Everdark (31 page)
Authors: Elle Jasper
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #General, #Paranormal, #Fiction
I lifted a brow. He laughed. “The only way to end Valerian’s reign is to entomb him again. That’s not going to be easy. But there are things we will need.”
I nodded, accepting.
Soon, night fell.
Everyone except Jack and Tuba left Jake’s on foot and free-ran the city. Oddly enough, we encountered nothing—no vamps, not even a mugging. Even stranger was that I didn’t have a vision of Valerian the monster. I referred to it as a monster now because there were obvious character differences in vampires. At present I was living under the same roof with four, and at night kept company with eight in all. I trusted them all with Seth’s and my life. Even the monster’s own brother, to me, was safe. I fully believed he loved me, and although I didn’t return the sentiment, I did like him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me despite what Eli and his family thought. And Eli and his kin, Noah and the others? They were Gullahvamps, as I started referring to them; Preacher’s cousin Garr treated Noah and his bunch just as Preacher treated the Duprés. A pact to keep the city safe meant keeping the vampires safe. Not only did their centuries-old traditions of hoodoo magic keep their cravings to a controlled minimum, but it made them . . . more like their true human characters, I believe. Take Noah. I can’t imagine he was much different in life as he is now, as an undead. Crazy fuck. I liked him, though—freaking fine as all double hell, with or without his weird antihump-me powder. He was a helluva free-runner, and an even better fighter—a regular Tyler Durden with dreads if you ask me. I loved having the secret that he was a vamp concealed by some special hoodoo juice. As was the truth about Seth’s and Zetty’s and my tendencies. It was all pretty fantastic if you asked me.
We finished running the streets, and it was well past two a.m. when we descended the buildings and entered the Circular Church Cemetery in the historic district. Any cemetery, in my book, was creepy at night; the Circular had to top the list as most creepy. A mist had sidled in from the harbor and sifted through the aged trunks of the live oaks, between the marble and slate headstones covered in black decay and draped with moss. Swear to God, it looked like something out of a freaking movie. We closed the front gate behind us and eased deeper into hallowed ground.
“Why is it you guys can come in here?” I asked.
Eli glanced at me, his hand tightly holding mine. “What do you mean?”
“You know. Hallowed ground and all that,” I answered in a whisper.
He grinned. “We’re not evil spirits, Riley. Besides, Garr fixed the cemeteries here a long, long time ago. Just like Preacher did the ones in Savannah.”
“Gotcha,” I said.
We continued on.
At one particular grave, Luc, who was leading, stopped. Jack and Tuba knelt beside it, murmuring Gullah words I couldn’t understand. With a pocket knife, Jack scraped some of the headstone into a plastic cup with a screw lid; Tuba, with his hands, pulled at some of the sod until he reached dirt. Retrieving a bag from his back pocket, he opened it and sprinkled the contents all around the grave; then dug a few handfuls of dirt, dropping them into a ziplock.
I was beginning to see the value of a ziplock.
Moonlight shined down through the canopy of trees and shot darts of illuminated glow throughout the gravestones. Seth elbowed me, and pointed; I followed his finger to a Gothic-y square-sided spire, jutting into the sky.
“The Unitarian Church of Charleston,” Noah said beside me. “Sort of reminds me of Notre Dame.”
I had to agree.
“Whose grave is that?” I asked Noah.
He glanced down at me. His face grew somber in the moonlight. “Elizabeth Mont Frey. Once, a very beautiful, highly respected woman of Charles Towne.” He glanced at the headstone. “She didn’t make it through her quickening before she was killed. Garr was saved by his daddy,” Noah looked at me. “They were taken at the same time, by the same vampire. You can imagine back then, a Gullah man and a prominent white woman, together.” He sighed. “They were crazy in love, those two. Things haven’t changed all that much, I’m afraid. Anyway, despite her blood being tainted by a vampire, Garr insisted she have a Christian burial. Even in death, her body exudes mystics only Garr knows how to use.” Noah’s eyes bore into mine. “Almost as if she knows his desires, and allows only him to utilize her gifts.”
I stared into the silver depths of Noah’s gaze. I nodded in understanding.
We’d only just stepped out of the Circular Cemetery when Eli’s back stiffened. Phin, Luc, Josie, and Noah glanced around, peering through the darkness. Saul, Jenna, Cafrey, and Tate, also on alert, began to move around the rest of us in a circle.
Then, they descended from the trees above us—six newlings; all punks, all rogues, all ravenous.
Eli shoved me—hard. “Get down, Riley!” he ground out. I flew several feet away and landed on my backside. I jumped right back up and ran to stand beside the one person I knew would let me fight—Noah.
Eli growled. It almost made me laugh, how protective he was. Even after seeing me fight, he still wanted me out of the fray. The newlings lunged, Eli swore in French, and the fight began.
I quickly learned why Eli was so concerned; they all seemed to hone in on
me
. I’m talking long-jawed, fangs dropped, faces grossly distorted, hideousness. Slobbering and rabid, they all lunged straight for me. Eli grabbed one by the throat and threw him against a tree. His body hit hard, but in a split second he was up, eyes seeking me out.
me
. I’m talking long-jawed, fangs dropped, faces grossly distorted, hideousness. Slobbering and rabid, they all lunged straight for me. Eli grabbed one by the throat and threw him against a tree. His body hit hard, but in a split second he was up, eyes seeking me out.
It gave me just the time I needed to grasp the blade from my back sheath, aim, and fling it at him. I threw hard. The blade hit its mark and pinned him to the tree.
He screamed in agony; I ignored him and turned to the others.
All of my vamps had changed. I tried not to focus on that.
I found Seth and we stayed back-to-back; Jack, Tuba, and Zetty formed a circle and did the same. Rogue vamps fell from the trees like flies. Where they all came from, I had no clue. I didn’t recognize even one of them from the fight club. They were rabid, out of control, and lunging almost faster than my vamps could catch them.
Seth whipped a blade directly at one I swear was no more than three feet away. My brother was strong, and the blade hit hard, knocking the she-vamp back at least ten feet. Another blade flew by; Zetty had thrown that one and damn, he was one strong man. The vamp he nailed flew back and over the wrought-iron fence of the cemetery. It lay there, writhing, screaming, gurgling, until finally, it was silent.
Some of the rogues looked barely older than Seth. It made me sick; I’d puke later. Now, we had to survive. I nailed four more with blades, one rapid-fire shot after another. I no longer waited to see if I’d hit my mark; I knew I had.
I glanced to my left; Noah, whose beautiful face had contorted into something I’d rather not remember, grabbed a rogue just as it lunged past him, headed directly for me. In one shake he’d snapped its head off—clean freaking off, like a dandelion head. He dropped the body and turned to me, eyes white, red pupil dead center.
I could’ve sworn his lips curled into a smile.
The count had lowered, and although the remaining newlings continued to lunge toward me, my vamps took them all. Jenna and Saul had a pair; Cafrey and Tate had another. Although it felt like hours, only minutes had passed.
Before I knew it, the fight was over.
Garr’s men came and collected the writhing, pawing, scratching newlings. That was a sight all its own. I had a hard time believing they could be detoxed. But with Preacher and Garr, anything was possible. They left in a van, leaving us with the mess.
Eli was suddenly at my side, his flawless face returned to normal. His hands searched my body for injury; his eyes followed. When he was satisfied I wasn’t hurt, he pulled me into his arms and pressed his mouth to my temple. “You scared the shit outta me,” he murmured against my hairline. “Such a badass, huh?”
“Survivalist,” I corrected, but slipped my arms around his waist. His arms went around me, tightly, protectively. I confess I enjoyed it.
Luc approached. “All mostly mortals accounted for?”
Seth chuckled, and he, Jack, Tuba, and even Zetty murmured, “Yeah.”
“Good,” Luc said, and glanced around. “Let’s clean this mess up and make like a tree and get outta here.”
One more thing I hated about killing vamps: cleanup. You did not leave vampire waste lying around. It was a valuable hoodoo ingredient, and we salvaged every dust bit possible. Not to mention, Preacher and Garr now both believed that even a small fraction of a vamp left behind would be potential for resurrection later on.
To that I say,
No, thank you, Monster.
No, thank you, Monster.
Cleanup took longer than the kill. By the time we finished, the first church bell tolled from St. Michael’s. It was six a.m., nearly light outside, and the group of us were toting around dusty vampire guts in ziplocks.
We hurriedly departed.
As we left the historic district, Eli ran on one side of me; Noah, on the other. Noah glanced over at me. “So,” the Charleston vampire said, mercury eyes catching the first rays of daybreak, “beautiful, huh?” He was referring to my earlier thought.
I shook my head and looked straight ahead. “Oh my God, the ego.”
Eli laughed beside me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me faster.
Noah’s voice trailed behind us. “You’d better keep a good grip on that hand, Dupré!”
He didn’t have to finish. I knew exactly what was on Eli’s mind.
Noah’s laughter followed us to the battery, where he turned and departed with his crew, back to the dregs of the city.
I later learned he preferred it there so to keep a closer eye on things.
Apparently, Noah Miles took care of disobedient humans just as much as rogue vampires.
As we entered Jake’s, we all filed in through the kitchen. Eli led me straight upstairs.
“I’m not going to ravage you this morning,” he said, smiling. “But only because we’ve business at Garr’s this morning.”
I looked at him. “Who’s staying here with us?”
“Josie will be here. Noah’s only a head-shout away,” he said, then frowned. “But I doubt you’ll need him.”
I gave Eli a slow smile. “Okay. Hurry back, then.”
He pulled me against him and kissed me long, slow, and just when my hands crept up his neck and into his hair, he pushed me gently away. “I’ll see you later,” he said, with another quick kiss and an even quicker exit.
I looked at the door he’d just left through and smiled.
Quickly, I showered and fell into bed. I slept. I needed it. Late afternoon arrived too soon. Once we all were ready and the mortals had eaten, we headed out to the city. This time, we walked the historic district before it grew dark. We strolled through the city market, and Eli and his brothers and sister visited with some of the Gullah women selling baskets. They all knew the Duprés; I could tell they thought fondly of them.
Soon, darkness settled over the city, and we headed out of the historic district.
Atop the city, we ascended the buildings; Noah and his group met us close to the old burned-out church where the fights took place.
Eli grabbed me and spun me around. His expression tight, he looked . . . angry. “You can’t imagine how I hate your going in here,” he said, his eyes searching mine. “Stay close, Riley. And watch yourself. I mean it. I don’t want to have to kill someone.”
“Don’t worry, Eli,” I said, and grazed his jaw. His eyes darkened at my touch. “I don’t exactly have a death wish, you know.”
“You guys ready?” Noah asked.
“Yep,” Phin answered, and he and Jack and Tuba pushed in ahead of us. Music thumped from inside the hollowed walls, and I knew tonight would be way different from the other night.
Apparently, they sparred at the fight club three nights a week and, after that third night, they chose—chose, and then fed. I was ready for it.
At least, I thought I was.
Noah suggested that Eli take Seth and Josie, Luc stay with me, Phin with Zetty, Noah with Jack and Tuba, and the rest scatter. Eli hesitantly agreed. We filed into the crowd, and I spotted the shade-wearing newlings immediately. They spotted me, too. I moved slightly away from Luc; I didn’t want them thinking I had backup in any form. Immediately, the one newling from two days earlier approached.
“I see you made it back,” he said, his lips curling into a grin that caused a shiver. “Jump in whenever you see opportunity.”
“You know I will,” I said, chin lifted.
I waited; I watched a few fights; I watched Eli over the crowd. Every time I looked at him, he was looking at me. How he kept his thoughts trained on the club, I had no idea. I tried not to dwell on it.
The fights were more vicious this night than the others.
The weak had indeed been weeded out.
Luc and I were standing close but not together. We’d all managed not to be linked and had stayed apart while at the club. It had taken some convincing, but Eli finally conceded and didn’t stand glued to my side. I guess he was sort of starting to trust my abilities.
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