. “If we hadn’t left, we’d be his prisoner now.” Inwardly he cursed himself for not insisting they leave when he first sensed something was wrong.

A few minutes later, the limo turned into a little driveway and suddenly they were underground and driving into a spot next to the Bentley. Vincent parked and got out to open the door for them.

Evelyn climbed out of the limo with Max on her heels. They went into the elevator, which Evelyn hadn’t noticed the last time she was at his house. The movement was a little jarring. Evelyn wobbled and reached for the ornate brass railing. Max put his arm around her waist.

“I’m okay,” she said, anticipating his question.

He lifted her into his arms, as the doors opened unto the second floor of his home. He placed her on the sofa.

Evelyn gazed up into Max’s eyes. “Thank you.”

They held each other for a long time.

Entering, the butler said, “Ms. Cordelais, your sister came earlier to drop off this package for you.” He placed a brown paper wrapped package on the coffee table in front of them and left.

Evelyn eyed it wearily and leaned against Max. “Are we sure it came from Laura and not someone who just looked like Laura?”

“You’ve grown suspicious, my love.”

“Do you blame me considering everything we’ve been through?”

He kissed her on the head. “Not at all. You can mindtalk with Laura. Ask her if she brought it.”

Evelyn usually listened to Laura in her head and mindtalked back. She’d never initiated a conversation between the minds. “I’m not sure how to do that. She always talks and I answer.”

“Close your eyes and just think at her, then listen.”

She did what Max instructed, asking very simply,
Are you there, Laura?

Yes, Evie.

Did you come over and drop off a package for me?

I did. Why? Is something wrong?

Nothing’s wrong.
Evelyn hadn’t meant it to happen. With her inner eyes, she reviewed what had happened in Chinatown. Too late she realized that Laura saw it too.

Oh, my God. I’ll be right there to bring you home.

No. I want to stay with Max.

Evie, I know how you must feel, but it’s just not safe for you right now.

Max has kept me safe. Besides I love him. I have to be with him.

Are you going to marry him?

Right now being in love is plenty. I’m not even thinking marriage at this point.

I bet Max is.

Laura, I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I’m signing off or whatever you do in mindtalk.

Evelyn opened her eyes. While she was mindtalking, her body had slumped against Max’s on the sofa. He held her, stroking her hair.

“Glad to see you’re back. I was beginning to worry.”

“I’ve got to learn how to block my thoughts.”

“Let me guess. Laura saw the trouble we had in Chinatown.”

“She was going to come over and take me home, but I told her that I was fine, and staying with you.”

He smiled and kissed her. “So, open the package.”

Evelyn took it off the table and ripped off the brown paper. The book cover was gray, faded, and worn around the corners and binding. In faint letters, that may have been gold at one time, were the words “Telkhines by Marchessa Lightning Core”. She dropped the book.

“Crap.”

“What’s wrong? I thought you said she brought it?”

“She did, but what if she was fooled and it’s a trap.”

Max picked up the book and started leafing through it. “No. Doesn’t seem to be a trap. It’s rather old though. The binding’s cracked.” He stopped on a page about Dexithea. “What’s this?”

“It’s the legend that tells where Telkhines came from.”

Evelyn looked on as Max read it to himself.

Dexithea, the Right Hand of Zeus

Dexithea was a Telkhine, and the Telkhines were a remarkably gifted race that occupied the island of Rhodes before the ancient Greeks. Telkhines created glorious works of art from metal in addition to beautiful jewelry and strong, deadly weapons. These ancient islanders were also storm wrights. They could create a storm or dissolve it. These were among their many talents.

Zeus was angered by the confident, arrogance of the Telkhines and their god-like ability to avert storms. He decided to test them.

One night, two tired travelers went from home to home in Rhodes and were turned away for their shabby appearance. Then they appeared at Dexithea’s home. Her sister Makelo welcomed them in. Halia washed their feet and gave them clean robes to wear. Simone brought them wine, and Myla brought them food. Dexithea played her harp and sang. The sisters did not know their guests were actually Zeus and Apollo, and the gods did not reveal themselves during their visit.

Insulted by their treatment on Rhodes, Zeus cursed the Telkhines to hide forever in the sea as dog-faced demons. But he remembered the gentle hospitality of Dexithea’s house and spared her and her sisters this fate.

It is said that Zeus was so taken by the golden-haired Telkhine, that he gave her a gift that only she and her children would share—the bolt. Hence Dexithea is called the Right Hand of Zeus or the Goddess of the Right Hand. Being able to control lightning is a gift that is specific to the descendants of Dexithea.

“Wow.”

“Yes, that’s my heritage.” Taking the book from him, she went to the Table of Contents. “There’s a chapter on The Legacy.”

The Legacy

Bound to the sea forever is the fate of those Telkhines doomed by Zeus’s anger. Still they could not forget Dexithea and hers, their land-bound kin, and blessed them. Under most circumstances, a land-bound Telkhine cannot drown. They can see through the murkiest depths of the oceans to spy the secrets beneath the waves. All Telkhines hold within their beings a power so great and terrible, that the power of the storm pales in comparison. The Legacy Chant below is taught to the land-bound Telkhines when they are children. It was the greatest gift the sea-bound could give them. The meaning of this chant has been lost over time. But it is known that to repeat it three times under grave circumstances will unleash a terrifying force. What qualifies as ‘grave circumstances’ is unknown.

The Legacy Chant:

Sing to me beneath the waves

Free my heart, salt my tongue

Float my breath within the flame

Only a child’s song

Only a child’s smile

Call me into eternity

Land and sea bound and free

Touching but never keeping

Awakening but always reaching

Sing to me beneath the waves

And I will sing to you

Evelyn closed the book and put it on the coffee table. “Well, we don’t know any more than we did before.”

Max brushed hair out of her eyes and kissed her. “My love, don’t give up. We’ll solve your mystery eventually.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Let’s just say it’s a feeling.”

“Vampires get feelings?”

“This one does.” Max lovingly stroked the side of her face then bent and brushed his lips against her. “My love, what would you like to do? Eat something? Watch a movie?”

“I’d love to watch a movie.” The whole idea was to lose herself in the story for a while. Sometimes life is too complicated, especially when it includes vampires and ancient wisdom that’s been lost.

Max got up and went through his inventory finally settling on
Sound of Music
. He placed the movie into the player.

“
Sound of Music
, huh? You’re into musicals?”

“Not normally. Certain ones I like. Like
Mary Poppins
.”

Evelyn stifled a laugh. “Because she’s a vampire.”

“Well, she is.”

“So why do you like the
Sound of Music
?”

“It’s a true story about good people who had to fight a terrible evil and won. It gives the world hope that evil can be defeated.”

They snuggled together to watch the movie, and Evelyn managed to restrain herself from laughing when they burst into song. She’d always found musicals hard to watch because in life no one ever bursts into song. Maybe life would be better if they did.

Evelyn hadn’t expected to like Maria and the mountains. It took her back to when Jack took her on a trip to Austria and Eastern Europe. She couldn’t stop looking at the mountains. They made her feel calm. She liked the cragginess, the wind at night. The longer she watched, the more absorbed she became in the story. The evil taking over Austria was the Nazis. When Captain von Trapp is drafted and sings with his family for the last time in the festival, tears ran down her cheeks. Evil waited to escort him to this German ship. “So long, farewell.” It’s only a song, but also a ruse to get them off stage and into hiding. When they left their hiding place in the abbey and went into the mountains to flee to Switzerland, her rapidly beating heart started to calm. Death had been too close. Evelyn knew this feeling very well.

“Did you like it?” Max looked down at her, obviously trying to understand her expression. “All I can feel from you is pain then relief.”

“I understand why you like the movie.”

He kissed her. Evelyn returned the kiss. Her tongue easily parted his lips and stroked his fangs.

“Aieee.” He pushed gently away from her for a moment. “Evelyn, you just asked me for sex. Did you know if you stroked a vampire’s fangs, you’re initiating sex?”

“Yes.” Evelyn looked up at him, feeling every inch the vixen.

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure? After what happened today …”

She nodded.

Max pulled her into his lap and into a kiss. He worshipped her face with his lips. Tracing her jawline down to her neck, he blazed a hot trail of kisses. In a blur, he moved her under him on the sofa. She never opened her eyes, but trusted in his hands, his body. Max was very aware of how much she trusted him. Rubbing her nipples through the fabric of her blouse made her squirm, but he wouldn’t stop.

“Oh, Max,” she breathed. “I want it hot and hard.”

Her fingers on his arms brought him down against her. He complied willingly. He nibbled at the buttons of her fuchsia silk blouse.

“Oh,” she moaned. He fumbled with the blouse. She ripped it off. “Rip anyway.”

He grinned enjoying this new more adventurous Evelyn. “Do you want me to carry you to the bed?”

“No, I want to make love in front of the fireplace.” She gazed into his eyes, and everything inside Max that had been frozen from years of being alone, melted. He scooped her up against him with one hand. With the other, he moved the coffee table. Before she could blink they were on the rug. Flames danced. Their warmth touched him. He saw their reflection in her eyes.

Evelyn reached up to pull him down to her. Their lips met. Her heat rushed through him, and every part of him surrendered to her touch, her taste, her need. If she wished to use him to fill a need, he’d allow it. Max kissed her lips one at a time. Each kiss elevating her desire and she moved seductively under him. Her lips parted naturally and he took advantage with his tongue. She parried with him, denying him access to the sensitive inner walls of her cheek. He sucked her tongue and she whimpered. He would fill her need and help her to realize that she needed him for the rest of her life. Her breathing became desperate and he released her.

Max leaned back on his knees and took off his shirt and tie, tossing them aside.

She gasped, still trying to regain her breathing. “You’re not fair with me, Max.”

“Have you been fair with me?” He caressed the side of her face and she stopped trembling. “If I am to love you, then let me love you with my heart as well as my body. It’s not just sex, Evelyn. It never has been. I’ve loved you since that first moment. Show me how much you want me with more than your body.”

Evelyn sat up. Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t know that I can do that.”

He took her hands and turned her to face him, he on his knees and she on hers. “Tonight let’s call a truce. We will put aside the pain of the past and the fear of the future. We will love each other like lovers throughout the planet dream of doing. You keep my heart safe tonight. I will keep yours. What do you say?”

She gazed up at him with those summer day blue eyes of hers. “Yes, Max. I mean, my Max.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “My Evelyn.” At last, she would be his. He kissed each hand, feeling her soft skin against his lips. Then he pulled her a little closer. They were face-to-face. Max wanted to kiss her, but waited. He wanted to know how much she wanted him. She bit her lower lip and inched closer. He inched nearer to her. Their faces almost touched. They could breathe into each other’s mouth.

She paused with eyes closed. Was there some kind of feminine pride at stake or something? Max didn’t care. He closed the distance, kissing her hard, embracing her and easing her to the floor.