Sun Kissed (The Guardian Angel Series Book 2) (17 page)

As we neared the end of the driveway, we
were officially face to face with our prison. While I admit it was beautiful,
serene, and regal, it was forbidding enough to make my stomach leap all the way
into my throat.

“It seems empty,” I commented as we pulled
into the car park.

“That’s because it’s not quite dark enough
yet. Any minute now, though, I’m sure.”

We exited the car and walked towards the
door. The castle towered over us, dominating us. Eli appeared unaffected. His
guardian mask was on, that meant he couldn’t show his true feelings and he
didn’t.

Five minutes later, when every one of the
sun’s rays had well and truly gone, the big wooden door opened.

“Welcome,” a short, smiling Asian man
greeted us. “We’ve been expecting you.”

His thin lips spread into a wide smile and
he made no attempt to hide his fangs.

“Thank you,” Eli replied politely, stepping
inside.

I followed closely behind him. I glanced
down at the cold hard floor — it was marble and each tile was chosen with a
specific taste in mind. None of them matched and yet, they seemed to paint a
beautiful picture. Paintings decorated the walls and large stone pillars were
placed around the castle, supporting its heavy brick frame. In front of us was
a large, stone staircase which eventually split into two different directions.
Flowers were carved into the stone and edged subtly with gold.

“The look of confusion when people see my
home never gets old.” Lucian chuckled, descending the stairs. “Is it the
garden? Or the modern design of the interior? Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a
vampire and still like beautiful, serene things?”

I swallowed hard. Seeing his face again
sent chills down my spine. One by one, vampires began popping up all over the
place. They seemed to have  appeared from thin air. They were quick, too quick.

“No answer?” Lucian smiled at me.

“You have a beautiful home. It isn’t what I
expected,” I forced out politely. By some miracle I was able to keep my voice
steady.

“What were you expecting?” He eyed me
curiously.

“Gargoyles, deep red carpets, coffins, dead
trees, you know, the usual vampire things.”

Lucian laughed loudly and the rest of the
vampires joined in. I glanced sideways at Eli. His dark eyes were watching me
in amusement.

“We’re going to get along just fine,” Lucian
exclaimed. “Ludiia!”

She appeared in an instant. She had curled
her long dark hair in ringlets down her back. They matched her nineteenth
century black and green gown perfectly.

“Please show Miss Moore to her room. Mr De
Luca and I have many things to discuss.”

Ludiia stalked toward me.

“I’m not leaving him,” I blurted.

I couldn’t trust Lucian. What if he hurt
Eli in my absence, or worse, killed him?

“Oh hush. I’m not going to hurt him. You
can come back down when it’s time for dinner.”

Ludiia grabbed my arm tightly and I winced.
Her skin was so cold it felt like it was burning mine.

“Sorry, I haven’t had any blood today. My
skin is a little colder than usual.”

The sadistic smirk that grew on her face
told me she didn’t actually care she was hurting me.

The castle was big, much bigger than I had
first thought. It felt like we walked past at least a hundred rooms before we
reached mine.

“Oh, before I go, I should probably mention
that Lucian has left a little welcoming gift for you.” She chuckled loudly
before turning her back and walking back the way we came.

Slowly, I opened the door. When I was sure
no one was hiding inside, I entered.

Vampires or not, they sure knew how to live
in luxury. A Jacobean four-poster bed took up a good area of the room but it
still left space for two armchairs and a desk. Through the door on the side, I
assume, was a bathroom.

“Ruby?”

My breath caught in my throat and my heart
sank into my shoes. Slowly I turned around.

“No,” I whispered, backing away cautiously.

“Why are you so afraid of me? Aren’t you
happy that I’m alive?” He was hurt by my fear.

“Y-you’re not alive… You’re a vampire,” I
stammered. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. My subconscious was
threatening to shut down. Hunter was blocking my exit; I needed to get out of
here.

“Yes, I am.” Hunter reached out to me. He was
real.

I folded in on myself. I curled my face
into my knees and the tears began to flow. “Please don’t touch me.”

“Ruby, I’m not going to hurt you.”

‘I’m not going to hurt you’
says the vampire. I couldn’t help but link
his phrase to the Big Bad Wolf in
Little Red Riding Hood
.

“Don’t lie to me.”

A cold hand reached out and touched my arm
but I recoiled away. His touch was once so warm and loving, but now that was
only a memory, and in its place was the cold hand of death. My chest started
tightening.

Please go away, please.

I was so overwhelmed. Seeing Ludiia, Lucian,
and the other vampires was uncomfortable, but seeing Hunter was completely
different. I thought I’d lost him. He’d been murdered by Liam right in front of
me. Now he was kneeling in front of me, cold and calculating, dead and alive at
the same time. I prayed for Eli to come and rescue me.

“Please, go away.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I live here. Lucian turned me.”

I cried loudly into my lap. Not only was I
stuck on top of a mountain with a bunch of vampires, I was also stuck with
Hunter, my supposedly dead friend and a boy I had developed feelings for. How
could I justify being torn between a guardian angel and a vampire? One was
forbidden and the other wasn’t just forbidden, it was wrong on so many levels.

With a gentle whoosh, the door closed and
Hunter was gone.

Rules and Regulations

I cried hysterically into one of the white
silk pillows. I was so torn; I didn’t know what to do. As a friend I should be
there for Hunter. I should try to help him but my past wouldn’t let me.

My head began to pound. I winced in
response. The pain flared, pulsed, and travelled down along my skull to the
back of my neck. I took a deep breath that shuddered in my lungs because I’d
been crying so hard. Dinner would start shortly, although I couldn’t imagine
that vampires could cook a decent parmigiana or steak and chips.

A soft knock sounded upon my door. My body
automatically tensed.
Please don’t be a vampire, please don’t be a vampire.

“Ruby?” a soft, feminine voice asked.

I turned over and looked at the girl, who
appeared to be around my age, If not slightly younger. Her skin was beautiful
and tan, on closer examination, she was human. She didn’t have the dark,
soulless tunnels the rest of them did. Instead, she had pretty grey eyes and
full pink lips.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, walking
slowly towards me. Her long straight dark blonde hair draped over her
shoulders.

“I’m fine.” I sat up and crossed my legs on
my bed. I was too caught up in my own problems to be jealous of her natural
beauty, although it did sting a little.

“You have a headache? Can I help?”

I watched her curiously. Unless she had some
Advil on her, I didn’t think she could do too much for me. “No, thank you. I’m
fine.”

“You know, I remember when I was first
brought here.”

“You were kidnapped?”

She nodded and my stomach twisted at the
thought of her being taken from her home.

“Sorry.”

“He took your boyfriend from you?”

“You know about Hunter?”

“Yes, he’s a nice boy. He doesn’t want to
be a vampire, but he doesn’t have a choice.” She had a slight accent, it seemed
Russian, but then again, I was never was good with languages. The girl sat down
on my bed and straightened her long black skirt.

“That headache must really hurt. Please,
let me help you.” Slowly she pulled a horseshoe from a pocket in her skirt. I
watched cautiously as she brought it closer to my head. I pulled away from her.

“What are you doing?”

“Trust me.”

Strangely enough, I did trust her, even
though she lived here with Lucian.  Somehow I just knew I could trust her. She
pressed the ends of the horseshoe to my forehead.

“Listen and then say it with me — good metal
loosed, from horse’s hoof, draw from my brain, these nails of pain: cast them
away, rust them away, keep them away.”

I stared skeptically at her, maybe she
wasn’t fully ‘there’ in the head.

“Don’t look at me like that. If this is
going to work you’re going to have to say it with me.”

Just say it!

“Fine.” I sighed in defeat. We began to
chant together.

“Good metal loosed, from horse’s hoof, draw
from my brain, these nails of pain: cast them away, rust them away, keep them
away.”

The pounding in my head didn’t go away.

“Didn’t work,” I said in a told-you-so
tone.

“Wait.” She closed her eyes and began
murmuring in a language I couldn’t make out. A few seconds later her eyes
opened and my headache was gone. The hairs on my neck and arm stood on their
ends, and chills prickled along my skin. A trickle of fear mixed with curiosity
warmed the core of my body.

“I’m a witch. My name’s Anna.” She smiled
innocently. Her smile began to curve downwards “You’re freaked out, aren’t you?”
Her eyes had a regretful gleam to them and I felt sorry for her. She probably
only wanted to make a new friend.

I nodded. “But it’s okay … It isn’t your
fault.” And then it hit me. I was so willing to befriend this girl even though
I know she was different, but I hadn’t even given Hunter a chance. Being a
vampire wasn’t his fault. If I really wanted to point a finger at someone, I
should point it at myself. If only I hadn’t led him on or used him for comfort
when Eli was gone.

“I came to tell you dinner is almost ready.
They’re having a party and would like for you to dress accordingly. In the
cupboard over there are lots of different gowns. Choose one.” Anna rose from my
bed and strolled casually over to the door.

“You’re leaving?” Despite the fact that she
was a witch, she was still the most normal person here, besides Eli.

“It was nice to meet you. You live here now,
so we’ll see each other again.”

When she was gone, I climbed off my bed,
ignoring my stiff leg muscles, and opened the cupboard. I was taken aback by
the array of gowns. Some were poufy and others were tight. I had so many to
choose from. Red was a definite no, the last thing I wanted was to resemble
blood. With that in mind, I settled on a salmon colored, halter neck gown. The chiffon
fabric was so light it barely touched my skin and when it did, it felt so soft
and delicate. I stood in front of the mirror on a stand that was beside my bed.
Even I had to admit the dress was gorgeous. I ran my finger along one of the
lines of jewel beadings and appliques that ran around the waist. Despite the beauty
of the gown, I had a few small issues with it. One was that it was too low cut.
It still covered my breasts well, I suppose. The other issue was that it was
backless; the only thing that touched my back was the three straps of silver
jewelled beadings. It looked gorgeous but it might be uncomfortable to sit in. Maybe
I should change.

I turned around and took a step toward the
cupboard again. A cool breeze brushed my thigh.
And there is issue number
three.
There was a long slit up the leg of the dress, exposing my thigh
when I walked.

I sighed in defeat. I wasn’t trying to be
sexy, I didn’t want to attract the wrong attention. I looked through the
cupboard again. It looked like I didn’t have a choice. It was hard to believe,
but I chose the dress that concealed the most flesh.

“You have two minutes,” the girl called
through the door.

Crap.
I didn’t have time to change or accessorize with a
jacket. I couldn’t afford to waste another minute. If I was late, I didn’t know
what Lucian would do. I grabbed a diamond encrusted bracelet off the vanity. I
didn’t know if it was real or not, either way, I didn’t care. It slid over my
hand smoothly and matched my outfit perfectly. I freed my hair from my ponytail
and let it drop over my shoulders; it was messy, so I ruffled it a little bit.
If I was going to have messy hair I might as well make it look like I did it on
purpose. I stole one last glance in the mirror before I left the room.

Classical music filled the halls of the
castle. Why did this place seem so normal? Where were the cobwebs, the melted
candles, the coffins? Regardless of how normal these people seemed, they were
still monsters. No amount of pain, classical music, or material items was going
to change that.