BURN (38 page)

Noticing that one of the doors was slightly ajar, I quietly stepped out and absorbed the night-time. Beyond the pool was a beautiful beach decorated with palm trees. So he really did live in the Caribbean. I imagined that the place would look all the more inviting in the sun. Although sunlight didn’t affect us in any way, we were nocturnal and naturally preferred the cover of darkness for hunting.

A lover of swimming, I was unable to resist a trip down the small set of steps to the pool where the water twinkled in the moonlight. I was just about to dip my fingers in when there was a huge splash and the water began lapping against the edges. My gaze found a delicious sight that sparked a rush in my blood. Burly shoulders and arms seemed to glide across the surface of the water as the swimmer moved with total ease. Even from the opposite end of the pool, his gorgeousness was apparent. His chiselled facial features and perfect bone structure made me think of the statues inside the mansion. The way his jaw was set gave him a very determined look. His hair was short, but not so short that I couldn’t run my hands through it. Bloody hell, where had that sleazy thought come from?

And then he caught me staring.

And I couldn’t think of anything to say to excuse myself.

He didn’t speak as he climbed out of the pool, all the while looking at me suspiciously; probably contemplating the idea that I could be some kind of stalker. As he approached me, dabbing himself with a towel, I tried to concentrate on his intense hazel eyes rather than his alluring pale skin or his mostly naked body which was as defined as they came. Heat shot through me as a heavy throb of desire settled low in my stomach. Up close, I could see that not only did he have a red tint to his irises, marking him as a Pagori vampire, but that those irises were glowing. He was either a pissed, horny, or thirsty Pagori vampire. Not good.

“What’re you doing out here?” 

What a welcome. Not that I would expect a Pagori to ever be anything but moody. They were naturally irritable and easily became aggressive. So would I be if my irises flashed red. The Pagori strength came with a price. So did the Keja beauty; they had fangs. “I’m just—”

“Are you a friend of Joy’s?” He was appraising me from head to toe now, making me feel self-conscious. His nostrils flared as he took in my scent. “Or a servant?”

“No, I—”

“Only a select number of servants are permitted to have access to this section of the house.”

“Well that’s great for them, but I’m—”

“This pool is especially off limits.”

I huffed. “Do you always interrupt people mid-sentence?”

His mouth curved up on one side. “British,” he observed in an approving tone. I quite liked the south Californian twang to his American accent too. After a short pause, made uncomfortable by how much he was staring, he said, “You’re new here. Who is it you’re working for?”

“Depends how the try-out goes.”

“Try-out?”

“For the legion.”

He looked taken aback but didn’t miss a beat. “Tell me you’re kidding.” His grin was mocking. “Tell me you’re not here hoping to try for a place in the legion.” When I didn’t say anything, he laughed. “Let me give you some advice: run along home.”

“Why? Because I’m a girl?”

“Yes.”

What an arrogant little sod. I folded my arms across my chest and snorted. “Are you for real?”

“Listen, this isn’t a cheerleading squad. You don’t get points for being pretty. It’s some serious shit, which is why a girl has never been accepted, and never will be. There’s no place for a female in the legion.”

Sebastian had failed to mention the past lack of success for females. I had to wonder just how widespread this misogynistic view was in this place. “You do know it’s not 1735, don’t you?”

“I’m just stating a fact.”

“No, you’re blurting out a prejudiced opinion.”

He shook his head. “Even if you were a guy, I’d be telling you to go home right now. For one thing, going by the fact that your skin tone isn’t very pale, I’d say you’re only a few years old; that’s just not enough experience as a vampire for you to have a chance at landing a spot in the legion. For another, no Sventé vampire has ever had any success with the try-out.”

Sebastian had failed to mention that as well. A man of few words, apparently. “So you’re prejudiced against women, young vampires, and
against another breed of vampire. I bet you’re a delight to have around.”

“Take my advice; don’t put yourself through the embarrassment of going to the try-out, just go home.”

Before I could yell at him for being a sexist sod, he had walked around me and disappeared through the patio doors. A little shocked, I slowly returned inside just as Sebastian was coming to summon me.

“Ready?”

I considered telling him to stuff it, that it wasn’t worth it, but I knew I could handle myself and my gift well. It was too tempting to attend the try-out just to irritate the bigot Pagori. “Ready.”

I marched behind Sebastian down the corridor again until we reached another set of patio doors, much more extravagant than the last. We then walked along a narrow cobbled path that zigzagged through the well maintained garden en-route to an outbuilding which, I soon realised, was actually an enclosed arena. Inside, the ground resembled a large horse paddock: a sandy floor with the letters A – D representing north, east, south and west.

Also inside was a line of blokes. About fifteen in all.

“Sam, you need to join the line,” said Sebastian. “I’ll be observing from there.” He pointed to what looked like a glass VIP spectators’ box. “Good luck.”

And then Sebastian was gone, and I was alone. Alone because each and every one of the fifteen vampires looked at me like I was a leper when I joined the line. There were sniggers, and snorts, and whispers, and gasps of amusement. I ignored it all and stood still, calming my irritated self and trying to anticipate what the test might be. Probably duelling, I decided.

The only advice that Sebastian had given me was to wear something that would promote flexibility − hence why I was dressed in my black sweatpants, a white t-shirt with a white sports bra underneath, and my cross trainers. I’d tied my long, dark hair back in a high ponytail to keep it from falling around my face.

While I tried to get my head in the right place, another four blokes entered. They joined in on the ‘laugh at the girl’ crap. All in all, there were now twenty of us. And I was the smallest. And the only female. And the only Sventé. Oh joy. Five were Kejas, the rest were Pagoris.

After a further ten minutes or so, three male vampires strolled in − all carrying an air of authority and power, and everyone immediately went silent. The assessors, I guessed.

The first was a Keja, extremely tall and bald with dark skin that had paled slightly due to the vampirism; he was all elegance and composure. The second was a well-built Pagori with a studious gaze and tousled auburn hair. At total variance to the first vampire, he was casually dressed in jeans and a ‘Life Sucks Then You Become a Vamp’ t-shirt. The third was also a Pagori...and the sexist sod from earlier. He spotted me and smirked evilly. Ah, bollocks. If the final decision came down to him, I was definitely going back home.

But I refused to be intimidated or made to feel unsure of myself, so I straightened my posture and arched a sardonic brow at him. He didn’t like that; he looked away, sniggering.

Folding his arms, he began pacing in front of the line of potential recruits as he spoke in a clear, authoritative voice. “All right, everyone, listen up. I’m Commander Jared Michaels. Beside me are Commander Will Norton,” – he gestured to the casually dressed Pagori who nodded, wearing a half-smile – “and Commander Lou Sherman.” The Keja also nodded. 

Jared the Bigot continued, “As has already been explained to you, our Grand High Master wishes to replace his squad of ten that was recently annihilated. I will be commanding that squad.” He looked hard at me with those words. It turned out that he was just as appealing dressed as semi-naked. He was made even more alluring by that black, knee-length, Matrix-style leather jacket he was wearing. Why couldn’t he be ugly? Then maybe need wouldn’t be tugging at me. Now that his hair was dry, I could see that it was a lovely shade of chestnut. I’d love to yank every strand of it out.

“There have been four other try-outs before this one,” he told us, “and I now have three spaces left to fill. Hopefully three of you will meet the criteria for the squad.” He halted in front of me as his gaze flicked over each vampire in the line except for me. “You’ve all been selected for one reason or another. Maybe it’s your strength, maybe it’s your fighting skills, or maybe it’s your gift. But if you can’t control your bloodlust, all of that means nothing to me.”

He signalled to someone sat above the spectators’ box and then suddenly gas began pouring out of hoses that were protruding from the roof. No…not gas. Worse. Various scents of blood now circulated around us, shooting up my nostrils and making my head swirl. And now, even though I usually didn’t have an overpowering bloodlust, I was incredibly thirsty.

“In any kind of battle, blood will be spilled,” said Jared. “This is what it will feel like to be on a battlefield, varying blood scents will be swirling around you. It is important that you can still be focused, alert, and controlled, and that you can resist your bloodlust.”

I didn’t glance along the line of vampires, but I could feel the nervousness and anxiety among them − feelings that amplified as Jared brought over a human. I didn’t even see where he came from. He had thin lines of blood slowly dripping down from a bite mark on his neck, heading toward his bare chest.

“You,” called Jared, signalling to one of the blokes in the line. He ushered him over and had him stand in front of the human. It was apparent that the Pagori was mesmerized by the sight, but he did nothing other than tremble a little. After about thirty seconds, Jared nodded at him to move away. The Pagori exhaled heavily as he went. Jared then selected another from the line, then another, and another.

I, unsurprisingly, was left till last.

By the time Jared called me forward to stand before the human, the blood was dripping down his legs. A year ago, I would have been as mesmerised as some of the others had been. I might even have stepped toward the human for a quick taste, just like two of the other vampires had. Needless to say they were now on their way home. But with Victor as your Sire, life was gory. You got used to it or you went insane.

Jared didn’t look pleased by my perfect composure − I wasn’t trembling, or swallowing hard, or squeezing my eyes closed, or trying to hold my breath like some of the others had. A mischievous smirk surfaced on his face as he used his forefinger to collect a little blood from one of the ribbons trailing down the human. He tried teasing my nostrils; wafting his finger right under my nose. The teasing didn’t work, which clearly irritated him. He brought the finger toward my lips, hoping to tempt me to at least try to lick it off. But I didn’t. Even though my body was curious and thirsty, I gave no reaction to Jared’s teasing. Instead, I held his gorgeous hazel eyes with a defiant stare. At last he dropped his hand, sighing loudly.

“The next part of the try-out is going to test you physically,” he announced to us as I returned to the line. He signalled with his hand for us to all follow behind him. He led us outside and over to a small forest which was made up of trees that were various shades of green and looked beautifully exotic. Scents of wildlife immediately hit me. I wondered if the vampires here ever hunted the animals. I’d never tried them myself.

“Hey...you really think you can pass this?” asked a Pagori who was now walking alongside me. He’d said it as though he believed I was mentally challenged. Apparently he found my presence here just as ridiculous as Jared did, which was a shame really because he was actually good looking and I didn’t want to think of him as a wanker. His mousey hair had been shaven to stubble, and the style suited him really well, giving him quite an intense look. His blue eyes were shining in amusement as they appraised my slender figure, which didn’t even have a muscle to pull.

“Don’t tell me you feel threatened by a woman.”

“Hey I believe in equality and all that, but there’s no way you’ll pass this.”

“Enough talking,” snapped Jared, stopping where the trees began. A group of vampires – all male, typical! – were waiting there. Going by their militant posture and the respectful bow of the head that they each gave to Jared, I guessed that they were members of the legion.

Jared informed us, “Your aim in this task is to reach the end of the forest in the fastest time that you can. Three things you need to know. One: you can’t step on the floor. You can use the trees, logs, rocks...but not even once can you step foot on the ground. Two: you are not permitted to use your own unique gifts; this is all about your strength, speed, and agility. Yes, before you ask, I do have people watching. The third thing you need to know is that you will have someone chasing you the entire time. If they catch you − task over.”

Anxious with anticipation, I watched as each vampire took their turn at the task. Each had a ten second head start before a member of the legion was on their tail. Most seemed to be completing the task within forty seconds, providing they weren’t first caught. Of course, from outside the forest I couldn’t see a thing. It wasn’t until they returned through the forest that Jared would be told of the applicant’s success, or lack thereof.