Fateful 2-Fractured (36 page)

Of course this forest was beautiful and the
refreshing smells of pine and wood filled her nose. The night sky
was a clear blackish-blue dotted with some of the brightest stars
she’d ever seen. But even with the lush greenery shifting past her
vision, that thing she sensed before poisoned it, and she felt more
secluded than ever. A chill sank inside her heart and touched her
soul. Tightening the sash on her suede coat, Danielle wondered
about Benjamin aloud, “Why would he want to live out here like
this? Without power? Without heat? Without anything?”

“Yeah, I’m fond of my electronics,” Ethan
said, leaping with ease over a ten-foot high boulder. He bent his
knees and tucked his legs closer as he cleared the stone.

Danielle followed. It was weird to do that,
to leap over something so solid and big. But her body did it. She
cringed however, when her foot landed near a snake. Of course it
never had time to strike out if she’d startled it, but it still
caused shivers to ride up the length of her spine. While this place
was lovely and untouched by man, the creatures living here still
gave her the creeps.

“He could have a generator,” said Max,
moving like a wraith to her left.

“We’ll soon find out,” said Seth. Danielle
sensed eagerness in his tone, like he was curious.

Not admitting it vocally, she knew she was a
bit curious too. What did Benjamin look like? How did he dress?
What did he do with his time?

“There,” Beon whispered. He was pointing to
the northeast. There did appear to be a structure on the edge of a
cliff halfway up the side of a mountain. It was well hidden by
trees and a rocky overhang. The satellites would never be able to
pick it up, but with her heightened sight she could see a faint
reflection from what appeared to be glass.

“It’s dark. What if he’s not home?” Danielle
asked. He certainly could be out hunting ... killing.

“I may not be inside, but I am close by,”
came a voice she didn’t recognize. The words, though spoken in
English, were thick with a Russian or Romanian accent. Or perhaps
it was more a mix of the two.

She and the others came to a sudden stop,
kicking up a folly of forest debris. A breeze caught at her hair
and clothes as she searched for this man they’d come so far to
meet. But all she could see was everyone belonging to the
Order.

“Benjamin, we need your help,” began Beon,
also scanning the surrounding area.

“Who are these people, darling?” came a
woman’s voice. She had a similar accent to the man.

“Guests, I suppose,” replied the man.

Chuckling, the sound was dark, almost evil,
the woman said, “Shall I make tea?”

Danielle heard their footfalls ahead. Of
course she wondered if they could be just returning from feeding.
Strolling and holding hands, a man and a woman entered the clearing
from the woods on the west side. “How did you find me?” Benjamin
asked of Beon who stood with Seth close by his side.

“We tracked rumors and stories told in the
area.”

Seth added, “It was a lucky guess,
really.”

“Clever, and very lucky,” agreed
Benjamin.

The black-haired woman at his side had a
youthful face, while Benjamin appeared much older. She wouldn’t say
he looked elderly, just like he’d been living for a very long time.
His dark hair was not streaked with gray and his face was without
wrinkles, but something old was reflected back in wisdom-filled
eyes of gray that seemed to see everything.

Danielle remembered hearing about the woman
now. The woman Benjamin had chosen and turned so he’d have
companionship. The action having been clear rebellion against
Lilith who’d meant for him to be alone. Did this relationship force
him to hide from Lilith in this way? Is that why he chooses to live
in such total seclusion?

Suddenly the woman was in her face, her eyes
roving over Danielle’s features and clothes with bald curiosity.
“You’re the only woman amongst these men. Why?” The female
vampire’s eyes were a blackish-brown. Dressed in black trousers and
a ruffled black cardigan, the woman circled Danielle, touching her
hair, breathing in her scent even.

Apparently Ethan didn’t like it because the
next thing she knew she was being jerked around behind his back as
he took on a threatening stance.

The woman’s head flew back as she laughed.
“How charming. Benjamin, she belongs to this one.”

By now they’d all gathered around, and
tension settled around them like a thick net of heavy fog.
Instinctively, Danielle clung to Ethan and his fingers encircling
her wrist tightened. A silent warning to be quiet she figured. That
was completely fine with her.

“This is Heleways, my wife, and who might
the rest of you be?” asked Benjamin. It was sort of strange how he
seemed less threatening than his bride. The leather of his black
jacket made a rustling sound as he moved to place an arm around
Heleways. Strangely, his touch seemed to make her haughtiness
deflate a little.

“I’m Beon. This is Seth, Maximilian, Cedric
and the rest of our Order. These two are Ethan and Danielle.”

“What Order is this?”

Beon stood taller as his spine stiffened.
“We call it the Order of the Curse-Bound Nights.”

“What is your purpose?”

“We rebel against what the curse makes
us.”

One of Benjamin’s eyebrows lifted before his
mouth curved with a grin. “So it’s true then, the rumors I’ve been
hearing? Someone has solved Lil’s riddle?”

“I did,” said Ethan.

Rubbing the thick beard on his chin with
long fingers making a rasping sound, Benjamin said, “Tell me,” as
his eyebrows rose with his gaze, while he appeared to study Ethan
more closely.

“‘
The one who gives himself to
humanity will find the cure to the curse,’” began Ethan by
reiterating the prophecy. “I was extremely weak with thirst and
instead of biting ... a mortal, I allowed them to bite me instead.”
Ethan tugged Danielle closer to his back, her hands landed on his
waist because the movement had been so sudden. She didn’t want it
to look like she was trying to hide behind him, so she moved
slightly to the left, making herself more visible even though she
liked Ethan’s protectiveness.

“You’re not mortal,” argued Heleways.

“I was.” Ethan then explained the theories
they had as to why this had worked.

“Danielle was
the
mortal,” Benjamin said, his gray eyes
sparkling with understanding, but he frowned and asked, “Why is she
too a vampire now?”

“She was stabbed,” Ethan said. “I turned her
to save her.”

“We lost our baby,” Danielle whispered.

Danielle was surprised to see it, but
compassion filled both of their expressions. “Who did this and
why?” demanded Benjamin, folding his arms over his broad chest.
Heleways looked like she might actually cry, her gaze turning
glossy.

“Our enemies,” responded Beon. “Enemies of
our Order. Many are not pleased about this cure.”

“Ah,” said Benjamin, “And that is why you’re
here. You want my aid.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry to say there
isn’t anything I can do for you. I’d like to maintain my ...
seclusion, if you don’t mind.”

“We only need your help in finding Lilith,”
said Seth, moving forward, his heavy boots crunching dried leaves
and twigs as he stepped.

Narrowed gray eyes shot to Seth, “That witch
won’t help you.”

“We need to ask her. We need to try.”

Benjamin bellowed with a loud guffaw at
that. “Do all of you really wish to be mortal? Weak?”

“Some of us do, but not all of us. We want
immortals to have a choice.”

“Hmm, I see.” The First Vampire dropped a
hand to his hip. He appeared to be thinking as a cunning twinkle
sparkled in his gaze. “I suppose it’s worth a try. She lives in
Romania, or did when I left her. Granted, that was centuries ago.”
Turning his gaze to Beon, he asked, “Do you have one of these GPS
gadgets I’ve heard about?”

“Yes.” Beon pulled it from his satchel and
held it out to Benjamin.

The old vampire emitted a low chuckle and
held up his hand, palm forward. “I don’t know how to use that
thing, just enter these coordinates.” He then rattled off a few
numbers which Danielle figured were longitude and latitude. Beon
typed them into the device.

“Well then,” Benjamin bowed sweeping his arm
to the side. As he swung upright, he said, “I’ll be returning home
now. But don’t share my location with anyone else or I will have to
hunt you all down. I do know how to kill immortals, you won’t
escape me.”

“Thank you,” Seth, Ethan and Beon said in
unison.

Chapter 23

Queen of the Damned

“She is not Queen of the Damned. Queen of
Sorcery is probably more like it,” said Max with laughter rumbling
under his breath. He was responding to Cedric’s joke about their
current destination.

Beon led the way, his gaze fixed on the GPS
in his hand. Blue light glowed from the small screen casting an
almost eerie set of shadows to dance on his downturned face.

More than one of them chuckled at Max’s
words as they moved along a darkened road in Romania, following
Beon. Danielle tugged her hood closer around her face because it
had slipped back a little. The fur trim around the edge tickled her
cheeks. This street was dark but not unpopulated and she wondered
what their group of hooded strangers looked like as they
walked.

“I do hope she is not the queen, else we may
all end up hopping our way back to England,” said Merrick.

This was followed by more laughter.

But as the sounds of laughing died out,
Danielle felt the sounds and smells of night close in around her
senses. This was something she hadn’t experienced yet and she
swiftly understood why Beon kept Sophia from it. Of course she’d
spent one night in the woods, but heightened awareness was near
torture with mortals in close proximity.

Off in the distance a dog growled, the sound
of it caused a trickle of other dogs to respond in a similar
manner. Some of them barked out almost viciously while others
howled long and low like wolves. Or perhaps they were wolves....
Her gaze swung to the moon shining above them as drifting clouds
obscured part of it from view. A relieved breath left her lungs
when she saw that it wasn’t full yet. At least they wouldn’t have
that problem again tonight.

A baby cried next, reminding her of the one
she lost. She shoved the sadness aside as it pinched her heart.
After adjusting her hood another time, Danielle unzipped her
pockets and shoved her hands inside. Hearing animals and insects in
the woods had been one thing ... but this ... her right hand left
the pocket and curled around her middle as she mentally fought off
the urge to murder the man who’d just passed them. Clearly he’d
just cut himself, she thought, as the scent of blood slapped her in
the face, triggering her fangs to respond. Danielle clenched her
teeth together so hard she feared she might actually crack them.
Was it possible for her to break off the tip of a fang?

An elderly couple talked quietly over
dessert, she noted, as they passed an old house with white plaster
walls, weathered wooden shingles and blue shutters. She even knew
what they were eating for dessert. Cake. Or rather cheesecake, but
it didn’t smell like American cheesecake. She wondered what it
looked like. Moving along, the smells of trash, car exhaust, and
plant life overpowered the scents of food. Then sweat, cloying
perfume, cigarette smoke, alcohol, shampoo and blood assailed her.
There was always blood. That metallic, salty-sweet tang that
tormented her state of mind because it chased along behind every
other aroma filling her nose. She realized she would have been able
to smell that man’s blood even if he hadn’t just cut himself.

A person stumbled in front of her path,
forcing her to stop. His drunken face wobbled upward and he made
eye contact with her. Staggering and off balance, he landed against
her chest and fainted. Stunned and kind of freaking out Danielle
stared down at a head of greasy brown hair that slid down her body
as the man’s knees gave out. Of course there was a move for this,
but for reasons she couldn’t quite comprehend she paused as her
hands lifted.

Then he was gone. Ethan, stepping in as
usual, dragged the intoxicated fool to the brick wall of a closed
market, propping him against it. Ethan straightened as the
surrounding breeze ran invisible fingers through the blond hair
peeking out from under the edges of his knitted cap, his arms
dropped to his sides and he turned to face her. “Are you all
right?” he asked.

She didn’t respond because she’d covered her
mouth with one hand, self-consciously hiding the fangs that had
reengaged and seemed to be staying there this time.

Danielle let Ethan’s arms envelope her. But
the smells surrounding the man lingered on her clothes. With
fingers tightening into the fabric of Ethan’s t-shirt, she shook
her head. “No, I’m not okay. How did you do it, Ethan ... these
smells, they’re too much.”

After gently pushing the hood back from her
face, Ethan nudged her chin up with a couple of fingers placed
beneath her chin. “You’re new. It does get easier. You’ll become
desensitized.”

“How long does that take?”

“A while.” His mouth thinned, probably
because he knew she hated such vague answers.

“Why didn’t I react? I’m trained—”

Ethan kissed her forehead, his palms rubbed
over her arms, warming her. “It’s good you didn’t. You could have
killed him with your usual karate defense if you had.”

Only then did she notice that all of the men
had gathered while she suffered this embarrassing crisis in front
of them. They stood, almost circling her and Ethan, watching with
half hidden faces.