Blood of a Red Rose (8 page)

"Agreed. When do you want to do
the
ritual?"

"Right now."

* * * * *

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Private

(
Rose
)

After Evie left my room
,
I paced
around aimlessly
trying to gain control of the chaos in my mind. I couldn't believe Terrance had truly loved my mom. When he'
d
said it all those months ago
,
I
hadn't
really process
ed
it at the time. Being faced with the demon
who'd
killed my mo
m
had been a pretty big
distraction
.
But now, I wasn't sure if it bothered me or was something I should be thankful for. I suppose the time they spent together was
safer and more pleasant for
M
om
considering
he did love her. God, I couldn't think about this right now.

I headed up to the club through Evie's private entrance
,
since coming up from under the stage while the club was in full swing wasn't allowed
for obvious reasons
. As the bookcase opened into her office
,
I saw her and Christian sitting on the couch against the far wall. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt
.
I'm just going to go blow off some steam on the dance floor if that's alright?"

"I
'll be out to find you shortly," Christian replied stiffly.

I didn't respond but instead just walked out into the fray of happy people, bumping and grinding to the sultry beat that filled the air.

I headed to the bar and plopped down on
a
stool. Tori and Dominique were working their magic as usual. They made really good tips and had a loyal customer base since they were such great bartenders. I'd gotten to know them quite a bit and they were
both
down to earth, kind hearted
,
and really funny
. I'd spent more time with Dom though,
because
every chance
she got
,
Tori would l
eave the club. Dom had explained it was because she didn't get out of the house much when she was human, so now s
he
just loved being outdoors. Right now...I could relate.

I knew I wouldn't be allowed to
go outside, especially at night when it was more likely I could run into trouble, but man...I really needed to get away.
Find s
omewhere private and just think.

A light went off in my head.
Private.
The private rooms upstairs.
I knew they were used as feeding rooms for the visiting vampires, but if I could find an empty one
maybe
I could finally get some
t
ime
alone
. Plus, I really wasn't looking forwar
d to Christian "finding me shortly." I wasn't ready to
have to put up my walls
again. It was getting so hard
not
to
fall into his arms and cry my eyes out. Especially since he explained everything. But,
this
was for hi
s own good
,
and
I loved him
t
o
o
much
to let anything ever happen to him. Besides, I knew as the years passed, he'd eventually get over me and find someone else.

As the tears flooded my eyes,
I pushed off my stool and made my way through the crowd. Once I'd climbed the stairs to the second floor
,
I took a moment to look around, making
sure that Christian hadn't left Evie's office yet. I didn't see him so I started towards the farthest room at the end of the hall.
T
hat's when someone grabbed me.

* * * * *

(Christian)

"Now? You want to make me the new Sire right
now?"

"Yes. I think the sooner the better. I've told Dax my plan but no one else knows. I think it will be to our advantage to keep it a secret."

"So even if I become the Sire now, you want me to wait to change Rose?"

"I'm sorry, but yes. I think it would be to our benefit if the demons still think we don't have an active Sire that can create new vampires. Plus
,
I feel that whatever information Balam provides us
with in regards to
killing them
, it
will truly be to our advantage
having two Sires instead of one
. The element of surprise will be on our side.
"

I
considered
Evie's plan. It was a good
one
. I was
just
extremely
nervous
. I hadn't thought this day would
be upon me for quite some time, and
I wasn't s
ure I could keep this from Rose
. "Alright, but even if I can't change Rose
yet, I still want to tell her
it's done. I don't want to keep any more secrets from her."

"Tha
t's fine. But please make sure
she unders
tands the necessity of keeping it
secret. I don't even want the rest of the clan to know until I'm ready. I won't risk one of them becoming inf
ected by accident and having this
knowledge to share with our enemies."

"Alright. I'm ready. Should we go downstairs?"

Evie looked at the door and the lock slammed into place. I was always forgetting telekinesis was one of the powers she developed during her triggering. "We'll be undisturbed. Let's begin."

"What do I need to do?" I asked, unsure of my part in all of this.

"Nothing. I
t's actually a very quick process
. I
will perform the ritual and say the words, then everything else happens internally. You'll feel a rush of additional strength as the poison of true death and the sedative of eternal life
flow into
you.
Let's
begin
.
"

I shifted slightly in my seat a
nd
my palms started to sweat.
"What if I'm not really the one being triggered
?
What if this clairaudien
t
power is just something else completely?" I couldn't help but share my insecurities. I was afraid of not being the one
, a
nd I didn't want Evie to attempt the ritual if
it wasn't meant to be.

"Christian,
your clairaudience
is just another psychic power
which
allows you t
o hear the unspoken
.
There is no doubt
that you're the one
. Now please, trust me."

"Okay, Evie. I do."

She instructed me to lie down on the couch as she stood over me with her hands extended. She explained that she would be reading my energy and only when it was time to "pass the powers" would she be biting me. I closed my eyes and listened as she began.

Her voice carried the Sire command as she chanted,
"
I call on my ancestors, join me now. Flow through me as Christian completes this vow. The new Sire
,
he
i
s triggered to be
. N
ow let
my
power
s
flow from me."

In the next instant she'd shoved my head to the side and
su
nk her fangs into my neck.
My body arched off the couch as w
arm liquid flowed into my veins
. It felt similar to being turned, but a hundred times
more
intens
e.

I was bombarded by
a variety of colors layering my mind. I saw sparkling yellow as the sedative of eternal life spread throughout my body. Then flashes of green blinded me as the poison of true death settled deep within my heart. I
t literally felt as if
these powers
were filling u
p
special
compartments within me
,
and the strength
they carried with them was truly a blessing from the gods. The last thing to happen was the scanni
ng ability snapping into place.

As soon as Evie released me
,
I bolted off the couch and grabbed my head. The noise was too much for me to b
ear
. I assumed this was an unforeseen side-effect of the scanning ability combining with my
clairaudience
.
But whatever it was, it sucked.

I
was
suddenly
overwhelmed with the loud noises of
everything and everyone in the vicinity.
The club's music, people calling o
ut their orders to Dom and Tori. P
ieces of conversation rang through my head like a
cacophony
of
squawking
birds, and then I heard the one thing that
overshadowed
all the rest...Rose's scream
.

* * * * *

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

In Trouble

(
Renard)

After spending the day comatose in the hotel, Loni and I awoke
with the sun
'
s disappearance,
and
immediately
started making our plans for the night.

"Do you think Jeremy knows who we are? Are we in trouble here?"
Loni asked.

"No, poppet, we d
on't
need to
worry.
Jeremy isn't a threat
. E
ven if he
was daft enough
to a
ttack us, we could easily rectify the situation by biting him and making him forget. No, I'm not worried about him. But we do have to worry about Meredith. We need to see what she's up to, so my suggestion for tonight i
s
to again, feed in the park, but then we need to move the car and keep w
atch from a different location. Hopefully she'll make a move that will shed some light on her powers or
possibly her
intentions."

"Alright, my love. Sounds like a plan." Loni kissed me, long and deep
,
and if we didn't need to rush to move our car from its present location, I would have sank ba
ck down onto the bed and relived
some
of the
other fond memories from our honeymoon.

* * * * *

(Meredith)

Snagging the two workers had gone just
as planned. As the horn signaled
the end of the
their
day, we used our strength and speed to knock them out and rush them to
the
abandoned hunting shack.

I could tell Damien was having a hard time keeping his desire to drink from these humans in check. But after
I told him he could have
a small sip to begin the draining process, his mood quickly improved.

"I can't believe how quickly the changes take effect. I can feel my strength increase almost immediately." He made his point by slamming his fist through the solid log wall.

"What the hell
are
you doing?
" I dropped the human I was holding and flew to within an inch of his face. "
We've taken care to set this whole scene
,
and you think slamming a hole through t
he wall isn't going to raise a
few questions?"

"Who cares?
If anyone did track this scene
back
to us
,
I'd kill
them. Problem solved."

"Problem solved? Problem solved?" My rage was
boiling
over, and
I was sure my eyes were glowing red.
I slammed him against the wall he'd just put
the
hole in. He may
have just gained a boost in s
trength, but there was no way he could compare to m
e. "You listen to me, you blood-
hungry asshole. I will not let you put everything I'm working towards in jeopardy
by leav
ing a trail of bodies across this
city. What we're doing has to be kept on the down low. I can't risk the vampire's finding out."

He pushed off
the wall, s
hrugg
ing out of
my grasp. I let him go. "Fine. I'm sorry. I won't kill anyone with
out
your
permission
.
" He paced the room, looking at the bodies on the floor. After a sigh
,
h
e continued, sounding remorseful
.
"
I'll fix the hole. I have a sledgehammer
in my
truck
we could leave here a
s evidence. I'
ll wipe it down
so all we'
ll
have t
o do is put one of these guys'
prints on it and we should be in the clear. A
sledgehammer
could easily put a hole like that
through a wall this old
."

For being as hot
-
headed as he was just mom
ents ago, his pla
n
actually had merit.
I was pretty sure it would work. "Okay. Hurry and go get
the
hammer
.
I'll finish draining these two and make sure all the animal scratches and drugs are in place."

"Okay. And Meredith, I
r
eally am
sorry."

I gave him a quick nod and watched
a
s he
sped o
ut the door. It was
becoming apparent
I would have to monitor his blood intake
. This whole situation was an unknown for both of us, but it was obvious that drinking human blood a
ffected differ
ent people in different ways.

I
became
euphoric after drinking Loraine's blood, but I hadn't gone insane or power hungry. Yes, I would definitely be keeping an eye on Damien. I couldn't risk havi
ng a loose cannon as my second i
n command. And if he ever felt like pushing my boundaries
,
he'd
f
ind out that only a stronger d
emon could kill another demon, and I'd be
mak
ing
sure
that
I remained the strongest demon of
them
all.

With this exact plan in mind,
I
pulled out the extra bag
I'd brought
and began siphoning
off some
extra
blood for my personal stores
, o
f course
taking a moment to have a small taste. The warm blood flowing down my throat filled me
again
with strength and joy. I could feel I was truly becoming immortal. Those vampires would have to be pretty fucking stupid if they thought they stood a chance against me.

Damien
returned just as I'd finished draining the second body. He swallowed hard as he saw
the last drop of blood hit the container. I
began our cleanup and
removed all the IV equipment from our victims and
then
staged their bodies like we'd planned, adding the
sledgehammer
as the final touch.

"I
t
looks good. Really believable
,
" Damien said.

"Yes
it does. T
he
claw marks,
blood
,
and fur
certainly
give it that wild feel we need." I laughed as we carried out the containers of blood and the rest of our supplies. "Did you get a hold of your family? Are they going to be able to make tonight's meeting?"

"
Yes
. They will all be there, though only a few are aware of what's happening. I told you I knew certain members of my family would be down with drinking blood, but I've instructed them not to say anything to the others. We should be able to spike the drinks as planned and everyone will begin gaining strength and speed by the end of the night."

"Thank you, Damien. I
appr
eciate your help. Now we just have to keep that temper of yours in check. No more blood for you tonight, okay?"

"I agree. I think I've reached my limit for today."

Watching his jaw twitch had me questioning his statement. I wasn't convinced I wouldn't have a problem with him at tonight's meeting. Maybe, I'd
better
start looking for someone else to help me in my efforts. I'd have to pay special attention to everyone's reaction to the blood tonight
. M
aybe
one of his relatives
would display
a little more self-
control.

Once we reached our
vehicles
and stowed our bounty, I explained the plan for tonight's meeting. "I'm going to run home and change then I'll meet you at the conference ha
ll. I want to get there around 7:
45
p
.
m
.
, so
we'll be able to set up and spike the drinks in advance."

"Sounds good. I have to run home
too
, and then I'll meet you there
. Should I bring a bottle of champagne so we can toast the beginning of your army?"

I knew he was teasing, but
it
didn't sound like a bad idea. After tonight, the vampires wouldn't stand a chance.