The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV (11 page)

Where do I begin again and how much should I
let out? What were the consequences of letting Ashley know my story
and my connection with Julian? These were things that I wished I
knew the answers to ahead of time, but, I didn't and that left me
with only one choice, to tell her the rest of what happened.

8

“Julian?” I whispered as I sat up in bed and
looked over at the man silhouetted in the window. He turned his
head and looked at me, with a handsome smile. There was a cold
draft in the room that the blazing fire in the hearth didn't seem
to get rid of and I pulled the covers closer to me.

“It's all right, Cait.” He whispered, sitting
beside me on the bed. I could feel his hand on my arm as he rested
it there above the blankets. “Are you cold?”

“No, but there is a draft.” I smiled and
looked at the empty spot beside me on the bed. “Would you like to
help me warm it up?”

“Wouldn't you rather be up and about, it's
only a little late in the afternoon?” He smiled as I shook my head.
“Have you gotten lazy since we last met, wanting to stay in bed all
day?”

“On the contrary, I'm a very busy lady and
this happens to be the perfect time to relax, now are you coming or
not?” I laughed at him and pulled the covers down. Julian slowly
climbed over me and came to rest on the empty side of the bed. He
lay down on his side and stroked my hair with his fingers. “So,
your big discussion, what was it about?”

“Can't you guess?” He whispered, smiling.
“There always seems to be a big commotion when you come to
visit.”

“Funny, I don't remember a big scene between
the four of you last time I was here.” I replied and laughed as I
moved closer to him. I reached out with my fingers and touched his
lips. I looked deep into his eyes and smiled as he moved to tower
over me. “The ocean never looked so beautiful.”

“I'm not sure I understand.” He replied,
softly, as he leaned closer to me and kissed me, quickly.

“You're eyes are like some vast ocean, filled
with different shades of green.” I laughed and shook my head as his
smile faded and he backed away, slowly, with a stunned look on his
face. “What is it, Julian?”

“What color would you describe your eyes?” He
asked. I shook my head as I looked at him as if he had flipped.
“It's important, Cait.”

“Blue, I guess.” I replied and shrugged. “My
mother used to say they were a sky blue, like what it looks like
close to dusk.” I took his hand as he moved further away. “Julian,
why are you so far away? What's going on?”

“It's nothing.” He said, softly, and came
back to me. His arms wrapped snugly around me and he held me
against the coolness of his body, but despite the lack of warmth
from his skin, his touch provided the heat, and his kisses ignited
a fire that seemed to spread quickly

It was close to dinnertime when Julian made
his way across the hall to the adjacent bathroom to take a shower.
It was then that I decided to call Connie and check on my son.

“Hello?” The voice answered after four rings.
I smiled at Connie's excited voice.

“Hi, it's me.” I replied.

“Caitlyn, hi, I wasn't sure if I was going to
ever hear from you again.” She answered.

“It's only been twenty-four hours. How's
Damien?” I asked.

“He's good; right now Paul has him outside.
So, how goes things?”

“Strange.” I replied, touching the side of
the bed that Julian had been on. “Things have been coming back
faster since I've been back here, and people I suddenly remember
are appearing.”

“Like who?” She asked, and I listened to her
bang pans around for a bit before I replied.

“Nick is here.”

“He is?” She asked, with a shocked voice.
“Last time I saw him he told me he would “never set foot in this
house again, unless it was a life or death situation”.”

“That's good to know.” I looked up at the
window, and watched as the sun began to sink in the sky. “Because,
he seems to have brought his brother back with him and the vibes I
get of Creolas made me feel quite threatened. Other things, though,
haven't quite added up.”

“You know, Caitlyn, if you're not so sure of
things, maybe you should come home.” Connie suggested. I sighed,
climbed off the bed and looked out the open door to my room.

“I will, soon, but there are other things
that I have to remember, things that are important.”

“To whom, you or Julian?” She questioned.
This made me stop and think, but then I shrugged it off when I
spotted Nick coming up the staircase.

“Connie, I'm going to call you back tomorrow,
there's something I have to do.” I smiled and said good-bye to her
only seconds before Nick reached the top of the stairs. I stepped
out of the room and stopped him as his feet touched the floor. “We
have to talk.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea, considering
who you’re sleeping with?” He asked, sarcastically. I crossed my
arms and looked at him sternly.

“Whether or not I am involved with Julian,
and who I'm sleeping with, shouldn't matter right at this moment,
Nick, because what we need to discuss doesn't concern him.” I told
him, stepping closer. He looked passed me at the bathroom door,
which was still closed, and then he looked down at me and
nodded.

“Fine.” He answered, a bit uncaringly. “Where
would you like to go to “discuss”?”

“There's a room at the end of the hall that
we can go to.” I gestured down the hallway behind him, then walked
by and headed for the room. I could feel Nick following behind me
and then turned to look at him as we entered the room.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” He
shrugged, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“First off, drop the act, because it doesn't
work for me.” I told him, putting my hands on my hips. He smirked
at me then shook his head.

“And, what act would that be?” He asked.

“The cold, “I don't give a shit about
anybody” act.” I replied. “You men are all alike; do you really
think that stone cold persona you put on is really attractive?”

“Are you saying that you're attracted to me?”
He asked as he made his way over to the couch, where he sat in the
middle of the cushion and stretched his arms out along the length
of the backrest.

“No, but Connie was.” I replied, as I turned
to face him. I watched the cocky smile fade from his face and his
eyes took on a softer look. “Why did you leave her? Was it because
of me, or because of what happened to me?”

“Not everything is about you.” He replied,
quietly.

“No, I didn't think it was.” I stepped over
and sat in the chair in front of him, and then I watched as he
turned away from me. “So, why did you do it?”

“She was in danger.” He whispered.

“In danger of what? By whom?” I
questioned.

“Why are you bringing this up?” He asked,
snapping his head around to look at me. I smiled at this reaction,
knowing in my heart that he still cared for her made this
easier.

“I was on the phone with her, just before I
confronted you.”

“Oh.” His eyes lowered to the floor.

“And, she said that the last time you saw
her, you told her that you would never step foot in this house
again, so why are you here now?” I leaned forward, placing elbows
on my knees. “Is it because of Creolas, or because you thought I
would bring her back here too?”

“I don't want to talk about this anymore.” He
whispered and looked up at me; his brown eyes seemed hard and
distant.

“Why?” I asked. He stood, moved across the
floor, and towered over me as I was backed into the corner, in what
felt like an instant. His teeth bared and I could see his vampire
teeth, but they were dull, as if they were meant to be a warning.
“Nick, I don't want to hurt you, just tell me why.”

“Because, I loved her.” He replied, quietly,
then stood and headed for the door.

“She's been alone since you left her.” I
replied, sitting up in the chair. He stopped in the doorway, with
his back to me and I listened to him sigh. “I didn't realize why
she never met anyone else, or why she got so into her job, but now
I know.” I looked over at him as he glanced sideways at me. “It's
because she has been waiting for you.”

“She doesn't have anyone?” He asked,
softly.

“Well, there's Paul.” I replied, which got
him to look away, then I smiled. “Of course, he's not interested in
women, so I don't know if I'd count that as someone.”

“What's your point, O'Neal?” He asked.

“Why don't you go back to her?” I
questioned.

“The time isn't right, there's still danger
around.”

“There always was and always will be, but
that didn't stop you from getting involved before, why should it
now?”

“You're a nosy pest, O'Neal, you always
were.” He answered, but I noticed that a bit of the hardness had
left his voice, and I smiled as he stepped out of the room. I stood
and moved to the window to look out at the ocean, when I heard
someone walk in.

“He wasn't bothering you, was he?” Julian's
voice asked.

“What is it with you and him?” I questioned
and turned to look at him, my arms crossed over my chest. Julian
shrugged.

“We've always been a bit competitive.” He
replied.

“Well, you both can knock it off around me,
because I'm not buying into it.” I answered. Suddenly, as I looked
at him, my head began to spin as my eyes blurred. All I saw was
darkness, and then there was a bright flash of light as the
memories came flying at me. I felt Julian's hands on my arms,
guiding me to the couch, where he made me lay down.

“Caitlyn, what is it?” Julian asked. I opened
my eyes, trying to focus on the man in front of me, but I wasn't
having any luck. Finally, after several tries; I gave up and close
my eyes. “Do you see something?”

“Me.” I replied, in a whisper. “I see myself,
as if I were separated from my physical person, standing in the
middle of the grass outside. Under my feet is a circle of grass
that looks as if it died, from lack of water, but it's a perfect
ring, a gold ring, and there are others one to my left and another
to my right. I can see myself turning to face the ocean, and I can
see the strange way that the dark clouds are rolling in, as if a
sudden storm was approaching. On the underside of it, you can see
the glow of red, like there's a fire out at sea. The feel, though,
is like pure evil.”

“Caitlyn, I need you to try to come out of
this dream.” He begged me.

“Wait, you're there.” I smiled. “I can see
you stepping up beside me, but I don't think you realize that
you're standing in one of the rings. It starts raining, coming down
in large drops and they hurt a bit as they fall. I'm looking at
you, as you stare at this thing, but then I can also see another
figure coming closer.”

“Cait, you need to open your eyes.”

“I can't.” I whispered, stuck in that state.
“Julian, I'm scared, what's happening?”

“It's just a memory.” He whispered and I
could feel his hand holding on to mine. “Try to come out of
it.”

“There's a flash of bright red lightening and
it hit down in the center of the circles. A giant fire is ignited
and I can't see you anymore. Wait!” In my mind, I looked deeper
into the fire, at the figure that stepped out, his face seemed
shadowed by the flames, and he raised a hand towards me. I watched
myself as I turned my head, yelling for help, then all I saw was
the light, bright red and blinding, and slowly, I opened my eyes to
see Julian looking at me, and I was laying on the couch in the room
that Nick and I had walked into. “Julian, what does it mean? How
come it didn't end the right way?”

“I can't explain it, yet, but, just remember
it for now and we'll discuss it later.” He said, softly, then
leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.

9

The only thoughts running through my mind, as
I stepped into the dining room, were those of the hours I had spent
with Julian, and the fact that I missed my little boy, who seemed
quite thrilled to hear from me when I called him just before I came
down stairs. However, when I looked around the room, with the five
men standing around it, I couldn't help but feel a sudden familiar
feeling sweeping through me.

“Good evening.” Quinn said, softly, as his
hand slipped around my arm gently. I smiled up at him and the two
of us walked to the table, where he pulled out a chair for me. “You
look distracted.

“I'm fine.” I replied, whispering back to
him. Quinn nodded and took the seat beside me.

“You son of a bitch, Julian Deveraux!” I
heard as I looked around the room, at the smiling faces that
surrounded me, and that's when I turned towards the doorway and
watched the girl walk in. She was a younger version of me and by
the expression on her face, she was angry. Again, I felt separate
from my physical being as I turned with her as she walked into the
room and stood at the end of the table, looking down its length at
Julian. “You lied to me, again.”

As I looked around this dining room, the one
from my memories, I noticed that there wasn't much difference from
the one I was physically sitting in, except that the only two men
in this room were Nick and Julian, and Nick seemed to be just
leaving. Julian looked up at her as she leaned, with both hands
flat on the table, towards him. Julian smiled, placed the napkin
that he had dabbed at the corner of his mouth with, on the table
next to him, and placed his hands, folded together on the table in
front of him.

“Good evening, Caitlyn.” He said, softly.
“What can I do for you?”

“You lied, again.” She said, shaking her
head.

“About?” He questioned.

“Oh, come on, you can't honestly expect me to
believe you don't know what I'm referring to, can you?” She smiled.
Julian shrugged and rolled his eyes. “The beach, Julian, you told
me that you would meet me on the beach at five o'clock. That was
over an hour ago, and this is the second time you've made me wait
that long in as many days.”