Embrace The Dawning (The Covenant Series Book 1) (5 page)

“Why do you need my help?” he asked critically.

“I’ve searched for other vampires with your skills. I found a couple, but not with the same level of expertise. You’re one of a kind, Adrian, and you were loyal to me once. I’d like for us to work together again.”

Everything she stood for revolted him. Her perception of vampires being the superior species only opened the door for vampires to enter into war with humans, witches, and werewolves alike, with the end result of having humans enslaved to vampires and any other species bowing down to them. Every action she took ensured her own rise in power, and for her own selfish desires. Her violent behavior toward humans and vampires appalled him. She treated every human, vampire, witch, and werewolf she encountered as if they were expendable pawns for her schemes.

“I’m not the young, naïve military man you met 150 years ago who became smitten with an exotic woman from high society. You used me then. I won’t be your pawn now. You’re right. I do value my freedom, and I do want to be out from under the Covenant, but not at the expense of the safety of all vampires. The Covenant may be a group of old prude and dominating vampires, but their laws have been effective for centuries because they protect us.”

Outrage manifested on Danika’s face. Her golden eyes glistened, narrowed; her fangs extracted fully.

“You’re a fool, Adrian! I offered you a chance to be a part of a revolution. A revolution that will give vampires a chance to lead among the different species, which is where we belong. Not hiding in the shadows of fragile pathetic humans. The stronger ones always prevail. Did I not teach you that? Did I not assist you in becoming the powerful vampire you are today? I can do that for all vampires!”

“No, Danika! Your actions are to only satisfy your desires. This revolution would benefit
you
, not all vampires. Bringing down the Covenant would allow you the freedom to no longer be hunted. It would allow you to create as many vampires and kill as many humans, witches, and werewolves as you want without having to answer to any authority. It would allow you more power and more minions to grovel at your feet. Tell me, is that not what you really want?”

Danika clicked her tongue and grimaced. “How dare you insult me after I came here to offer you a life without restrictions and to be by my side once again!”

Adrian snickered at Danika’s belief in her own egotistical proposition. “You’re a tainted woman, Danika. Your master broke you down and built you into the monster you’ve become. No vampire deserves to be under your ruling.”

Danika moved in closer to Adrian and lowered her voice to a menacing whisper. “You’ve obviously chosen your side, Adrian. It will be a shame to watch you turn to ash.
You’re such a beautiful
vampire
.”

Adrian grimaced. When they had been together, she’d often referred to him as a beautiful vampire before aggressively seducing him and draining him of his blood. He shuddered from the memories.

Danika delighted in her ability to torment Adrian. She smiled smugly before turning away. Adrian regained his composure and reminded himself of his mission.

“Danika, I can’t let you leave.”

She turned back with a mischievous smile.

“You can’t, can you?” Her words escaped her mouth with a trace of disdain. She crossed her arms, licked her lips, and waited for him to continue.

“I let you go once, and I told you then—it would be the first and last time.”

Danika smirked. “You think I didn’t come prepared for you to reject my proposal? You think I came with only one other vampire? If you did, you really have gone soft.”

Adrian sensed the three others a while ago. He had located one on the roof of the building above him, one in the alley, and one among the club-goers.

Adrian gave Danika the same smirk. “And you thought three were enough?”

Adrian rushed at Danika with his full vampire speed, snatched her into his arms, and swiftly bolted into an alley away from the public. He slammed Danika against the damp brick wall. She reached for his neck with fangs bared. Adrian clutched a fistful of Danika’s hair in his hand and slammed her head against the wall. She brought her hand back to her head. Her eyes widened, clearly showing the white around her irises. Blood covered her hand. She eyed Adrian angrily.

“How could you?!”

“A little something I saw one of your fledglings do to an innocent human,” he justified between gritted teeth.

The other young vampires quickly approached. The one from the rooftop landed a few feet away from Adrian. The brawny protector seemed shocked at Danika’s current state. After collecting himself, the vampire charged toward Adrian, swinging. Adrian grabbed the vampire’s arm and pulled him past him, tossing the vampire onto the ground. As the thud came from his body, the lanky club-going vampire appeared in the alley. He measured the situation and then lunged at Adrian, fangs extracted. Adrian slammed his palm into the vampire’s face, breaking his nose and causing blood to drip from his nostrils. A wiry-looking, beady-eyed vampire arrived from the connecting alley as the first two vampires healed, recovered, and charged at Adrian again.

Adrian rushed at the two vampires coming toward him, twisted his body, and spun around the lanky, bloodied-nose vampire. As he did, he seized the vampire in his grasp, pulled him in close, giving Adrian the element of surprise he needed to rip his fangs through the young vampire’s jugular. A limp body fell to the ground before turning to ash.

The wiry, beady-eyed vampire quickly rebounded from his stunned reaction, leapt from the pavement, kicked off the brick wall, and flipped himself behind Adrian. Adrian spun around to receive a fist to his jaw that knocked him back a step. Adrian grimaced from the blow, collected himself, and reached for the throat of the alley vampire. The vampire fought to get free from Adrian’s grasp.

With Adrian distracted, Danika made a run for it. Adrian tossed the alley vampire into the brick wall and chased after her. The brawny rooftop vampire jumped in front of him to block his path. The vampire swung his leg forcefully, kicking in Adrian’s knee. Adrian collapsed. He wouldn’t be able to run for a few minutes.

Adrian raised himself through the pain and crunching of bones and cartilage. He grimaced and used his anger and adrenaline to keep moving. The brawny vampire again swung his leg, aiming for Adrian’s knee. Adrian caught the vampire’s foot and forcefully twisted it until he heard the bone snap. The vampire squealed.

Adrian dragged the brawny vampire toward the alley vampire, whose eyes bulged in shock. Adrian released his fist-tight grip. The vampire clutched his broken ankle. Adrian shifted his attention to the beady-eyed alley vampire just in time to see him kick off the wall and spring toward him. Adrian swung his arm, hitting fist against jawbone.

Adrian recognized the crackling of a shattered jaw. The alley vampire collapsed to the ground, clenching his hands to his face. Both vampires writhed on the ground, waiting for their wounds to heal.

Adrian lifted his pant leg, revealing a sheathed blade. He pulled the blade from the casing and quickly thrust it across the alley vampire’s throat. He tried to be as quick and merciful as he could, knowing the jaw injury was worse than the ankle injury. He faced the remaining rooftop attacker as the alley vampire burst into ashes. Adrian pressed his boot and his weight against the vampire’s chest. He held the blade above his throat.

“You have one chance to live and one only. I am not patient either. Tell me where she is staying.”

The vampire’s eyes spread wide.

“She’ll kill me if I tell you.”

Adrian brought the tip of the blade to the vampire’s throat. “I’ll kill you now.”

The vampire grimaced. “A condo. Near the beach. I don’t know the exact address. She doesn’t let us go there. Only her closest escorts know the address. Let me go,” the vampire demanded.

Adrian eased up on the pressure of his boot. His eyes glistened gold. “Sure.”

Adrian brought the blade down on the vampire before he had time to realize what was happening. Adrian returned the blade back to its sheath as ashes drifted into the air.

Chapter 4

Kayci stepped out of the shower, feeling more relaxed. The evening’s events had shocked and troubled her. She couldn’t figure out how to take Adrian, the exotic vampire woman that he seemed cozy with, the confrontation with the bald-headed vampire, or even how she felt about Adrian, let alone how he felt about her. Maybe she should forget about him. She didn’t belong in his dangerous, complicated world. Knowing vampires existed though would take time to get used to. They seemed more common than she first thought, and easily masqueraded as humans. It would be worth it to research vampires so she could be more prepared if she ran into others. A project she might venture into tomorrow.

Kayci sat on her bed and downed an aspirin with a full glass of water, for a headache had developed between her temples, undoubtedly caused from too much rationalizing. She laid her head against her pillow, closed her eyes, and tried to focus on the quiet of her room. When visions of Adrian entered her mind, she distracted herself with thoughts of work and prepping for new clients, her upcoming research project, and anything else she could dream up. Once the aspirin kicked in, it wasn’t long before her eyelids became heavy with sleep.

She gazed back at his sheepish grin. He lifted his hand to the nape of her neck and pulled her in closer. She let his lips press against hers and not only kissed him in return but encouraged him further by joining her tongue with his. The feeling of him pressing against her was enticing. Her body heat rose, and wetness developed between her legs. When he slipped her shirt above her head and reveled in her uncovered breasts, it lit her desire on fire. She pulled at his jeans, releasing the swollen member below. His sheepish grin returned when she smiled at his sizeable and apparent attraction to her. He removed her jeans slowly, tracing the curves of her thighs and buttocks with his hands. She yearned for him to be inside of her. He brought his lips against hers as he lifted her onto the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist and eagerly awaited him.

The cell phone alarm buzzed. Kayci knocked the phone onto the floor in her abrupt attempt to stop the alarm. She groaned as she reached for the buzzing phone. She tapped the screen, dismissing the alarm. She tossed it onto her bed and lay back against her pillow in a huff, still reeling from the dream. This one had gone much further than the last, leaving her aroused. It irritated her how easily her body was stimulated by dreams of Adrian. She tossed her blankets aside and tried to instead think about her plans for the day. She only had one client for Saturday, at 9:00 a.m., which left her plenty of time for vampire research afterward. She might as well get started, since she had a particular vampire on her mind anyway.

After a quick breakfast, Kayci prepped her gear and rushed to the gym. Her client wasn’t arriving for another forty-five minutes, so Kayci ran the indoor track, cycled wildly, lifted reps of dumbbells, jump roped, did squats with weights until her legs felt like they would give out, and then finally collapsed from exhaustion on the weight room floor. Thankfully, she felt too exhausted to be angry with herself for wondering about Adrian. After all her hard work to not think about him, he was her first thought, and it aggravated her. She guzzled her vitamin-infused water and felt grateful when her client entered the gym.

For an hour Kayci helped her client get her body to the shape she desired. When finished, Kayci accepted the substantial tip, gave her a business card with the next appointment on it, hit the gym shower, and changed into the fresh clothes. She left the gym and headed to town for lunch and a visit to the library.

Kayci moseyed through the library, disappointed by the scarce resources she found on the topic of vampires. Most books were science fiction novels, fairy tales, and every form of Dracula that anyone had come up with. She grabbed one book about vampires and urban legends. When she came to the register, she asked the young woman at the desk if there were any other places she could find books about the supernatural or vampires in particular. The young woman, who had long black hair and too much eyeliner, studied her a moment. She pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen and started writing a business name on it.

“You should try this place. It’s in old Naples, a little hole-in-the-wall shop. She has ancient relics, books on everything supernatural, and some unique products for sale. Candles, herbs, charms, those kinds of things. You don’t strike me as the kind of person into that stuff, but if books on vampires are what you’re lookin’ for, you’ll find them there. Not all her books are for sale though. The older stuff is only rentable, and the even older books, she scans copies for you.”

Kayci took the piece of paper from the young woman. “Thank you,” Kayci said with appreciation. “I suppose I won’t need this book then.” Kayci handed the library book back to the clerk.

The young woman read the section code on the spine and placed it in an old distressed metal cart for proper shelving later.

“No problem.”

Kayci entered the name of the business into her phone as she left the library. The address popped up quickly. She drove the few blocks, watching out her window for the small numbers on the shops. Finally she saw the right number and pulled in.

From the outside, she could tell the library clerk had been right. It wasn’t the kind of store where she would normally shop. Wymsical Treasures had a wooden sign hanging by the door that read
Psychic Readings Available
. Kayci had always thought psychics were con artists running scams on gullible people. She wasn’t here to judge the place though. She came for research, and based on the appearance of the shop, it looked like it might provide the resources she needed.

As she entered the door, little bells jingled above her head and glorious fragrances filled her nostrils. The tidy shop had lots of shelving on the walls, and tables in the center. The left shelves had many kinds of soaps and lotions, herbs, charms, and several candles that appeared homemade. On the right wall, the shelves were covered with a large variety of books. The center tables had homemade relics, pottery, woodwork, and beading. She had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised. The products were definitely eye catching.

“Can I help you, my dear?”

Kayci had been so distracted with the products she didn’t even notice the old woman sitting at the register. The woman had shiny, long gray hair with streaks of white running through the gray. Her gray hair complemented her large bright eyes and smooth tan skin. If it wasn’t for the gray hair, one could easily be fooled about her age. She barely had wrinkles around her eyes and was stylishly dressed, with a long jean skirt and a colorful loose blouse that was accessorized with a brown leather belt and dangly turquoise earrings.

“Yes, thank you,” Kayci replied as she walked to the register. “I just came from the library. The clerk there said your shop was a good place to find books on vampires.”

The old woman eyed Kayci a moment, then stepped out from behind the counter and walked toward the bookshelves. Kayci followed close behind.

“Right here is where you should look.” She pointed to a shelf with several books in a variety of sizes and colors.

“In order to help you choose the best source, tell me, dear, what would you like to know about them?”

Kayci didn’t want to sound like a kook and say “everything I can find out about them” and refer to them as being real, so she went with a white lie.

“Research project. Everything I can learn about vampires through history, the better.”

The old woman studied Kayci again. Her eyes narrowed, as though she was trying to read Kayci’s mind. Kayci started to feel uneasy, and the woman must have realized it. She stopped studying Kayci and reached to the shelf. She pulled out a dark-blue book covered in old burlap fabric.

“This will be the best resource. It’s like an encyclopedia of vampires, written by two men that had firsthand experience with vampires.”

Kayci took the aged book from the woman and skimmed through the first several pages. They were filled with sketches, descriptions, and many narratives. It seemed like a professionally published journal of science, but the science was on vampires.

“Firsthand experience,” Kayci muttered under her breath, surprised to hear the woman refer to vampires as real, but then she recalled the type of shop she was in. Maybe the woman had had her own experiences with vampires and knew they were real. Surely Kayci wasn’t the first human to know about vampires.

“This book is a rentable book only though.” The old woman walked back toward her register. “The rental fee is $25 and has to be paid with a credit card. If you don’t return the book, I charge your card $250.”

The old woman smiled at Kayci’s shocked expression.

“Ah yes, that gets the customer every time. However, it works. I’ve only had a couple unreturned books in twenty-five years.”

“How long is the rental good for?”

“Five days.”

“Okay, great. That is plenty of time for me to read the book.” Kayci started to pull her wallet out of her purse.

“Why don’t you have a look around the rest of the shop while I get the rental agreement ready? You may find something you like. On the shelf there.” The old woman pointed to the shelves with lotions, herbs, charms, and candles. “I have candles that are homemade by my own creation. They are quite popular.”

Kayci eyed the shelves. Intrigued by the items, she set the vampire encyclopedia on the counter while the woman rummaged through her papers under the counter. She headed toward the candles. They had caught her eye first. Out of the five choices, she was most attracted by the green-and-brown one in particular. It had alternating layers of both colors, with leaves and flower petals blended in with the wax.

“Ah yes, you’re an earth sign. Every customer is drawn to the candle that represents their element. The fifth candle is all the elements combined. That one is popular too and often sells along with the customer’s element candle.”

Kayci knew she was an earth sign, Taurus in fact, but found it strange to hear she found a candle pretty because it was her elemental birth sign. She brushed off the comment.

“How did you make them? They’re all very pretty.”

The woman leaned casually against the counter. She set the rental agreement on top of the book. “The earth candle is created with thin layers. I heat the wax, add a little of the wax in the glass jar, add leaves and flower petals, pour another thin layer of wax, and continue that process until its finished. Then stick a wick down into the wax. The white air candle, I blow bubbles into it with a syringe. With the fire candle, I layer the red and orange and pull a string through the wax to create the imitation of flames. With the blue water candle, I layer the dark-blue and light-blue colors unevenly, put the white on top for the wave effect, and add a few shells as I go.”

“You’re very talented, creative too. Have you made everything in the store?”

“Just about. Some of the pottery, woodworking, and beading are brought in by a couple friends of mine. I sell their items in my store for a small commission.”

Kayci set the candle down, but with the intention to take it up to the register when she finished browsing. She moved along the homemade lotions and soaps, smelling a few, and tried the sample labeled
citrus and lemongrass
. She enjoyed the fragrance so much she picked up a small tube of the lotion to purchase. Farther down the shelving lay bags of herbs and several different kinds of relics and charms. At first the herbs seemed simple, like lavender and sage, but then they progressed to more complicated names she didn’t recognize, like belladonna, henbane, feverwort, and more. Some bags even had warning labels on them. She chose to skip the herbs and browsed through the relics and charms.

The charms were categorized by their purpose—for luck, improved health, financial advancement, fertility, and even to ward off evil. As she looked them over the, one caught her attention. She thought she recognized the charm that had hung from the taxi driver’s rearview mirror. She reached into the basket to pull out the charm for a closer look.

She ran her fingers across the engraving and studied the picture that had been pressed into the metal. She was sure now the charm was the same as the taxi driver’s. She noticed a faint heat to the metal, as though it was growing warmer. As she stared at the design, she found herself squinting from the same flash of bright light she had seen before. The bright light was painful enough on her eyes that she looked away. The charm’s temperature elevated to a point that she felt like her fingers were on a hot stove top. In response to the intense heat, she dropped the charm.

“Dammit,” Kayci barked.

She looked down at her fingers, shocked to see that the engraving had burned its design into her skin. The old woman rushed over to Kayci from behind her counter. She saw Kayci’s hand and looked at Kayci wide-eyed before picking up the charm and placing it back into the basket.

“Come with me, dear,” the old woman said urgently as she grabbed Kayci’s arm and pulled her into a room obviously set up for psychic readings. It had a floral area rug on the floor with shades of red going from bright to dark, almost black. A wooden table sat above the area rug, with a matching chair on either side of the table. The wood chairs had pretty green cushions that accented the area rug. To the left of the room, a small kitchenette had been built with a sink, counter, and mini fridge. To the right of the fridge sat a massive aged wooden armoire.