Crimson Dawn

CRIMSON DAWN

By Ronnie Massey

Copperhill Media
A division of Copperhill TEchnologies Corporation

http://www.copperhillmedia.com

CRIMSON DAWN

By Ronnie Massey

Published by

Copperhill Media

A Division of Copperhill Technologies Corporation

158 Log Plain Road

Greenfield, MA 01301

USA

Copyright © 2011 by Ronnie Massey.

Cover Design by Copperhill Media
Image: Red Moon Rising

Copyright: Crossvalley Design – Martin Schmidt

Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN-10: 0-9832800-3-7

ISBN-13: 978-0-9832800-3-3
Printed in the United States of America

http://www.copperhillmedia.com

DEDICATION

First, giving honor to God, I want to thank you Father for the many blessings that you have given me. I know than none of this would be possible without the creativity that you saw fit to bestow upon me.

To my wonderful mother who raised six kids and made sure all of us got an education; because of you I have a deep love of literature and the arts. I love you Mama, and want nothing more than for you to be proud of me. To my two daughters, Maya and Malia. I know there are times when you want to take my laptop and throw it out of the window, but both of you are so understanding when it comes to my writing. Everything that I do, I do for the two of you. I love you so much.

My brother Allen and sisters LeAnna, Nicole, Shonda and Cheryl; you guys always encourage me and give me whatever I need to make my dreams reality; be it an editor, a babysitter or an ear to listen to a new poem or song. I love you guys very much. T, Dre and Bree; Aunt Ronnie loves you babies. Lena, you are more of a sister than a cousin. Jenna B,. you graduated from being my best friend to my sister years ago. You are always there when I need you. Daddy, I love you. Thank you everyone and I love you all.

When I started writing Crimson Dawn over four years ago, I never imagined that it would actually be on a bookshelf someday. My only intention was to write a vampire story with characters that reflected me. If it wasn’t for my wonderful Wattpad.com fans, I would have never begun to seek publication. So thank you, Lyssa S., Foxxy89, Tracie S., Onfire, Obsidianbutterly13, and so many more; you guys are the reason I finished it. I also want to thank the fabulous romance author Tressie Lockwood, who encouraged me to begin querying again. Receiving rejection letters is not fun, and without your encouragement I would have given up.

Thank you, Mr. Wilfried Voss, for presenting me with the opportunity to share my work with the world. Ms. Yolanda Campbell, thank you for the edits and helping perfect Crimson Dawn. Mr. Martin Schmidt a.k.a. Crossvalley Smith, thank you so much for allowing me to use Red Moon Rising for the cover. You are insanely talented. B. Steady, thank you so much for the use of Autumn. That song suits Val and Irulan so well. You and A.O. are going to blow up and you deserve it. Everyone be sure to check out The Lost Bois on Facebook and Thelostbois.com.

I hope everyone that reads Crimson Dawn falls in love with the characters the way that I have. Also head over to YouTube and listen to Autumn by B. Steady, it is Val and Irulan’s theme song! Till next time…

Ronnie

CHAPTER ONE

Crunch! I looked down at the broken glass under my foot and took a quick glance back at the sleeping man sprawled across the bed. Good - still asleep. The last thing I needed was for Michael... Mitch... Matthew... whatever his name is, to wake up while I was trying to make a smooth getaway before the sun got too high in the sky.

While the night before had proved to be very entertaining for us both, I wasn't looking for anything beyond a one-night stand. As my luck would have it, I picked a guy that liked to cuddle after sex and actually talk about his feelings, most involving us getting to know each other better. Yeah - I'll pass. While the sex was good, I had my doubts that it was worth all this. Now I know that may sound rather whorish, but most Vampires don't see promiscuity as such a terrible thing. Pain and pleasure go hand in hand for us; they increase our chances of having successful feedings. Humans don't tend to take a few missing pints so bad if they've had an incredible night of sex the night before.

Maintaining anonymity does matter. To make sure I kept my own, I placed a few mental blocks in said cuddle bunny's mind, (i.e. Glamour). I hate messing with people’s heads, but it was the only way to make sure he wouldn't show up at my favorite Extras club, The Den, looking for me later. The next time he saw me he would vaguely remember some chick he thought he went to high school with. The blocks wouldn't mean shit though if I couldn't get out of the house without accidentally waking him. I'd go from last night's thrill to trespassing burglar - Not high on my 'to do' list.

Fortunately, with a little burst of vamp speed I was out of the house and into my car in a matter of seconds, kicking myself the entire way for carelessly knocking over the glass in the first place. As soon as I slid into my leather seat and shut the door, my cell phone started to ring. I didn’t even have to look down to know that it was my roommate Irulan. She was the only person that would have the gall to call me in the morning when any decent Vampire was safely in bed. "Yeah, this is Val, talk.”

Irulan huffed on the other end. I could almost see her green eyes rolling with aggravation. "Valeria, you've really got to work on your phone etiquette. You have all the social graces of a sloth.”

I shrugged my shoulders despite the fact that she couldn’t see them, and pulled my burgundy Fusion into traffic. "I knew it was you Ire, so why bother with the pleasantries?"

Instead of the snappy comeback I expected, I heard nothing but silence. Irulan was taking entirely too long to answer. On top of that, she covered the phone with her hand and lowered her voice to a whisper. God, I hoped she didn't have some girl in the bed with her while she was fussing at me. The last thing I needed was for her to be berating me in front of her flavor of the week.

"Gee thanks,” she said when she finally decided to respond, “You really know how to make a girl feel special. I was just calling to make sure you were awake, and on the way home. It's getting close to eight. I know you're Pureblood and all, but you're still young in vamp years. You need to be in before the sun gets too high in the sky."

"Nah, Ma, you think?” I rolled my eyes at the phone and silently cursed. No matter how many times I make it home before the sun completely rises, she never lets me forget the one time that I didn't. To be honest, I think it scared her more than it scared me. I got off relatively easy... just a three-month long tan after the initial burns healed. I've seen other Vampires my age take a few years to heal similar sun damage. Our bodies heal almost instantly, from almost everything except sun damage. Granted, their blood might not have been as pure as my own.

"I'm already in the car and headed home on Tyvola. I'll see you in ten minutes.” Irulan was obviously satisfied with my answer because she hung up without saying goodbye. Now who needed lessons in phone etiquette?

I live in the southern United States, Charlotte, North Carolina to be precise. Charlotte became one of the "it" destination for Extras after the Awakening. The city was large enough to support us and allow us to blend in, yet small enough and deep enough in the south that the Humans here hadn't lost their belief in all things otherworldly. They weren't quite as jaded as the rest of North America, thus, they were a little more welcoming.

So much so that there are at least four suburbs here aimed strictly at Extras. Irulan and I lived in one called Emerald City. Yeah, I know the name is cheesy, but I didn't name the place, I just live there. The last time I checked the census we were the fastest growing minority in Charlotte.

*****

I made it home to our converted storefronts just as the sun was starting to peek out over the second floor, excellent timing in my book. Irulan didn't share the feeling. The moment I pulled in through the back of our building and slid my car into the parking bay she was pounding on the window.

"Damn it, Valeria, one of these days your car's gonna roll in here with a pile of ashes behind the wheel.” Irulan yanked open my door and shoved her hand into the pockets of the low-rider jeans that she wore. She stood there tapping one foot, as she waited none too patiently for me to get out of the car. By the gods, she fusses more than my mother ever did when I lived at home.

"Hi honey, I'm home,” I laughed as I eased out of the car and kissed my best friend on her nose. In return, she cracked the glass of my window slamming the door shut. OK. , no way did I deserve that, something was not right with this picture. "What's going on Ire, did I do something..."

Irulan crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her feet. She was nervous. Aw hell, something was wrong. It took a lot to shake one of the Sidhe. Faint footsteps fell on the concrete behind us, and a familiar aura stole over me. I knew without looking that it was my brother Valerian.

A huge smile blossomed lighting up my face, but it fell the instant I turned around. Beside Valerian stood our father, Hadrian Kemet Trumaine. Could my morning get any better?

Before I go any further, let me tell you a few things about myself. My name is Valeria Dominique Trumaine, and I'm a ninety eight-year-old Pureblood Vampire. In Vampire years, I'm still relatively young, between twenty-five and twenty-seven by Human standards. Personally, I don't think I look a day over twenty-three.

I stand five feet, eight inches, have jet-black hair, with new burgundy streaks, that hangs just below my shoulders, and the most unusual eyes you'll ever find on a woman. They're ice blue with silver pupils. Unlike the more common dead-born Vampires, my skin isn't pasty and pale. My skin is a smooth, café au lait tone. When I say that I am a Pureblood, I mean that I was born a Vampire: I never had to go through a "turning.”

There are about twenty Vampire families in the world, six of which are in America. The top five in the world are the oldest and most powerful. Standing, in Vampire politics, is the common way to refer to a family. My family is The Fourth. The Trumaine family, as the world knows it today, started in Africa with my great-grandfather Kemet. No, contrary to popular belief, Vampires didn't originate in Transylvania, just the Tempest family. My brothers and I are actually members of The Fifth. Also, our mother Anya is a Gregory by birth.