The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV (8 page)

“And, what about your life outside this
house? What about your husband and your son?” He questioned. I
closed my eyes, briefly, then opened them and looked up at him
again, as he now seemed to hover above me. “Do you think you can
keep this a secret?”

“My heart tells me that I can, my mind isn't
all that sure.” I replied, wanting to turn away from him, but I
couldn't, I was locked there, unable to move. Julian came closer,
leaning on his elbows to prop himself up, but the distance was
closing between us as his lips brushed mine. I could feel the heat
from him as his body lay against mine. “Does this make me a bad
person?”

“Don't deny yourself this moment, Cait, just
because you feel indebted to a man who was half responsible for
your child.” Julian whispered. I shook my head and put my hands on
his shoulders, pushing him away. He looked at me, with that of
disappointment, but I believe it was aimed at him more than me.

“I don't understand why I can't get passed
this, Julian, but I know one thing for certain,” I sighed as I
moved away from him, out of that strange position. He looked at me
as I walked to the door. “I'm also responsible for my child. I
should be trying to figure myself out and get home to him, instead
of trying to figure out these feelings that I have for you.”

“I'm not one of the bad guys, Cait. I want to
help you get your memories back; I can't help it if I still love
you.” He replied, sitting up in bed.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. “Maybe, it would
be best if we weren't alone together, any more.”

“If that's what you want, but, remember, you
came to me.” He answered. I lowered my eyes as I nodded and left
the room. On the other side of the door, after closing it tightly
behind me, I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms.

“I don't know what I want.” I whispered and
stepped away from the wall.

The only way off the third floor was the
staircase I had used to get up there, and Julian had the only room
up there that I knew of, so, when I noticed the light at the end of
the long, dark hallway, my curiosity began to run wild. I looked
back at Julian's room, and then began to make my way down the
hallway. It turned out that the light was only the moon shining in
a window in a room with an open door, but the fact that this room
was open at all seemed strange. I stepped into this cold, empty
room, crossing my arms over my chest, hugging myself.

I stood in the middle of the room, staring
out the window at the large round moon in the sky, feeling an odd
déjà-vu as my dream began to play out in my mind, filling in the
blanks as it went.

It was a flash of light in the window that I
was now looking out that had caught my attention, bringing me into
the house. As I walked the halls of this darkened house, searching
for the stairway, the voice inside my head grew louder, screaming
danger at me. I began to call out to Julian with my mental voice,
knowing that if he was close by, even if it wasn't in the house, he
would hear me.

The feeling grew stronger as I made my way up
to the second floor, then to the third. I stood at the top of this
staircase, looking down the hall at the light at the end, hairs on
the back of my neck stood up as chills ran down my spine and goose
bumps covered my flesh, but I chose to go on, despite the warnings
and as I stepped into the room, the same room I stood in right
then, I knew where the danger was coming from.

He stood there, next to the window, smiling
at me. His eyes were red, as if the pigment in them had been stuck
that color during the heat of battle, his hair, in the moonlight,
was almost a dark blood red color, and his face was pale white. He
was dressed all in black, bringing out the paleness of his skin,
and his hands were down in front of him, one over the other.

In his smile, I could see the fangs, and I
watched, as if disconnected from myself, as he stepped closer to
me. It wasn't instinct that told me to run, but a strong male voice
I didn't quite recognize.

It wasn't Quinn's, though it had the same
growl in its tone, the same predator sound that he had when he was
interrupted, and I knew positively that it wasn't Julian's, but I
swore I heard the protectiveness of it under its harsh words. It
was an order that I couldn't refuse.

Get out now!
It spoke to me; making me
jump and the ferociousness of it made me tuck tail and run away
from the vampire with the fiery eyes.

Where I ended up was on the patio, staring at
the ocean, trying to catch my breath, and not wanting to look back
to see if the red haired creature had followed. It was then that I
spotted him, standing off to my left, not more than five feet away.
His head was down; his arms were crossed over his chest, and his
legs were crossed at the ankles, as he leaned back against the
short wall for support.

This was Nick, the man Connie had been
telling me about, but I didn't believe existed. He picked his head
up, and looked at me out of the corners of his eyes.

“Julian should keep a better eye on you.” He
snorted, and then straightened, as I felt the danger coming closer.
He moved from the wall, placing himself right next to me, and I
felt the wave of protectiveness as he touched my arm with his hand.
“Hide in the East Garden, by the statue of the Cherubs. I'll send
Julian to get you.”

“What's going on?” I whispered.

“There's a hunger in his eyes that I've never
seen before.” Nick whispered then glanced down at me. “And, it's
for you, O'Neal.”

“Who is he?” I asked, but, as I turned to the
side to head for the garden, I caught a quick glimpse of the man
with the red eyes, and watched Nick's dark form leap in his general
direction, placing his body between us, giving me the opportunity
to move, and I did, swiftly.

“This dark house is no place for a woman to
be walking around alone, especially one in only a bathrobe.” His
voice interrupted my thoughts and I turned to see the dark form
stepping out of the shadows. He hadn't changed; Nick was still as
dark as he had been so long ago, but then he stopped and looked at
me, as if he had suddenly realized who was standing there in front
of him. “O'Neal?”

“Nicholas.” I whispered, acknowledging that
he was right to assume who I was, and then I recalled his lack of
fondness for my first name, insisting on calling me by my last.

“You know better than this.” He said as he
crossed his arms over his chest. “Assuming that you remember
anything.”

“I remember some.” I shrugged. “No doubt
you're first memory was of your sickening romance with Julian?” He
snarled. I smiled. Why did I know he was going to be the sarcastic
one?

“Actually, it was the night you and I met,
except you weren't in it.” I replied and turned to walk out of the
room. He stepped up next to me. “What are you doing?”

“Walking you to your room, something that
imbecilic cousin of mine should be doing.” He answered then walked
with me, in silence, to my room, where he turned, after nodding,
and disappeared back into the darkness.

5

The day was bright, lighting up this gloomy
place as I made my way down the stairs to get something to eat. I
was concentrating on a button, that didn't seem to want to hold, as
I walked past the sitting room, on the way to the kitchen, when I
heard my name.

“Did she ask you about Nick?” Julian's voice
asked, and I stood by the doorway, looking in on him and his
brother at the two stood talking by the windows. Michael and David
sat in the large recliners by the fire, reading or watching
television, completely unaware of the brother's conversation.

“Yes, she did, and I didn't tell her a
thing.” Quinn replied, putting his hands on his hips. “Why? Is she
asking about him?”

“She remembered him last night as she told me
about a dream that she had been having.” Julian replied and looked
out the window. “Maybe, we should tell her about him?”

“Don't bother.” I spoke up, as I stepped into
the room, catching the attention of the two men who were just
discussing me. I walked over and stood between them, looking from
one to the other. “He and I met last night.”

“He's here?” Julian asked.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm
right
here.” His voice spoke up and I watched as this caught the
attention of the two men sitting down. Michael and David rose and
joined our little circle, but it was the reaction of Quinn and
Julian that caught my eyes. They seemed shocked and not amused at
the same time to see the dark haired man. He looked directly at
Julian, giving him an evil look. “I thought you had more common
sense, Cousin.”

“What are you starting on, now, Nick?” Julian
sighed, obviously used to his cousin's criticism, and used to
ignoring it.

“I thought you'd be smarter than to let a
defenseless, young, woman walk away from your room, alone, in the
middle of the night. Especially here, in this house, where you
never know who you’re going to meet.” He smiled, looking over at
me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, as I looked away.

“I was perfectly safe, thank you, and I'm far
from defenseless.” I repeated, and then glanced at Julian, who was
looking at me for an explanation as to where I could have met him.
“I remembered the rest of my dream, except it wasn't a dream, it
was a memory of the night that Nick and I met, but we weren't
alone.”

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Quinn
asked.

“It's my ancestral home, Quinn, how long do
you think I can stay away from it?” Nick laughed.

I closed my eyes, thinking that I was feeling
the fact that I hadn't eaten yet, as a wave of nausea came over me,
then, when I opened my eyes, I found both Julian and Nick looking
at me as Nick went on with his speech, but the amusement was
gone.

“I was called home.” He replied, standing
there with his arms crossed, a questioning look on his face. “Two
nights ago, I felt this sudden urge to return here, and couldn't
get the image of the house out of my mind. Are you all right,
O'Neal? You look terribly pale.”

“I'm fine.” I replied, glancing at him, but
in truth, I was feeling very strange.

It was then that I felt the danger I had in
my dream and the same warnings were sent throughout my body. Julian
walked over and stood in front of me, but I couldn't look up at
him, instead I made my way to the center of the circle, where the
dangerous feelings seemed to lessen, for I was protected at every
corner by these five men. I looked at each of them, focusing in on
Nick and Julian as they stood, side by side, their differences
having been put aside for the sake of making sure I was safe.

“Do you see something, Caitlyn?” Julian
asked. I shook my head, as I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging
myself, trying to stop the chills that went through me. “Cait, what
is it that you're not telling us?”

“I...I can't explain it.” I whispered as I
was caught in his eyes. “It's like a presence that I've felt
before, but I can't place it.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on
it, then looked up at him quickly. “Wait, I know what it is now,
something is coming. Something dangerous.”

“What?” Quinn asked, as I turned and looked
passed him to the doorway, stepping back further into the
circle.

“Creolas.” I shook as the rest turned and
looked at the man with the fiery red eyes that stood, smiling back
at us, from the doorway.

“Ah, it's good to be home.” He said, smiling,
focusing those bright red eyes on me

6

All I could do was staring at him as our eyes
locked together. I could see my own reflection in them and I was
sure he could see his in mine. I felt my lips begin to quiver as my
mind began to recall the night that he and I formally met.

I was walking down around the pagoda, located
towards the back of the oval garden, kicking at the fallen leaves
as I walked. Beth and Connie had been arguing over my welfare, and
in an uncommon event they both agreed that telling our foster
parents about my relationship with Julian would be the best for me.
After hearing that, my only response to them was to turn and walk
out the door.

As I moved on, closer to where the trees
formed a thick covering, hiding the small wishing well that sat
there, I caught movement in the darkness they created, just below
the vine-covered length of the gazebo ahead of me. I stopped,
unafraid at that moment, feeling too much anger and disappointment
in myself and Connie, for I thought she knew just how I felt about
Julian, to be afraid.

“Hello?” I yelled, tapping my foot
impatiently as I received no response. “Look, I know there is
someone there, so just stop bullshitting around and come out where
I can see you.” I watched as nothing moved.

Feeling aggravated from the whole day, I made
my way down the wet, slippery leaves and stepped close to the
darkness, then stopped and listened before stepping into the
darkness. I could almost feel the eyes on me and felt the fear
growing in the pit of my stomach.

I turned, quickly, to my right, making
whatever was there, jump, but couldn't see it; I was almost blind
in the darkness. My heart began to beat faster, and I knew then, as
my instincts took over that I was in trouble. My legs began to move
as I ran away from the feeling, down towards the large, hidden door
beneath the pagoda.

Suddenly, the door swung open and I fell
backwards into the darkness that seemed to swallow me. I had
scurried back into the room before making note of where the door
was and sat there in the perpetual darkness for several minutes
before hearing the sounds begin around me. I stood and began to
back up, hoping to find only a sturdy wall behind me, but the
further I moved back, the colder I got, and finally, I bumped into
something.

I tried to control my breathing as I thought
about how odd the wall felt behind me, and with shaky limbs, I
extended my arms and tried to press them against the wall on either
side, a wall that wasn’t there. I closed my eyes, turned and stood
there for a moment before opening them wide enough to see the two,
bright, red points of light that stared down at me. I opened my
mouth to scream, but a hand pressed against my mouth and I suddenly
found myself against the hardness of the damp concrete wall, the
one I was originally looking for.