Crimson Midnight (A New Adult Dark Urban Fantasy Series) (The Crimson Series Book 1) (14 page)

15.

 AFTERSHOCK

“Nice fangs.” Rose mentally checked
herself over for any serious damage.  Everything seemed to be in working order. 
She never took her eyes off Thistle.  She knew she had probably just saved her
life and she knew she wouldn’t hurt her.  Her regard wasn’t due as much to
wariness as fascination.

After what had just gone down she
should be a gibbering wreck. And she noted with some detachment that somewhere
deep inside her she was still screaming, albeit silently.  Her mind however was
doing some strange assimilation thing and accepting the evidence before her. 
Thistle was a vampire and they had just been attacked by some kind of nightmare
beast. “So you’re a vampire.”

Thistle nodded slowly, her eyes
narrowed with a mixture of wariness, scepticism and concern. “I know what I am
but what the hell are you?”

Rose had been trying to avoid
thinking about that, but as if Thistle’s words had unlocked the box in which
her mind had squashed that mammoth query, she found herself the subject of a
rapid kaleidoscope of images– heat, burning, searing light and pain.  Her legs
buckled, suddenly as weak as jelly, and she stumbled.

Thistle, quick as lightning,
grasped her around the waist in an iron-like grip.  “It’s okay, just breathe,”
she soothed.

Rose, realising she was holding her
breath, let it out in whoosh of air followed by greedy inhalations. “Ohmygod!
Ohmygod! What the hell just happened? What the hell did I just do?” she gasped.

“I don’t know but you saved our
lives and you…killed that thing.” Thistle’s voice sounded odd and on some level
Rose detected a hint of admiration.

Rose breathed shallow and even,
battling the rising nausea as her senses recalled the beast’s rancid stench. 
After a few moments the feeling subsided. “Thanks. I-I’m okay now. I’m okay.”

Thistle tentatively released her
grip, stepping out of Rose’s personal space once she was certain Rose would not
buckle again.

They stood this way for a further
few moments– Rose’s mind reeling with the implications of what had just
transpired and Thistle regarding her with open curiosity.

“It was a demon, I think.” Thistle
bit her lip. 

Rose noted that her fangs had retracted
or whatever you call it. “Really?”

“There have been some attacks
recently– the council is looking into them.”

“Council?”

“For the supernatural community.”

“Supernatural community?” Okay, so
she realised that she sounded like an echo but she really couldn’t help it.

“We need to report this and we need
to get you assimilated into the community. You need support from your own
kind.” Thistle’s tone was uncharacteristically brusque and business like.

Rose was suddenly gripped with
panic. “Hang on there a minute, I’m not
assimilating
into anything and I
definitely don’t want anyone to know about…about what I just did.”

Thistle looked surprised.

“I just want to forget it ever
happened, just go on as normal.”

Thistle smiled wryly. “If only
things could be that simple.  You have no idea how often I’ve yearned for that
very thing.” A faraway look came into her eyes but she shook it away before it
could take hold. “You can’t run from who you are, Rose.  I’m not certain what
you are but I’d take a guess and say some kind of warlock.  From your reaction
I can assume you weren’t aware of your nature, so we can safely assume you’re a
latent.”

“Latent?”  Okay, so she was doing
it again.

“Some kind of supernatural beings
lead completely normal lives unaware of their abilities.  We call them
latents.  Their powers lie dormant.  Sometimes they never surface and other
times…well, a traumatic experience can trigger the release of their powers.”

“A traumatic event like being
attacked by a demon with crazy glowing eyes, halitosis and killer BO?” Rose
said dryly.  Yeah, she could see how that could tip the scales.

This was too much to take in.
Thistle was a vampire and she was some kind of warlock and they all lived in a
supernatural community overseen by a council who hunted demons and everyone
lived crazily ever after.  Okay, time to acclimatise.

“There is no other way.” Thistle
continued. “There is another world out there– the real world where the
creatures of myth and legend walk free, and you, Rose, are a part of it, whether
you like it or not.  You can’t learn to control your power on your own. Someone
innocent could get hurt.”

It was the last part that convinced
her.  If this was just about her she would happily deal with it, she’d suffer
in silence to cling to some semblance of normality. But this wasn’t just about
her. She couldn’t risk hurting anyone.  What if she lost her temper and
incinerated someone at the gym? Or worse?  Was there a worse?  She couldn’t
bear to think about it. There was a new energy inside her– she could feel it
coursing through her veins.  She didn’t know how to control it, didn’t know all
it was capable of.  Even as she processed these thoughts, a small part of her
came alight with the thrill of the extraordinary– to be different, to be more than… 

“Rose?”

“I need time, please, give me a
couple of days to be… just to be.”

Thistle shifted her gaze so she was
looking just beyond Rose. She sighed. “Two days, Rose. On Monday we tell the
council.”

As they walked side by side out of
the alley, Rose turned to Thistle, a new disturbing thought having popped into
her mind. It seemed to be the night of disturbing thoughts. “Roman! Does he
know?”

“It’s not important.  I don’t feed
off humans.”

“That,” Rose said with emphasis,
“was going to be my next question.”

16.

 GATHERING

Thistle was the first of the guests
to arrive. Today she was dressed in skin-tight blue leather pants and a ruffled
white shirt.  She had probably left as soon as the sun went down, Rose thought.

 “You okay?”  Rose asked. “Is that
sunlight burning you to a crisp thing true?”

“I’m fine and yeah, it is.”
Thistle’s brow creased in a frown. “But, considering the events of last night,
I think I should be asking you that question.”

“I’m fine and the sun never really
bothered me.” Rose quipped, then sobered quickly under Thistle’s serious
regard. She sighed. “I’m fine, honestly.” She held the tea tray she had just
emptied of its bounty of sandwiches to her chest.  The buffet table Flo had set
up in the living room looked ravish-worthy. “It’s strange, but I feel better
than I’ve ever felt.”

She wanted to explain how she had
woken this morning feeling as if she was finally complete, as if she finally
made sense, like something had clicked inside her.  Sure the fear of the
unknown was still there, but it had morphed more into a thrilling anticipatory
kind of fear. Weird, but then she
was
a supernatural being. 

Thistle picked up a tuna sandwich
and took a dainty bite.  “Mmmm, tuna is my absolute favourite.” 

Rose stared at her with wide eyes.

“Of course I eat.  There’s no way I
could survive on a blood only diet.  Blood is just essential to my diet.”

Rose shook her head. “No, that’s
tuna. I thought you were a vegetarian.”

“Oh.” Thistle shrugged. “I eat
fish.”

“Oh.” Okay this was weird, why
wasn’t she more freaked out by everything?

Maybe because you are a freak...
 

Shut up annoying little voice!

Thistle polished off the last of
her sandwich. “So what are you going to do with your last day of freedom?” 

Ah, now this Rose had given some
thought to. “I want to go out, cinema, dinner, a long walk, just normal things”

Thistle nodded.

“And I was hoping you’d join me.”

“Wouldn’t you rather take Faye?”

“Honestly….no.”

“Okay, lovely.”

“Great.”

They beamed at each other.

Roman sauntered into the room, his
hair still damp from the shower, dressed in a plain white T-shirt with blue
jeans hanging low on his hips. “You girls look happy. You talking about me?”

He looked good enough to eat. 

Let’s hope Thistle doesn’t feel
the same way
…Rose bit down on a giggle, letting out a strange, strangled
noise instead

Thistle raised an eyebrow and
smirked as if reading her thoughts.

“Actually we were just comparing
men and vibrators,” Rose said.

“Er…really?”  Roman looked
intrigued.

“Yep. We’ve decided vibrators win
hands down. They’re always there when you need them and never cum before you
do. They don’t leave the toilet seat up, or fart in bed and you don’t need to
cook or clean for them.”

Roman smirked. “Thistle, tell me it
isn’t true.” He shook his head in mock disappointment.

Thistle pouted prettily. “Sorry,
babe, but she does have a point.”

“No cunnilingus for you for a
week!” He wagged his finger at her.

Rose felt like her ears had caught
fire.  Too much information!

Roman gave her a sidelong glance,
his lips curved in a sexy smile. “I do have the most amazingly long tongue.”

“Yes.” Thistle agreed, looking
dreamy.

“One week, babe.” Roman reminded
her before heading out the door. “Just need to slap on some gel,” he called over
his shoulder, “and admire my incredibly versatile tongue.”

“Is that to make up for your
incredibly small dick?” Rose called after him.

“Just ask Thistle.” He called back.

Thistle held her hands apart
indicating the impressive size of Roman’s manhood.

“Really?”

“U-huh.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

They both burst into laughter.

The doorbell rang and Rose went to
answer it.  Flo was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to her famous
trifle. 

Faye came tottering into the living
room in Rose’s wake, her five-inch heels making her look like she was about to
keel forward.  “Oh. Hi, Thistle.” She did a dainty finger wave. “Just got off
the phone to Catherine, the poor lamb is in bits!” She looked from Rose to
Thistle, her eyes wide as she waited for them to ask her to elaborate.

“What happened? Dior run out of her
favourite brand of lip gloss?” Rose asked sarcastically.

“No! Her boyfriend just dumped her.
She’s really upset, they’ve been seeing each other for a year and he just sent
a message to say it’s over!”

“That’s harsh.” Thistle looked
aghast

Faye nodded enthusiastically. “It
is isn’t it?”

“He could have at least done it
face to face.” Thistle finished.

Rose snorted.

“She could really do with a friend
right now.” Faye looked expectantly at Rose and the penny dropped.  She wanted
to invite Catherine over.

Rose held up her hands. “No way!
When Hell freezes over!”

Faye looked confused. “You don’t
like her?”

Faye asked so uncertainly that Rose
felt a pang of guilt.  Faye obviously was clueless as to her homicidal feelings
toward Catherine.  Rose sighed. “Honestly, were you not there last night? The woman’s
a bitch with a capital B.”

“I should have explained, she’s
honestly really sweet, just a little blunt and stuck in her ways.”

“How old is she anyway? Twenty-one?
Twenty-two? How stuck can she be?”

Faye looked wounded and Rose
decided to change tack. “Look, hun, I’m not here to choose your friends for you
but please do not expect me to willingly spend any time with Catherine.  I
really don’t like her, okay?”

Faye sighed. “No that’s fine. Of
course. I’m sorry. I didn’t realise.”

Thistle rolled her eyes behind
Faye’s back.

“I should really see her tomorrow.
She could do with a friend, but I have a date with Harold.” She looked
momentarily torn.  “Oh well. Harold will understand.” She brightened.  “What
you doing tomorrow?”

“I was thinking of going to the
cinema, maybe some dinner.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I can’t come.”

“I’ll join you if you like?” 
Thistle volunteered for Faye’s benefit.  She didn’t want Faye’s feelings to be hurt
if she found out this had already been arranged without her in mind.

“Thanks.” Rose shot her a doubly
grateful look.

The doorbell rang.

“Don’t worry, luv. I’ll get it!”
Flo shouted as she hurtled past the living room toward the front door.

The party was about to get started.

“I’ll just go find Roman.” Thistle
sashayed out of the room.

Everyone was gathered in the living
room, drink in hand and nibbling food. Erin was attacking the sausage rolls
with vehement gluttony, and equal discretion. Music was playing.

Kris had arrived first, dressed
casually in a blue T-shirt and jeans. Fifteen minutes after him, Harold and
Damon arrived. Damon, working a 1950’s Hollywood look, had brought two bottles
of wine and a cheese platter with him. Harold, in jeans and a tight,
muscle-clinging top, came with a crate of beer. Raven arrived shortly after
carrying a bottle of expensive whisky and dressed elegantly and stylishly in a
black shirt and black trousers.

“Oh my gawd,” Flo gasped. “How much
was that?”

Raven looked amused at Flo’s
reaction to the gift. “I don’t know. It is with compliments from Richard.”

“He shouldn’t have, but how lovely
of him.”

“He just wishes he could attend
this evening,” Raven said.

“You tell him that him and Marianne
are welcome here anytime.”

“I’ll pass that on.”

“Ooo I love this song.” Thistle
began to sway.

The doorbell rang again and Flo
went to answer it.

Flo regarded the beautiful,
impeccably dressed man on her doorstep. “Hello?”

“Hello. My name is Ossian. Rose and
Faye invited me here. You must be Flo.” He extended a hand.

“Rose! Faye!” Flo called. “Sorry,
luv. Gotta check that before I let you into me house. You could be anyone.” She
smiled to soften the words.

As she waited for the girls to
confirm the new arrivals identity, Flo took a moment to take this man in
properly. He was stunning. Absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Dressed in a white
shirt that flattered every piece of sculpted flesh that it hugged, and black
trousers, he looked like a model, except his beauty was beyond any she had ever
seen before.  He epitomised the term breath taking.

Rose grinning widely.  “You came.”

“Wow. And no text book stuffed down
your trousers or anything,” Faye drawled sarcastically. “Although maybe we
should just check to be sure.” She shot Rose a cheeky wink.

“Faye!” Flo gasped.

Faye smirked. “Just kidding.”

“Now I know you are who you said
you are,” Flo said, “I’ll take that hand shake.” They shook hands. “Oh! What
lovely soft hands. And ain’t you handsome?” she gushed. “What’s that you got
there, luv?”

“Some wine.” Ossian held out the
bottle like an offering.

Flo took the offered bottle.
“Gorgeous
and
thoughtful.” She ushered him over the threshold, closing
the door behind him. “Rose and Faye will show you through. Help yourself to
food. The drinks are in the kitchen. What would you like?”

“A beer would be great,” he said.

“I’ll get that for ya. I’ll be back
in a bit. Go in and meet everyone.”

“This way.” Rose steered him toward
the living room.

“Everyone,” Faye announced as they
entered the living room, “this is Ossian.”

Everyone turned to greet the new
arrival and introductions were made– only Raven stood frozen by the window, his
gaze raking hungrily over his guilty pleasure.

“No one ever eats the sandwiches,”
Roman said. “Whenever anyone puts on a buffet, the poor sarnies get shafted.”
He shot the said sandwiches an apologetic look.

The sausage rolls had been
depleted, the crisps and cakes too, but only a small number of sandwiches had
been devoured. Roman laughed as Flo glared at him while wrapping them up in
cling film.

“Don’t know what you’re laughing
at,” Flo said. “These are your dinner tomorrow.”

Roman chuckled some more. “Want a
hand?”

Flo waved him away. She looked over
at Kris, Damon, Harold, Faye, Rose and Ossian sitting around the living room
space, chatting and laughing, the atmosphere one of relaxed ease. Erin was in his room watching a DVD. Thistle was dancing by the window. “I think everyone’s
having a good time. Thistle is loving the music.” She frowned as her gaze
passed over Raven standing near the television, close to the group but not a
part of the conversations or laughter. “Raven seems a bit on edge though.”

“He’s got a lot on his plate right
now.” Roman said.

“Try and get him to relax a bit,
eh?”

Roman nodded.

Flo gathered the plates of
sandwiches, now wrapped snugly in cellophane, and took them out into the
kitchen, hips swaying in time to the music.

Roman grabbed a fistful of peanuts
and returned to the group, parking himself down on the arm of the sofa, beside
Rose.

“We were just talking about all of
us going to London Zoo one Sunday,” Kris said to Roman. “What do you reckon?”

“Sounds good to me.” Roman grinned
“Kill two birds with one stone.”

Kris looked confused. “Huh?”

“Yeah, we can all have a nice day
out and Harold can visit with his relatives.”

Harold shot Roman a lethal look.

Everyone else burst out laughing,
even Raven cracked a smile.

Faye ran a soothing hand up and
down Harold’s bicep. “Aw, baby, he didn’t mean it. He obviously has to
overcompensate for his lack of charisma by resorting to lame jokes.” She glared
at Roman.

“Well some of us have just got it
and others can only strive to achieve.” Harold looked at Roman smugly. “Don’t
worry, mate. I’m happy to give you a few pointers. There’s more to a
relationship than a few lays you know.”

“That’s rich coming from the king
of one night stands.” Roman retorted, ignoring Harold’s look of warning. “You
think I’m bad, this bloke could give a summer bunny on Steroids and Viagra a
run for its money.”

Harold looked at Faye, his cheeks
flushed with embarrassment. 

He must really like her, Rose
thought. 

Faye, however, looked unfazed by
the ribbing. “Well I can certainly vouch that my man doesn’t need Viagra to do
the biz. Besides, sometimes you need to try on a lot of outfits till you find
one that suits you best.”

Typical Faye and her fashion
orientated analogies.

Harold grinned, slinging a
possessive arm over Faye’s shoulder.

Roman had the grace to look
slightly contrite.

Deciding it was time to change the
subject, Rose turned the attention to Ossian. “So, Ossian, how’s the studying
coming along?”

“Sod that!” Roman interjected.
“Tell us about you.”

Ossian smiled. “What would you like
to know?”

“Have you got a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“A boyfriend?”

“No.”

“A bit on the side?”

“No. I don’t really have time for
relationships. I wish I did.”

Roman leant forward as if about to
impart a great pearl of wisdom. “It’s all about work-life balance.  Equal time
for work and play.  Think of your time as a pie chart and make sure you leave a
big slice for shagging.” Roman winked and tapped the side of his nose with his
index finger.

“If only mapping out your life was
as simple as creating a pie chart,” Ossian said.

Roman clapped his hands together.
“Ossian, my friend, let the master teach you how. Hot bloke like you deserves
more action than turning the pages of a text book.” He slung an arm around
Rose’s shoulders as he spoke. She threw his arm off.