The Vampire Legacy; The New Queen Rises (22 page)

I love you, Ashley. You are everything to
me
. With those words, I closed my mind to him and watched as
his head turned to the side to face me. I watched in wonder as
those green eyes slowly opened just as mine went black.

13

When I opened my eyes, my body was thrashing
about. I was fighting with someone, or something, then my vision
cleared and I looked up in horror at Quinn's violent face hovering
just above me. I calmed down and looked up at him in fright, but
soon his face too calmed and he touched my hair.

"Be calm," he whispered to me. I nodded.
"Relax; no one's going to hurt you."

"Where am I?" I asked him softly, not
remembering anything from just after tearing open my arm. I sat up
and looked around. We weren't even in the small house on the island
anymore, but we were definitely in someone's house. "Quinn, please,
I'm confused. How did I get here?"

"You passed out after giving Julian you're
blood," he said and smiled. I looked around more furious this
time.

"Julian," I said quickly, and then looked at
Quinn in shock. "Oh, my God! He's not dead. Tell me that he's not
dead," I begged in panic.

"No," A voice interrupted me and I looked
quickly over at the childish face of my long time friend. His
bright green eyes sparkled at me. "I'm not dead."

"Jules," I said and Quinn back away as Julian
came over to me and I held him tightly. I closed my eyes, just for
an instant, and then opened them quickly afraid that this might be
some frightening dream. "Where are we?"

"We're at Cleo's house, in the mountains,"
Julian said with a soft voice, then whispered even softer with his
mind.
I heard what you called me
.

"What?" I asked him and looked up at Quinn,
who shrugged.

"Hmm, let me think. Oh, yeah it was something
like. ‘Julian, you son of a bitch, you better start drinking now
before I have to come into that little pea brain of yours and get
you.’” He smiled at me. I then remembered everything that had
happened. I looked up at Julian's black hair, just as long as it
had always been, and I touched his face. "You saved me."

"No, I didn't," I said and slid out of the
bed. I grabbed the bathrobe and pulled it around me, and then I
looked at both boys. "I didn't do anything."

"You gave him you're blood, and that saved
his life," Quinn said and sighed. I ran my hand through my hair and
sighed loudly, shaking my head. "Ashley, what is the matter."

"I couldn't have done that. Blood doesn't
heal that way, from the outside," I told them and sat down. They
both looked so confused. "My blood touched Julian's skin. His skin
sucked it up, like a vacuum, it went into every part of him and it
made his skin rejuvenate. I...I didn't do that, he did."

"Ash," Julian smiled and took my hand. "It
doesn't matter. I'm here, you're here, we're all alive and well and
that's what does matter."

"Who started the fire?" I asked him. He sat
back and shook his head. "I think I know what did that."

"How can you know?" Quinn asked.

"I can find out from David. Look guys, I have
an odd feeling that this is all about to come to a head and I want
you to all be strong enough to handle it. You especially, Jules. We
don't know if you're totally healed," I said and looked at him,
pleading with him to listen to me.

"Ash, it's been a week," Julian
explained.

"What do you mean it's been a week?" I
questioned.

"After Julian woke up, you went into what
Michael called a hibernation period. You're body shut down to
repair itself," Quinn replied. He shook his head and I saw the
worry on his face. "You scared the hell out of all of us by not
waking up. You were ferocious when we tried to give you blood. I
had to hold you down or you would have hurt someone."

"It was a side effect of the bloodletting,"
Julian added. "Although, you're the first one I've met that
actually survived something like that."

"Okay, I've heard just about enough of how
I'm the first to do many things. All I want to be the first at
right now is to rip out Victor's heart and take back my son," I
replied and slipped on a pair of jeans under my bathrobe. "I want
to eat, I want to get dressed, and I want to shed some vampire
blood."

"You're jumping into this awful fast, don't
you think?" Quinn questioned.

"You need more time to rest," Julian said
softly. I looked at both of them, Quinn standing by the door, in
his usual stance and Julian, sitting on a chair that had been
placed close to the bed.

"Boys, I love you both, but I can't just
stand around any longer. I want this done and over with and I want
it right now." I ran my hands through my hair and watched as the
door to the room opened slowly and Cleo popped in.

"Now is probably not a good time," she added
quietly.

"It never is," I said sarcastically, and
crossed my arms. "What's going on now?"

"Ashley, don't be rude," Julian said to me in
a fatherly voice.

"It is okay Julian," Cleo said and looked at
me. "I just received this letter, it was hand delivered and it has
no return address." I looked at her, waiting for her to go on. She
looked at me as if I were supposed to know what was going on. "It
has your name on it."

I walked over, took the brown envelope from
her, and looked at my name sprawled across the front of it in fancy
lettering. I opened it slowly and pulled out the brown piece of
paper. I glanced at Quinn then opened it and read the writing
slowly.

Dear Ms. Wolf,

As you are aware, I have your son in my
possession.

My loyal friend, David Tarrot, has informed
me that

you wish to meet with me and discuss any
terms of

his release. I can't promise you that I will
agree

to any terms that you may have, but I would
like

to meet with you, nevertheless. In two weeks
time,

I will be holding a masquerade at my home in
Newport.

It is at this time that I would like to see
you.

I will expect you at nine o'clock precisely
and

you may bring any of your little friends
that

you wish. Please, send my condolences to
Quinn

and Julian on the recent loss of their
beloved home.

Expectantly yours,

Victor La Rouge

I folded the paper and looked out the window.
Two weeks? What the hell was I going to do for two weeks? I looked
back at the three other people in the room, then I looked at the
shirt that I had pulled on, grabbed my boots and walked passed
them. It wasn't hard to find the front door to Cleo's house, but
when I stepped outside, it was obvious that I wasn't going to find
my way off this mountain any time soon.

I walked in a circle, my frustration growing,
and then I stopped and sat on the ground to put my boots on. Once I
was completely dress, I stood and put my hands on my hips and
looked out over the valley below. I couldn't believe my luck, and I
began to think that they brought me here on purpose.

"Not really," Michael's voice answered my
question. I whirled around and faced him. "Although, once we got
here, we thought that it might help you relax."

"I don't need to relax!" I snapped at him and
could feel my teeth getting sharper. I watched him smile and nod at
me then he walked over and looked out over the valley. I didn't
look at him, as he stood there and I clenched my fist. "Michael, I
need help."

"I know you do," he replied and looked at me
slowly. "And, that's why we thought here might be a good
place."

"These powers are coming so fast, my body is
in overdrive. I can feel the power surge and it's doing nothing but
making my temper flare up," I told him and closed my eyes. "What
can I do to stop it?"

"Nothing," he said softly. "That's why these
two weeks are important. That's why you need to relax; it takes a
bit for your body to get used to the change and this time might be
enough for that to happen."

"But, Quinn and Julian," I said and shook my
head. He put a hand on my shoulder and gently gave it a
squeeze.

"Quinn and Julian can take care of
themselves, they don't need you to worry about them, and you don't
need to worry about how you feel about them right now, you need to
concentrate on you," he whispered close to my ear.

"But, I love them both."

"And, no matter what you do now, or how much
you think about it Ash, you will still love them both when this is
over and you will still be caught between them. Don't think about
it; think about yourself and your son," he said and then kissed my
cheek and walked away

I looked out at the valley again and pulled
my long hair back then let it go. I sighed and shook my head as I
leaned on the railing in front of me.

"Two whole weeks," I said quietly and walked
away from that spot.

Later that afternoon, as I sat in my room, I
thought that I would try to levitate other things besides dishes,
namely myself. I sat on the bed, Indian style, and closed my eyes
as if I were about to try to meditate. I smiled as I felt myself
leave the bed and then I opened my eyes to see the floor several
feet below. I moved my legs out straight and lay as if I were on my
stomach on the bed. I crossed my arms and rested my chin on them as
I looked at the view from that height outside my window.

There was a knock on the door, and then I
heard a low voice from outside.

"Ash, are you awake?" I heard Lauren's
voice.

"Yes, I'm awake," I replied.

"What are you doing?" She asked through the
door. "Can I come in?"

"I'm levitating, and yes, you can come in," I
replied.

"You're meditating?" She asked and walked in
the door, then closed it behind her as she looked around my
room.

"No, I'm levitating," I told her again and
watched her face as she looked up at me in awe. I could almost see
the shock on her face, but she quickly recovered and walked over to
me.

"Um, do you think you could come down here?"
She asked me as she stood below my face looking into my eyes.
"You're really weirding me out."

I smiled at her as I slowly made my way down
to stand on my feet in front of her. She hugged me, then backed
away and looked me over.

"I haven't changed, Lauren. I'm still me," I
whispered to her.

"I know. It's just that the last time I
looked at your face, it really wasn't you," she said and sat on the
bed. I leaned against the windowsill and crossed my arms.

"That was me," I told her and watched her
face start to turn white. "Inside, that is what I look like, a
monster. I'm a vampire because I was born one. I don't mean to
upset you and I didn't mean to scare you, but I wasn't in my right
mind."

I heard a crashing sound downstairs and
Lauren and I looked at each other then walked down to see what it
was. As we made our way down the stairs and into the living room
area, I poked my head around the corner and noticed the four others
surrounded by ten men dressed in black. A big muscular man, with a
crew cut, was addressing Quinn, who stood with defiance on his
face, asking where I was.

Quinn snarled at him and the man laughed as
if Quinn were some puny little mouse that he could squash with a
flick of his pinky finger. I pulled Lauren away from the door and
then brought her over to the small door that lead under the
stairway. I opened this small door and looked at her.

"Stay in here. You'll be safe," I said, then
saw the disagreement on her face. She was about to tell me no, but
I stopped her by raising my hand. "Listen to me; this is for your
own safety. They're immortal, they can handle people like that.
You're not and you could be caught in the middle of this and die. I
couldn't live with that. Stay here until you know that it's
safe."

"How will I know?" She asked me. I smiled and
took her hand.

"Michael will come and get you if I don't," I
replied and watched her tuck herself in the small hiding space. I
closed the door, and then locked it so that she couldn't get out. I
reached over to the coat rack, took the long black coat from it and
slipped it on. I walked over to the doorway and stepped into the
room. Quinn and the man were in a face off, but as soon as I let my
presence be known, they all looked at me. "I heard you were looking
for me."

"Yes, we were," the man said and stepped away
from Quinn. He was going to attack him, but two of the other men in
black grabbed Quinn and held him, and then others grabbed Michael,
Julian, and Cleo. "I was sent to escort you to see Jack Wolf."

"I was told two weeks," I replied.

"That was from Victor La Rouge, not Mr.
Wolf," he replied. I smiled at him then shook my head.

"My husband was not part of this deal and I
refuse to see him. If you wish, you may give him this message from
me," I said and crossed my arms.

"Oh, and what would that message be?" He
asked.

"You can tell my husband to go to hell," I
replied and stepped back out of the room, slowly, still looking at
this man. "And, also give my regards to his friend David; tell the
bastard that he hasn't seen the last of this little mortal."

With that, I backed out of the room totally
and waited until I heard him ask where I had gone. Then he told
some people to go after me, before I ran up the stairs. Three of
them followed as I made my way through each floor of the house, it
had four. I finally reached the attic and had to break open the
door to get through. Locks on the attic door, who ever heard of
such a thing?

I was standing in the attic looking around
when I heard their voices at the bottom of the stairway. I glanced
down the stairs and watched them as they started to climb. I walked
over to the window and climbed out onto the balcony that was there
and looked down over the side of the house, it rested on the edge
of a stone cliff.