Embrace The Dawning (The Covenant Series Book 1) (8 page)

“When a human comes back from the dead as a vampire, the blood transformation, vampirism, mutates the genetics of the human and can sometimes bring out abilities that may have been dormant when they were human. Such as with the vampire hunter. He has more abilities than the average vampire. He has the ability to track the scent of any other vampire no matter how far they are or how long it’s been since he has smelled their scent. The vampire hunter is a bit stronger than most vampires and a bit faster. He’s recognized among his kind as more of a warrior vampire. He is often sent out by the Covenant to dispatch of rogue vampires or other kinds of
problems
.”

Kayci caught the emphasis on the word
problem
. Was Rosemary insinuating that Kayci could be considered
a problem
that the Covenant would send the vampire hunter out to dispose of? She tried to ignore the uncomfortable sensation building in her gut and instead thought of Adrian. She wanted to tell Rosemary that she had met the vampire hunter, but remembered Adrian asked her not to tell anyone he revealed his identity, and kept quiet. Now she had even more reason to steer clear of Adrian. She had no intention of informing him she was likely a half-breed vampire. Something she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept herself.

“Why is it that I don’t turn to ashes in the sun?” Kayci asked with interest.

Rosemary paused for a moment. “My theory is that there isn’t enough vampire blood in your system to cause you to burn to ash. You have enough human blood to protect you. Since you were born this way, I’m sure you have developed immunity to the sun that causes only sensitivity rather than destruction.”

“If I have vampire blood in my system, what happens to me if I die?”

Rosemary pondered this question the same as the last.

“My assumption is that you would come back from death as a vampire.”

Kayci’s heart sunk. She didn’t want to die as an old woman only to come back to life as a vampire.

Rosemary’s expression displayed empathy. “If you came back as a vampire and did not want that life for yourself, all you would need to do is wait for the sun to rise.”

Kayci nodded her head while her eyes stared off blankly. She could not concern herself with such thoughts right now. She had a life to live, she reminded herself. She returned to meet Rosemary’s compassionate gaze.

“One last question, Rosemary, and thank you for being so forthcoming with all your knowledge.”

Rosemary smiled affectionately. “Of course, my dear. Any time you need anything, you are welcome back.”

“Thank you.” Kayci smiled.

“My last question…” Kayci announced politely. “Why does the talisman cause me to react the way I did?”

“The talisman is enchanted with a spell, and the engraving on the talisman is a part of the spell. It wards off evil demonic spirits. The vampire part of you is responding to that spell. The longer you are around it, the more aggressively you will react to the talisman. The spell is literally drawing out the vampire part of you and is trying to harm you enough to avoid it. If you were a full vampire, your reactions would have been far worse. Your hand would have caught fire rather than been seared by the talisman, and the bright light that I know you saw would have temporarily blinded you. Which reminds me.”

Rosemary got up from her chair and headed toward her armoire. “I’m going to send you home with some herbs to place at your windows and provide you with your own talisman to hang on your front door. These will keep unwanted visitors from entering your home. They will help keep you safe.”

Kayci’s appreciation of Rosemary grew in that moment. This woman, a complete stranger, had taken time out of her day to educate and help her, and even protect her. Kayci didn’t know how she could ever repay such kindness.

“Rosemary, I can’t put into words how appreciative I am of your help.”

“I’m happy to help, my dear. You didn’t ask for any of this to be brought on you. Besides, you’ll need some level of protection as you maneuver your way through this new world. I believe you were guided to my shop for a reason.”

Kayci held the same belief.

“What hocus-pocus are you going to do now?” Kayci asked with a good-humored smile when she saw Rosemary pull a few items out of her armoire.

Rosemary grinned. “This is the dried and crushed plant verbena. Witches have been using the herb for centuries to keep vampires out of unwanted places. In order for the plant to ward off evil spirits, it does have to be enchanted, otherwise it’s just another herb. This bundle”—Rosemary held up the verbena herbs in her hand—“has already been enchanted. Spread the verbena on the windowsills of your home and say this after you have placed them at each window:
Volentes nocere non praeteribit
.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, those who wish to harm shall not pass.”

Rosemary put the verbena in a little brown paper bag before handing it to Kayci. “I’ll send you with the talisman you reacted to as well. Hang it on your door. Its apotropaic magic, and the evil eye will ward off evil spirits of all sorts. Make sure not to look at it as you pass over your threshold so you don’t catch fire.”

Kayci’s eyes widened as she took the bag from Rosemary. “It can do that?”

“Yes, the spell attached to it is quite powerful, and one of my own making.”

“Incredible.” Kayci pulled out her cell phone from her purse. “I better save the phrase you told me to say in my cell phone. I’ve already forgotten it. Can you repeat the phrase?”

“Yes, dear.
Volentes nocere non praeteribit
.” Rosemary helped spell the words as Kayci typed them into her phone.

“Again, thank you so very much for your help today.” Kayci leaned in to embrace Rosemary. Rosemary reciprocated the embrace before guiding Kayci out of the room and back into the shop area.

Kayci looked outside the glass windows of the shop, surprised by how dark it had become. Their conversations had gone well into the evening. She stared out into the night with a new and unusual feeling of despair. The quiet of the night was her refuge from the day and the chaos it brought with it. Now she looked into the darkness as though it was a stranger she didn’t recognize. There was much to truly fear in the dark.

Kayci’s attention was brought back to Rosemary as she dropped the talisman into Kayci’s brown bag.

“Better hang that up with gloves,” Rosemary told her.

Kayci smiled. “Definitely.”

“There are a couple things I’d like to purchase before I go. Is that all right?” It was a way to repay Rosemary for her kindness.

Rosemary’s face lit up. “Of course, my dear.”

Kayci picked up the earth candle, the four-elements candle, the bottle of the citrus-lemongrass lotion she had dropped, and a stunning bead bracelet hanging from a wood-carved tree on the center table. Rosemary cheerfully rang up Kayci’s items.

“Do you still want to rent the book, my dear?”

“Do you think I still need to read it?”

“Might as well. We covered a lot of the same topics you will find in here. Nonetheless, there is still some information that could be valuable to you.” Rosemary set the book inside a larger brown bag with the other items.

“Your total is $83.65.”

Kayci pulled out her debit card and handed it to Rosemary, who quickly swiped the card and handed it back.

“Thank you again, Rosemary. I’ll see you in a few days.”

Rosemary stepped out from behind the counter headed toward the front door.

“I look forward to it, my dear.”

Kayci followed close behind Rosemary and waved good-bye as Rosemary held the door. As the lock clicked behind her and the breeze of the cool night hit Kayci’s face, she felt as though a door had just closed on a significant part of her life. She was no longer Kayci the physical trainer or a woman with strange attributes. She was a half-breed vampire with abilities beyond a normal human’s. She was no longer an abnormal person who had difficulty building close relationships with other people. She was a
lone half-breed vampire that no one could ever be aware of.

Chapter 5

Adrian held Duncan off the ground by his neck. The vampire was a bloody mess, and his wounds were already beginning to heal.

“Where is she?!” Adrian asked forcefully. “I can smell her all over you.”

The vampire let out as much of a mocking smile as he could. He refused to answer.

“Perhaps he needs a little more encouragement,” Vladimir suggested to Adrian.

Adrian held tightly to Duncan while Vladimir brought a lit torch toward the vampire. Duncan squirmed in his grasp. Vladimir let the flames touch the vampire’s flesh. As the stench reached Adrian’s nostrils, he turned his head away. It was unbearable. The vampire screamed in pain. Soon he begged for them to stop.

“I’ll tell you!”

“Now that’s more like it,” Vladimir said, lowering the flame.

Adrian dropped the vampire. He fell to the floor in a heap, too weak to run, his face twisting in agony. His burned flesh slowly regenerated.

“You know she will kill me if I tell you.”

Vladimir glared at Duncan. “We’ll kill you if you don’t.”

The vampire caught his breath. “Castar Street. She’s in a suite. Top floor.”

“What building?” Adrian asked.

Duncan fled for the door without answering. Vladimir lunged after him. Within moments Duncan’s head lay on the floor, separated from his body.

“I needed more information!” Adrian scolded.

“It will have to be close enough. I have confidence in your ability to find her. You found him, didn’t you?” Vladimir pointed to the disintegrating vampire on the floor.

Adrian had spent the previous and current night hunting Danika and didn’t appreciate his efforts wasted or deterred. Irritating enough the Covenant had doubts of Danika’s escape and whether it was willful on his part. Now Vladimir tagged along to ensure Adrian kept his word and brought Danika back to the Covenant alive. The last thing he needed was for his trail to go cold. He had been lucky to find Danika’s familiar scent on the now dead vampire after retracing their old hunting grounds. He had limited time before she relocated her hideout.

“You underestimate her, Vladimir.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps she underestimates you.”

Vladimir lit what was left of the vampire’s body on fire with the torch. Moments later there was nothing left but ash.

***

Danika licked the blood clean from her lips. She paid no mind to the corpse lying at her feet. She instead relished in the revitalizing sensation coursing through her body. She closed her eyes and let the salty breeze blow across her face. When she heard Reece’s footsteps entering the balcony from behind, her irritation rose. She opened her golden eyes and gazed out at the dark horizon in an attempt to remain calm.

“What is it now?” she asked in between gritted teeth.

Reece let a heavy sigh escape before responding. “Mia and Collin returned to the suite with their panties in a twist. Apparently they nearly had a run-in with the vampire hunter. They said he and a tall blond vampire, probably Vladimir, took Duncan with them. Guaranteed we won’t see him again,” Reece proclaimed with clear irritation in his tone.

Danika clicked her tongue in frustration. “I want to speak with them and get rid of this body. It’s starting to reek.” Danika kicked at the body with her boot as she passed by.

As she entered the living room of the suite, Mia and Collin stood with their heads bowed and expressions full of unease.

“I can’t believe you idiots came back here after seeing Adrian! Didn’t I make myself clear that he is doing the Covenant’s dirty work and hunting me? You might as well have told him the address!”

“He didn’t see us. I’m sure of it,” Mia explained quickly.

“Duncan was feeding in the parking lot. I opened the back door of the bar and saw Adrian and the blond vampire take him. I rushed back inside and grabbed Mia so we could get out of there.”

“Coward. You didn’t even try to help him.” Reece seethed.

“Against Adrian the vampire hunter?” Collin asked.

“He’s right. He wouldn’t have stood a chance against Adrian,” Danika said, her tone resentful.

Danika changed her tone to sound pleased. “It was good that you came to us right away,” she told Collin.

Collin smiled, his confidence regained.

“I have a task for each of you.” Danika pulled several business cards from her jacket pocket and handed them to Reece. He took one and passed on the others.

“I want each of you to take a few companions with you and go to the place on the card. Wait for Adrian to show up. He will eventually, and when he does, I want you to follow him.
Don’t
get close. Watch him. See where he goes and who he spends his time with, then report back to me. We need to get Adrian out of our way, and I have a feeling the young woman I saw him swooning over just might be the tool we need.”

***

Kayci had just finished spreading the herbs and saying the incantation around the last window when she heard a knock at her door. She didn’t realize how immersed she had become in her task. The knock genuinely surprised her. Who would be visiting at this hour? She knew it wasn’t Elise. The knock sounded far too hard to be her. She quickly peered out the window to get a glimpse of her visitor. When she saw Adrian standing outside her door, she immediately suppressed the flutter of butterflies.

She stood on her side of the door, wondering if she should open it, and then realized she had been standing there for too long. Her hand impulsively turned the knob and pulled open the door.

“Adrian. What brings you by?”

“Sorry to come over unannounced. I wanted to make sure you had made it home safely last night and apologize for the way the evening ended.”

Kayci stepped out onto her porch to avoid inviting Adrian inside. She could tell he noticed by the expression on his face. She felt a pinch of guilt.

“Thank you for checking on me. Yeah, I made it home just fine. No worries about the evening being cut short. It was a good time for me to leave anyway.”

Adrian sensed Kayci’s unease, and it bothered him more than it should that she felt so uncomfortable around him.

“I imagine the events of the evening were a bit startling for you.”

“Startling,” Kayci muttered. “That’s a way to describe it. Let’s just say the events of the evening are not a habitual environment I’d like to be a part of. I owe you so much more than a thank-you for saving my life, and I wish there was a way I could repay you, which is why I feel awful saying this, but it is probably best for my own safety that our paths don’t cross again. Besides, it appeared that you already have your hands full with your lady friend that you were clearly waiting for.”

Adrian sensed a hint of jealousy among Kayci’s attempt to dismiss him. He smiled inwardly. She obviously had been more startled by the confrontation with Conan than he’d realized. She’d also seen the way Danika had addressed him when she arrived. It irritated him that was the impression she received. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to avoid him. To her he was a womanizer and a vampire with dangerous company. What a fool he’d been. She was human. Of course she wanted to steer clear of him. He shouldn’t have come to see her.

“You’re right, Kayci, about almost everything. The woman you saw is not a friend or partner. My business required I meet with her, and believe me when I say I wish it hadn’t.”

Adrian pushed back the sullen feeling developing in his gut.

Kayci didn’t know what to say. She stared up at his beautiful green eyes, and the only way to keep herself from saying
I’m sorry I’m an ass—please stay
was to look away and let him go.

When he turned, the familiar feeling of disappointment invaded, but she told herself it was the right thing to do, even though she already regretted it. She watched Adrian walk farther into the darkness until the streetlight no longer illuminated him. When he disappeared into the night, misery settled in.

She trudged to her garage and found a hammer and nail, and returned to the front door with gloves on and the tools and talisman in hand. She opened her front door and avoided looking in the direction Adrian had gone. She pounded the nail into the siding forcefully. With each strike of the hammer, some tension released. She reached up and looked above the talisman to help hang it without making direct eye contact with it. When finished, she returned the gloves and tools to the garage. As she headed back inside, she heard another knock at her door. For a second she hoped it was Adrian, but then she recognized the eager beats. Elise.

“Wow, you look like hell.”

“Thanks,” Kayci retorted. “So nice to see you too.”

Elise pushed through the door, with a duffel bag in hand. “I’m sleeping over. I thought we’d have a girl’s night. I have so much to tell you about Greg!” Elise squealed.

Kayci almost asked
Greg who?
but remembered the guy with glasses and disheveled hair. “Oh right, from Blue Moon.”

“Yes! He’s amazing! We spent the whole night talking. We have so much in common! He’s got a good job too. He’s an accountant. At first I thought he might be a little too dull and innocent for me, but then we made out, and
wow
, what a great kisser! We spent the day together today. We went out to lunch, to the beach, made out some more. It was amazing!”

Kayci wanted to be happy for Elise, but her budding romance was difficult to hear about when she still felt so miserable.

“Okay, why are you melancholy face over there?” Elise waved her index finger in a circle to outline Kayci’s face.

Kayci wandered into her kitchen. Elise dropped her duffel bag and followed. Kayci brought out two wineglasses and a bottle of Riesling from the refrigerator and poured some into each glass before plopping down at her kitchen table.

“I’m not sure where to begin. These last few days have been overwhelming.” Kayci took a couple swallows of the wine. “I admit I do like Adrian, but it can’t go anywhere. He leads a very different lifestyle than mine. He came to visit me just before you arrived, and I let him know that. After he left, I felt miserable.”

Elise looked at Kayci funny. “What kind of lifestyle does he have that is so different than yours? You obviously like him. I can tell you’re torn up about giving him the boot.”

“His job requires him to keep unscrupulous company, for starters.”

“Is he a criminal or something?”

Kayci chuckled. “No, it’s hard to explain.” She grabbed the bottle of wine and ambled to the living room. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Tell me more about Greg.”

Kayci sunk into the couch and pulled a blanket over her legs. Elise followed, setting her wineglass on the coffee table and snuggling under the other side.

“His name is Greg Owen. Like I said, he is an accountant, but in his free time he likes to go boating or paddle boarding or hang out at the beach. He has a condo that is walking distance to the beach. It’s really nice. He drives a nice car, has a clean house, and seems to have his shit together. I really like him. Is it too soon to call him my boyfriend?” Elise asked half jokingly.

Kayci grinned. “Yes, it is. Don’t scare him off. Sounds like he might be a keeper. So where is he from?”

“He’s from Ohio. Went to Ohio State. Was living up there and then took a job here in Naples a couple years ago as an accountant for a prominent law firm.”

“Wow, yeah, he is successful. So when are you two hanging out again?”

“We’re going out to dinner Monday night.”

Elise’s phone buzzed. She nearly jumped to get it. She looked at her phone and then at Kayci. “He just texted me!”

“What did he say?”

“That he had a great time today and is looking forward to dinner Monday.” Elise radiated delight. “I think I’m in love.”

Kayci smiled, happy for Elise, and for a little while she had been distracted by her friend’s giddiness, but as Elise texted Greg, Kayci’s thoughts drifted to Adrian, and the morose feeling returned.

***

Adrian stalked into the dance club Seracha’s, ignoring the liveliness of the crowd. His mood had grown increasingly somber, and his only thought was to feed and then hunt. He scanned the dance floor and made eye contact with a young blond woman in a short black dress. She and her friend eyed him sexually. His vampire energy ignited instantly. It radiated around him.

He took two steps down to the dance floor and made his way through the crowd to where the blonde stood on the edge of the dance floor. As he came near, he reached his hand out to her. She eagerly took it, oblivious to the fangs beneath his charming smile.

The lights were pulsing and slowly changing colors. The effect enhanced Adrian’s ability to charm his dance partner. She moved right into his body and began following his rhythmic movements. He reached down and cupped her face, bringing her nearer. As the lights pulsed and everyone drunkenly swayed against one another, he drank from her.

It wasn’t long before his hunger was satisfied, giving him the opportunity to abandon the woman on the dance floor. She continued to sway to the rhythm of the music, unaware of his departure. To anyone around her, she appeared heavily intoxicated. Her friend eventually joined her and helped her off the dance floor. She stumbled away with barely any evidence of a bite mark.