The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (28 page)

            Selene and I give each
other a look that is something along the lines of “you’ve got to be kidding
me,” before I almost find myself trying to lock the doors as if we are in
danger of being mugged. Then, I feel ashamed that I even think that way. Living
a privileged life has given me some prejudices. But how could an entire
neighborhood look this shitty? What is the city doing about this?

            I take off my jacket and
Selene asks, “What are you doing?”

            I raise one eyebrow at her
and respond, “Ain’t no way I’m gonna get spider webs and dust all in my new
jacket after I just ruined one last night.” The jacket in question is black
leather with gobs of zippers.

            “You have a point there
diva,” she answers. “Now, what’s the plan again Rayne?”

            This time I’m the one who
rolls my eyes. “I have five minutes. I know, I know. Shit, I don’t know if I
even want to be in there five minutes.”

            “Good.” We start to get
out of the car when Selene grabs my arm. “Wait.”

            I pause and look at her.
She gives me a firm but caring look. “Pay attention.”

            “I will. I promise.”

            We get out of the car and
Selene starts to look around as if feeling the air. “Do you sense anything?” I
ask cautiously.

            “No, not yet at least.
It’s very quiet though. I don’t even really hear any animals around. I don’t
think this person is witch born. There’s no spark of magic anywhere.”

            That was something at
least. It means that Namen is nowhere around for the time being. Hopefully
that’s a good sign that my instincts were right. We take a look around the back
of the house together before Selene goes back to stand near the car so that she
can see if anyone is coming or going. She also sets some kind of trigger spell
around the back so that she’d know if anything was coming from that way. It
helps her relax a lot more and allows me to be able to come and do what I need.

            I have to know who this
woman is and what she can do for me. I take the three steps up to the front
door as my stride causes the raggedy floorboards to creak under my feet. I
knock at the white, cracked door even though I don’t expect an answer. With one
more glance at Selene, I pull Katsu from my back and step through the door,
into darkness and cobwebs.

            She’ll know I’m here, so I
don’t call out; I just look around as my eyes adjust to the darkness of the
house, and try to watch my step as I glide over broken floorboards and
shattered glass. The dust coats my tongue and I wrinkle my nose at the stuffy,
moldy smell of everything around me. I almost sneeze as I walk into a wall of
cobwebs and swat them away. Good thing I left my jacket in the car. Freaking
ew.

            There’s old furniture
placed throughout the first room, chairs, a dining table, and a couple dirty
couches, one overturned. A railing overlook above me is missing most of its
wood. When I reach the middle of the room, I stop. That’s when I think I feel
something behind me. Slowly, I turn and face the woman. Even though she’s still
covered in shadows, I can clearly see the burning red eyes that she possesses.

            Vampire.

            Before I can speak, she
chastises me, “I had thought better of you, but I guess you do not follow rules
well. You will pay for that. Or maybe, your witch should pay instead.” Her
voice is quiet and silky, almost in the same way as Anubis, but there was much
more power and confidence in her tone than his. She cocks her head to the side
studying me. She’s one who knows her power and won’t hesitate to use it if
tested.

            “You won’t touch her,” I
challenge, although I know it’s not the best thing to do.

            “Oh?” she asks, teasingly,
seductively, taking a step forward. My eyes follow her flow and her gait is so
graceful, her feet barely seem to kiss the ground. “I will not touch her again,
then? I have already handled her. You may go see for yourself if you wish, but
you will not find her.” She points back towards the front door with all the
grace of a noble.

            “You said that you could
help me,” I begin, hoping to reason with her, hoping that she wasn’t a psycho
vamp even though that’s the vibe I’m getting from her.

            “I also said to come
alone, did I not!” she roars as her aura hits me, bringing me to my knees as
surely as a physical blow. Then, she’s in my face, touching it, lifting my
chin, examining me and I can’t help but shiver. In fear and in excitement.
She’s forcing her aura on me and I can’t do a damn thing about it.

            When someone forces their
aura on you, they are attempting to make you submissive. It’s a power pull.
Sometimes the aura can be so powerful that one can’t even move under the force.
I’m very close to that point as my body wants to bend to her will. Satisfied,
she releases me.

            I stand up and get a good
look at her face as I wipe the dirt from my low cut blue jeans. She’s probably
only a hint darker than me but still caramel complected, and she’s stunning.
She has deeply set, alluring eyes, small round nose, and perfectly shaped, full
lips, even as she bites down on the right side showing her fang.

            The danger, the power, and
dominance that she represents make my breath stop. Selene is absolutely
gorgeous, but this one in front of me has something else, not necessarily
something more, but it’s different. And I fear it. Her eyes are like lava,
burning straight through me, leaving me exposed. Her black hair is shoulder
length and braided in an intricate cornrow design and layers. She has to only
be about 5’4” or 5’5”, but that doesn’t matter, her presence will easily fill a
room.

            Even her smell makes me
want to be closer, breathe her in. It’s like clean linen out of the dryer,
fresh, crisp. I know it’s the vamp pheromones, but I find myself breathing
deeper. She’s still feeding me her aura and I can’t fight it; all I can do was
ride the waves.

            By the time I even manage
to speak, my voice is cracky and unsure. She smiles triumphantly. “What do you
want?”

            “Your blood,” she tells
me, stepping away and turning her back on me, as if I could be easily
dismissed. Her graphic tee catching the moonlight. Skulls.

            It causes me to grip Katsu
tighter. Irritation rolls through me. “Say again,” I demand.

            “Are you slow Rayne? I do
not like to repeat myself. I want your blood,” she repeats slowly, clearly
amused.

            “This has to be some kind
of joke right? First, you help me, and then you stalk me, now you want my
blood. Stop wasting my time vampire. Tell me what you did to Selene and then
leave me alone,” I order, my voice becoming more confident. I touch my
intricate tribal looking tattoo in reassurance.

            “With an attitude like
that, you will not be long for this world. Shall I help you along?”

            “Fuck you.”

            She laughs dangerously,
the sound piercing my ears like a poisonous arrow. Even as her voice echoes
from where she just stood, her iron hands grip my neck, squeezing the life out
of me, my eyes bulging. Mercifully, she flings me across the room with all the
exertion of tossing a pillow. I smash through an old table feeling it buckle
under my weight.

            Somehow, my katana manages
to remain in my possession. I stand up, coughing as my throat burns from the
pain of being choked, searching the darkness for this psycho vampire. I should
have listened to Selene; my instincts need to be fine tuned.

            She’s on me again before I
even hear her, see her, or smell her. One second she’s nowhere around, then the
next, she’s in front of me, kicking me with so much power that I destroy the
wall as my body catapults through it. The dust flies furiously around me. I
cough up blood, surely having internal bleeding from the punt she just gave me.

            This time, I have no idea
where Katsu is. Trying to ignore the sensational pain the kick caused is not
helping my ability to quickly search for her either. Despite wobbly legs, I
manage to stand as I call for more strength, more focus from deep within me. I
see a blur, quick, to my right, then behind me. I spin just in time to x block
a tornado of punches storming at me. She attacks with such fury and power that
I feel my bones threaten to break under her assault.

            I panic as I pitifully
attempt to exchange blows with her, but find no openings. She head butts me
hard on my nose and I drop to the ground, nose broken and bloody. Another kick
to my face and I fall backwards rolling a few feet like a log rolling down a
hill. As I try to force myself up, the pain reminding me of the days when
Lawrence tortured me, healed me, and tortured me again, I touch steel and begin
to gain more hope.

            She laughs again, this
time not in amusement, but in incredulousness. “You thought that you’d be able
to kill that witch?! The man who knows over 1000 spells and has raised demon
after demon. You think you can stop Namen Young, the soul stealer? You are a
fool and you will die a fool who couldn’t even stop me or save her witch. You
are standing near death’s door and yet you still make no effort to live, to
fight back. You are a waste and I will put you out of your misery. I’m here to
finish the job for him. There’s no need for him to waste his time with the
likes of a pathetic human.” She spits the last words out in disgust and somehow
manages to look even more wildly beautiful.

            I attack first, initially
swinging wildly, panicking as the vampire simply dodges each blow, laughing,
not even trying to attack. Then, I just get angry again. Angry at my
overconfidence, angry that I didn’t listen to Selene or Anubis, angry at the
Immortals for not pushing me harder, angry at this vampire for mocking me, and
angry at my family for dying in the first place!

            Then, I explode.

             My tattoo burns so hot
that I scream. It’s almost as if I can feel my blood boil as my temperature
rises and I see red. I can’t die here, not in this dirty ass house and not
before I land at least on blow on this smug son of a bitch’s face.

            “I am someone! I am strong
and I’m not done yet. If that’s all you’ve got then it won’t work, you won’t
break me.” All my limbs are tingling now, the power growing inside me. My
katana feels almost weightless in my hand and I can feel her telling me that
she’s ready to do damage, to live up to her name.

            We clash again. Either her
movements have become slower or my power boost wasn’t imagined. I stop feeling
the pains she inflicted on my body as my adrenaline goes into hyper drive. She
tries to grab my arm, but I shuffle away and counter with an upward slice. She
reacts a fraction slower than before and her red v-neck graphic t-shirt comes
away with a nice foot long cut in it. I don’t let up though, ramming an elbow
right into her bottom lip. She doesn’t go down, however, and I’m forced to push
her away in order to create some distance. By this time, my body is drenched in
sweat from the exertion. I’ve never had a fight like this before, and I
certainly don’t want this to be my last. If I don’t win, it will be.

            I don’t know how long the
fight proceeds, how many times our fists meet, or how many times I have to
force myself back up again. We crash through another wall and the ceiling
begins to crumble around us in warning that this old house can’t take much more
of this battle. I fight with all the heart I have, truly giving my all with
every slice of my blade, every kick, every strike. She has taken some damage
but with her vamp healing and exceptional skill, I’ve barely made a dent in her
defenses.

            My limit has been reached.
I’m not skilled enough to win against her. Maybe if I had more time to learn I
would have been able to. At least, I was finally able to land a few. I still
have some pride left.  As I accept this truth, this knowledge that I am simply
outclassed, she lands one final blow to my midsection, causing more blood to
come pouring out of my mouth. I fall forward, vision going black. Before I can
hit the ground, she catches me with her other arm. This is it, the final
strike. My body is finished, unable to push itself anymore. Katsu falls from my
weak and shaky hands and my eyes begin to close.

            I want to at least beg for
Selene’s life with the last of my strength, but I can’t form the words.

            “It’s okay Rayne, you can
rest now. I’ve seen all that I needed. When you awake, I will tell you what you
need to know. I’m sorry that I hurt you so bad.” her voice is now sweet,
protective, and calm as if the psycho vampire she just was never even existed. I
can’t reply, don’t really attempt to comprehend; all I can do is allow myself
to slip into unconsciousness.

Chapter Twenty Four

           
M
y head feels as if a college drum line has made it its
practice field. I groan loudly as I try to turn on my side, trying to figure
out just where the hell I’m at. Prying one eye open, I make an attempt to
figure out my surroundings. I’m in a bed and Selene isn’t with me. The room has
some light peeking through the window blinds. There is a mirror on the wall
across from me and the walls are painted a cream color. The closet door is
closed. There is a brown dresser with a few items sitting on top of it. The
room smells like bleach and I wonder if my blood had to be cleaned off the
hardwood floor.  

            “What the hell happened?”
I ask myself quietly with my scratchy voice. Then, I remember and reach for my
nose to check the damage. Tender, but not broken. I also don’t feel nearly as
bad as I should have. Hell, I shouldn’t even be alive.

            The door opens and a dark
shadow appears there, leaning nonchalantly against the frame. “I gave you my
blood to help you heal,” she explains gently, her voice sparking memories of
our battle and how I was utterly throttled.

            Before I can respond,
Selene pushes past her and plops on the bed, jarring my aching muscles. She
doesn’t notice however, but instead squeezes me tight. “I thought you weren’t
going to make it. You were in bad shape.”

            “Sorry about that, but it
needed to be done,” the vampire says.

            Selene lets me go and
turns toward her. “The hell it did! You didn’t have to put her through that.
And I’m sorry Rayne. I guess I was the one that should have been paying
attention. Asshole over here knocked me out before I even knew what hit me.”

            “Oh, suck it up, I didn’t
even hit you that hard and she’s not a baby. Stop treating her like one if you
want her to live. She needs to be pushed. The situation has changed since
you’ve been gone. Namen has gotten even stronger and she will die slowly and
painfully if I don’t help her gain her true strength.”

            I look at the vampire’s
face and notice that her eyes are no longer blood red, but simply dark and
caring. But why is the question. “Why do you care so much about me? How do you
even know who I am?” I ask, forcing myself up to turn on the lights so that I
could get a good look at her.

            She’s dressed in another
v-neck, this time dark green, with loose black jeans, a long silver necklace
and about six piercings in each ear. I wondered what else is pierced, but
quickly shove that thought away. It had to be the after effects of her blood.
She has a full sleeve going down her left arm. The designs are too intricate to
see without studying closely. Other than that, her skin is flawless, not like
the immortals but as if she’s never been hurt in her life.

            She’s definitely a stud,
as most of us in the black gay community call dominant females who dress
similar to a man. Still, there’s a feminine air about her that I’m finding
attractive. It’s obvious to me that she prefers females because my gaydar is on
high alert.

            This time, she turns
towards me and gives me a sly smile. No vamp fangs sticking out though just
straight, white teeth. She’s obviously under control, as cool as a cucumber. We
could be fast friends, I know it. “I saved your life once, a long long time
ago.”

            “I don’t remember that,” I
say.

            “And I don’t believe you,”
Selene adds.

            She just chuckles and
takes a step towards me, hands stretching out. I slap them away, but she gives
me an exasperated look and proceeds anyway. The vampire touches my face softly
and moves my hair out of the way of my left temple. “You have a scar right here
from when you hit your head from falling down the stairs.”

            I tilt my head sideways
and slowly remove her hand from my face not liking the feeling I was getting
from her touch.  How would she know that? “Yes.”

            “That’s what I told Jason
that I made you think. That’s not what happened though.”

            “Jason? You knew my
father?”

            “Well, we had a slight
business partnership,” she begins then raises her hand when I get ready to interrupt.
“And yes, I’m aware that he was not fond of our kind at the best of times, but
still, he respected me. He also needed me that day. I don’t think you realize
how deep into unsavory business your father used to dive, but it almost cost
him his oldest child.” I search her eyes to find the truth in her words and
when I nod, she continues.

            “There was a car accident.
He picked you up from daycare and was t-boned on the driver side and trapped.
They took you from the car. The bottom line is, I found out who took you for
him because they said that if he went to the police that they would kill you.
They had you guarded by some traps and vicious dogs, which is a shame because
I’m a dog lover and it crushed my heart to have to kill them. The kidnappers, I
had no sympathy for them though. I handled them all, except for the one I saw
slapping you around when you were crying. He gave you that scar and I had to
give you some of my blood that time too so that you could heal. Him, I saved
for your father. After it all was done, Jason asked me to make you forget, so I
glamoured you and told you to never let anything scare you again. Once it was
all over, you seemed so happy and carefree. After that, Jason was in my debt,
but I never collected on it.”

            “So, you’re here to
collect on that debt now then?” Selene asks, perturbed. It’s clear that she
doesn’t like this vamp.

            “I won’t deny that my
motives are not simple, but I will say that through my blood that I shared with
that little girl that day became a desire to help protect her. Both of your
parents loved you and I want their legacy to live on. If you do not believe my
story, you can even ask that friend of Jason’s, his business partner. He will
verify that I saved you,” she shrugs.

            “I lost something once too
and a little girl’s smile gave me hope again. As I said, I knew your father and
I think that he was a good man. You Rayne, have more potential than you know.
It’s unusual for one that I’ve given blood to to have a bond with me after so
many years. When I felt your power that night, I was confused. Then, I heard
Namen Young’s name and knew that you were in danger. I’ve been slowly
infiltrating his people for years now, trying to stop him, but I need more
help. There are others in other states where he is planning other things that I
have allied with working on the inside opposing him. You can’t even begin to
know what he’s planning to do and it could ruin us all. Even though he deserves
justice for what he’s done to your family, if I help you get stronger, this can
no longer be a quest for revenge. Priestess, I will need your assistance too.”

            “So what is it that makes
him so unstoppable? What is he trying to do?” I ask.

            “From what I’ve learned,
Namen has been working his plan for over fifteen years. He has been building up
an army, so that he can overthrow the government.”

            “To what end?” Selene
asks. “I mean, we’ve all heard it before, the bad guys want to rule the world,
but what’s his end game?”

            “Maybe his end game is the
world, but right now, he just wants America, the strongest country militarily
and technologically. He wants all of our kind to reveal themselves, to start a
new government with us at the top.”

            “And what about normal
humans?”

            “They’d have the choice to
turn or become slaves.”

            “To turn? I don’t get it.”

            “He has been doing
experiments on children, trying to change their DNA. Apparently, he’s had one
or two successes.”

            “Okay, stop. Let me get
this straight. Namen wants to be high ruler of the U.S. and take over the
government so that all supernaturals can come out of the woodwork, which in
itself may or may not be a bad thing. The problem is he wants to force every
human to make a decision on becoming awakened or becoming slaves. He probably
found out about my father’s weapons and thought they’d be a threat to his
plans, when my dad wouldn’t deal, he had my family murdered. If that’s the
case, if my dad had dealt, he probably would have had them killed anyway
because once he realized what Namen’s true goals were, he could have just made
more weapons. Namen’s also been taking the kids, via the lamia, and testing on
them, the failures he’s been using as demon food,” I summarize as I sit down
due to my headache becoming worse.

            “There are a million
things wrong with this plan of his,” Selene speaks up.

            “Exactly. Everyone cannot
be awakened; it is just not the natural order of things. We vampires for one
depend on humans for life and companionship. I’ve been ordered by my family to
end him and it’s going to be harder even for a vampire like me if he keeps
getting all these power boosts and alliances.”

            “What kind of power boosts
are we talking about? While Rayne was asleep, you called Namen the soul
stealer. Please don’t tell me that it means what I think it does,” Selene says,
worried, now pacing.