Forged of Fire (15 page)

“I see,” she said again. “What time is this wedding to take place today?”

“As soon as it can, I imagine.”

“Where will you and I go afterwards? Will we be alone?” Kielyn asked.

We will return to my main estate in Italy. Stefen is being ordered to come with us as Alaric’s guard dog.”

“Oh good.” She gave a long sigh, of what, Ash interpreted at relief.

He was not sure why but that those two words combined with that damn sigh made Ash want to go straight to the Angel’s room and murder him in his sleep.
Fuck him! Fuck him to hell for having her trust and obvious affection.
“If that is all the questions you have.” He rose.

“Just one.” She stopped him. “Will it hurt?”

“Being turned?” He looked down at her.

“All of it.” She cast down her eyes. “Being turned, making love to…rather. Consummating the marriage.”

“I am not sure how being turned will feel to you.” Ash hated his own experience for it was more like rape. Being chained naked from the ceiling while Dante writhed against him. The sick bastard’s rough hands groping him, the feel of Dante’s engorged cock pressed against his thigh while sharp fangs penetrated and drank the life from Ash’s mortal body. The unnatural and unwanted orgasm that was milked and stolen from his body before he had lost consciousness.

Ash mentally pushed the filthy, horrible memory away. He would make damn sure Kielyn’s experience was pleasurable and consensual. “The act itself is highly erotic and it is said most enjoy the transformation.” He watched the lovely blush crawl wickedly up her neck. “As for the other, once you are a Vampire, sexual encounters will be just as they have been with mortals.”

“Oh. Ok,” she said tentatively. “I think I would like to get some more sleep if we are done.”

“Of course.” Ash walked to the door, mentally switching off the light. “I will let you know what time as soon as they tell me.”

Ash closed the door quietly and leaned back into it. He could do this. Well, he could at least try and make her happy. And, there was no way in hell he would let Dante get his slimy, twisted hands on her! He would kill the fucker for good before that happened.

****

Kielyn stared up and into the crystal chandelier hanging above her bed. It was beautiful and over three hundred years old Skyler had told her when she dropped off Kielyn’s clothing. Walter was a pack rat the pretty brunette joked. Much of the house that Kielyn was staying in sported fabulous old antiques. It was hard to fathom that to most of the house’s current residents, everything under this roof was at some point modern to them.

Just like the lamp Ash had effortlessly turned off with his mind, her eyes drifted to it. To Kielyn, even electricity was not a modern notion. She was a baby to everyone in the house except Kizer, but even he had been raised from birth knowing he possessed the unique gift to bend water. Only when he reached the age of twenty-three was he given over to train further with Walter. Kielyn was the proverbial fish out of water amongst them all. Physically the youngest and thus, the weakest, with only two days of training under her belt. Yet still, she felt a sense of belonging she had never experienced before.

Kielyn never fit in growing up. Her grandmother had always said she was an old soul trapped in a young person’s body. God, how she wished her grandmother were still alive. She could use some sound advice right now. From someone other than the domineering males that now seemingly controlled her. Kielyn looked back up to the beautiful chandelier.
Seemingly…

She was on her feet and tugging on her jeans before her head could formulate a plan. If she was going to agree to marry Ash, she was damn sure going to talk to her grandmother before she did. Kielyn pulled a hoodie over her head and slowly opened her bedroom door. After a quick glance to the left and to the right she headed down the hall, away from the main entrance that led to the above house. She had done a good bit of exploring when the others were having their meetings the past two days. After following a servant yesterday she noticed he proceeded from the main downstairs kitchen, with a bag of garbage, down a small hallway and through a door. When he returned a few minutes later, his shoes tracked in dirt. Kielyn watched him make his way back towards the kitchen from her concealed hiding spot. The male had then stopped beside the large walk in pantry just before the Kitchen, opened a small box on the wall and hung a set of keys.

Kielyn snuck past the kitchen as quietly as she could and opened the box by the pantry. Sure enough, the keys were exactly where the servant had left them yesterday. She pocketed the brass set and snuck on down the hall, careful to go unnoticed by the few servants that were already bustling around in preparation for the day. She assumed the others would still be asleep for at least another hour. The immortals under Walter’s roof kept the same sleeping schedule as most mortals in order to conduct business during daylight hours. Both Walter and Ash, she had noticed, rose promptly with the sun at six A.M. Ash would go straight to the indoor gym for an hour whereas Walter read the daily news on his laptop in the library. Breakfast was severed at seven-thirty every morning. If she was back before six she would never even be missed.

With keys in hand, Kielyn made her way to the door. Her grandmother’s tomb was well within walking distance from Walter Bane’s residence on Napoleon St. That would give her plenty of time to make it to the cemetery and back.
Just an hour to myself.
She needed space, solitude, and she demanded it be without those damn blue eyes boring into her, making her believe everything Ash said was right.

After she opened the door, Kielyn proceeded down the dimly lit hall leading to ascending steps. She did not have a plan for if she were to encounter anyone coming or going. Kielyn just knew she had very little time left to call her own if she agreed to marry Ash. Something about the male told her that he would be anything but inattentive. No, he was too much of a control freak to marry her, get her fat with child and ignore her. He would require things. What things, Kielyn was warily unsure, but she was not an idiot either. A male like Ash would expect a lot from his wife.

Kielyn began to feel like the walls of the underground tunnel were closing in on her. She had to get some real air in her lungs. She would beg forgiveness later should she be discovered. With the turn of a key, the thick metal door opened and the night air rushed up to welcome her like a long lost friend. Kielyn stepped out and breathed it in. Yes, this is exactly what she needed. She took one last look around before shoving a rock between the door and the frame and walking briskly down the side street.

She was crossing the street to the Lafayette cemetery in what seemed like only a few minutes. Other than the one tom-cat that had run across her path, the rest of New Orleans seemed tucked away in silent slumber. Kielyn slid through a gap in the wrought-iron fencing that she had used on numerous occasions over the years. Night was always Kielyn’s time of reflection. She made her way through the labyrinth of tombs until her feet stopped in front of her beloved grandmother’s. Resting to the right was the crypt of Kielyn’s parents.

She sat down in front of her grandmother’s resting place. Kielyn had no memory of her parents. Her nana had said they loved her immeasurably, but she felt no connection to them. She pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the etched name on the stone. Allister. Same as her parents and the same as hers. If indeed that was the original name. If Walter was correct and her parents had really died at the hands of Dante’s men, then they might have been living under aliases. There was so much Kielyn wanted to know. Like, did her nana even know of any of this? If she did, why would she have not sought help from others like Walter? Or, was her grandmother hoping to keep it all a secret to protect Kielyn from a fate such as her parents?

Kielyn reached out and touched the dried flower arrangement she had left two weeks ago. Most of the flowers had dropped and blown away but one rose still clung stubbornly to its dead and brittle stalk. A tiny bloom broke free and drifted to the ground.
What do I do?

“You come with me.”

Kielyn pushed to her feet and swiveled, looking around as she stepped closer to the tomb. It was the voice from her dream. But how? She was not dreaming! “Who’s there?” Kielyn’s heart rate hammered in her chest as she scanned the darkness.

From behind a tree stepped a man’s figure.
Not a man…
Kielyn could feel the ominous difference that rolled off his form like vapors from gasoline
. Immortal!
She bolted, her feet running in and around the maze of mausoleums as fast as she could. Laughter erupted around her. Louder and louder it grew in her ears, consuming her senses, encompassing her entirely. She stopped, her palms sweating and her breath slamming into her chest. He stepped from around a tall statue of David. “Now, who is the careless ass that managed to lose a prize such as you?” The male began to walk towards her. The moon’s fading light caught the ire in his eyes, glowing red pools of lava gleamed out from the black. Kielyn turned to run and hit his chest. He laughed again and stared down at her with those hot, soulless eyes. “It’s a good thing I stumbled along to save you. There are far too many terrors in the depths of the night, Kielyn.”

****

“No one told me you were this lovely.” Zander lifted his fingers to her cheek. She flinched. “Running from me is useless dear, as I can always find you.” She was exquisite. His father would be delighted to see that the girl was far from homely. Not that it would matter. She was only a bartering chip. Dante would either mate her himself or give her as a gift to one of his generals. Once she was branded by a male of his father’s choosing, she could no longer serve as a host to carry any bender’s child. Thus keeping Dante seated, unchallenged, as the King of Hell. Zander tipped her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes.
Unless…
Zander asked for her. As a reward for not only finding Kielyn, but Bane’s residence. The idea had extreme merit. The girl was very sensual. Zander had sensed it when he had stolen into her dreams. “Tell me Kielyn, do you always respond so willingly?”

“I don’t know who you are or what you mean.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Sure you do. At night when I slip into your mind.” He grinned as he pinched her chin harder so she could not look away. “You open for me so sweetly, allowing me total control over your thoughts. I wonder if your legs would spread with the same wanton desire.” Her eyes grew round. “Ah, see, you are proving right now how responsive you are to me. Why don’t you give me a kiss to prove how badly you have been aching for my touch?”

Zander slanted his head down as his free hand moved to the back of her head, immobilizing her. His tongue ran the seam of her lips, parting them with ease. His fangs elongated as he pushed into her mouth and tasted her. He made to deepen the kiss, but she bit him. He jerked his head back as the sting of the bite burned hotter and began to spread over his whole tongue. “What the fuck! You bit me?” His mouth was now on fire. He licked the back of his hand to check for blood. Red hot little embers danced on the surface of his skin.

Zander backhanded her so hard she flew up against a crypt. “You little bitch! You dared to use fire on me!”

“Fuck you!” She coughed as she tried to get to her feet. Unfortunately, not in time.

Zander kicked her in the stomach sending her crashing back down to the earth. He knelt down and grabbed her by the back of the hair, yanking her head up to meet his eyes. “You’re going to pay for that!” Zander was so pissed he almost did not sense another presence. Almost. He whirled in time to see Ash storming towards him.

Zander quickly yanked Kielyn to her feet and held her in front of him by the throat. “Well, well. Look who we have here. If it’s not the long lost Ashdon LaGoryen. My father’s favorite, pet.” He spat.

“Let her go Zander!” The Fire-bender continued to stalk forward, a blue blaze glowing to life in his palms.

“I have no issue killing her right here.” That slowed him down and Zander chuckled. “See, unlike you, I have zero to lose. She has to mate a bender to fulfill the prophecy. Being that I am clearly not one, my only goal is to keep her from doing just that. If it means I kill her on the spot, before delivering her to my father, so be it!” He began to tighten the grip on Kielyn’s throat causing her to claw at his hand as she gasped for air.