Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) (25 page)

“Honored to serve me? What the hell did you say to
them?”

Yawning, she shifted, getting comfortable. “The
Slayers are back in business.”

✝✝✝

Three nights driving, cooped up in the car, she and
the girls were ready to mutiny. They collectively sighed in relief when Rathe
parked in front of the mansion. Simon and Lydia met them as they climbed out.

“Lydia, you are vampire!”

Bashful, she smiled at Simon, who drew her into
his arms. “Yes, I converted for Simon.”

Simon asked Rathe, “Have you heard from Faeroes
and Alexander yet?”

“No. Have you?”

He shook his head. “Nothing so far.”

“Mariah found a group on the internet claiming to
be Slayers. They’re coming. I'm ashamed to admit the young have been left to fend
for themselves. Not anymore. We’ll have their backs.”

Simon wholeheartedly agreed. “Damn right!” Peering
closer at him, he said, “Rathe, you haven't fed enough. Why don’t you and
Mariah head down to the Boardwalk?”

“Yeah, I’m on the negative side of blood.” Rathe gruffly
ordered, “Come, woman, we need to feed.” He laughed at the cool expression she
gave him.

Shaking her head at him, she told the girls, “Stay
out of trouble. We won’t be gone long.”

“Okay, Mom.” They went inside with Simon and
Lydia.

Shifting into a sea eagle, she extended her wings
and pushed upward, flying to the Boardwalk. Rathe had shifted into a bird, too,
and took the lead. Elated and relishing the freedom after the long trip, she
was disappointed when the flight was cut short when they approached the beach
close to the Boardwalk. As she shifted back to her human form, she felt
lightheaded, collapsing on her knees.

Kneeling beside her, he demanded angrily, “Why did
you hide your hunger from me?” As he checked her eyes, she saw he was scared. “Dammit,
your eyes are faded and your skin is white.”

“The girls needed the nourishment,” she whispered,
barely able to hold onto him.

“There’s a surfer coming out of the water. I’ll
feed and be right back.” He propped her against a boulder.

When he finished feeding, he hurried back to her
and offered her his arm. “Come on, baby. Feed.”

Pushing his arm away, she nuzzled his neck and
sank her fangs into him. He trembled as he placed his hand on the back of her
head, holding her as she fed. When she had enough to make her feel better, she rested
her head wearily against his chest, feeling his blood course through her veins,
reviving her.

“You scared the hell out of me!”

“I’m sorry. Lesson learned the hard way. I won’t
let myself get that low on blood ever again, I promise.”

“We have few weaknesses; blood is right at the top
of the list. We cannot ignore our bodies’ needs or the consequences can be
dire. Are you sure you've had enough?”

“I could use some more.”

“I’ll locate another donor.” He made to rise, but
she stopped him.

“Can you take me to the Boardwalk? I’d like to
watch the people while I wait for you.”

“Sure.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her
there. Setting her down on her feet, he said, “Stay here. I won’t be long.”
Giving her a quick kiss, Rathe left her.

Easing her tired body onto the wooden bench, she
sighed, happy to be sitting on something that wasn’t moving. As she watched
people walk past her, it clicked they were dressed in costumes.

Halloween? How the heck had she forgotten Halloween?

Easy actually, considering that she’s turned vampire,
was running for her life, fighting the Damned, finding Alexander, her life had
been one helluva roller coaster. Sadly, the ride wasn’t over yet.

Since it was Halloween, she had a crazy idea. What
would the people around her think if she dropped her fangs? Probably cheer her
on. Not wanting to risk scaring them, she kept normal.

Suddenly, she felt the same sensation in her mind when
Anya had tried to read her. Careful not to spook the person, she subtly tried
to trace the psyche wave back to them. That failed. Switching to visually
searching for them, she found a motley group of teens leaning against the side
of the Haunted House. They were staring at her. Unable to read them, she
realized they were blocking her on purpose. Studying them, she saw the blurred outline
of their weapons — knives, guns. Several had swords.

Their eyes glowed fiercely in the myriad of
lights. She smiled, knowing exactly who they were.

Slayers!

Chapter Sixteen

Well, this should
be interesting.

She pushed to her feet and walked over to them. “Hi,
I’m Mariah Jordan. I’m the one who sent you the message online.”

Eyeing her suspiciously, she decided the only way
to prove who she was this … she dropped her fangs. By the way the others kept
glancing at him, she figured the red-haired, young man, was their leader. She
held out her hand to him, and he warily shook it.

They were on guard and very nervous.

“Is something wrong?” Casting out, she found no
sign of the Damned or their ghouls.

“There is a bounty on our heads. The Elders want
us dead,” the redhead replied quietly.

“Why?”

A girl with short, spiky blue hair told her, “Because
we won’t stop hunting the Damned. We’ve had to defend ourselves twice this week
alone against their
new
enforcers!”

“You were attacked by Slayers?”

“They were once Slayers. Now, they’re called
Enforcers of the Laws.”

The pressure in the air shifted, the vampires
snarled, drawing their weapons when Rathe strode forth out of the shadows, appearing
confident in the incredible strength and power of an experienced Slayer. She
felt the vampires staring at her when she smiled at him as he enclosed her under
his powerful arm, drawing her to his side.

The redhead lowered his gun. “Are you Rathe Romulas?”

Rathe grinned as he bowed his head in
acknowledgement. “One and only. If I may inquire as to your name?”

“I am Rand, elected leader of our band.” His
demeanor was proud and defiant.

“Good to meet you, Rand.” Rathe extended his hand
out to Rand, who blinked, then slowly accepted it.

She told him what they had told her.
 

“Son-of-a-bitch.” Flames rippled in the centers of
Rathe’s dark eyes, causing the young ones to retreat. She nudged him, silently
telling him to cool it.

Visibly, he struggled to rein in his anger. “Rand,
have you heard from others who were also ordered to stand down?”

“Yes. We keep in contact using the internet.
Something we found the Elders will not touch. They fear contamination of humans,”
he sneered. “Elders won’t use technology, except for Julius Adams. He’s at
least willing to live in the 21
^st
Century.”

“Rathe, who is
Julius Adams?”

“He was elected Leader of the Borne after
my father died.”

“Do you know him?”

“Know
of
him. He does possess an advanced thinking. Julius was the first to support my
father’s disbandment of the Slayers. I’ll ask Faeroes what he knows about
Julius’s latest orders concerning the Enforcers Rand spoke of.”

“Have you fed tonight?” she asked Rand and his
friends

They stared at her. Some looked away, while a couple
of girls tried hard not to cry. By their reactions, she realized they had been
on their own for a long time. No one had cared for their health or safety,
except within the bond of their friendship.

Rand gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you for
your concern. We have taken care of our needs.”

Rathe held her hand. “We need to return to our
family. Will you come with us?”

The group conversed with each other. When an
agreement was reached, Rand returned. “We will follow you.”

“Good. Let’s fly.”

Flying beside Rathe, she glanced back at the vampires,
who spread out and formed a defensively behind them. When they reached the
mansion, Simon placed himself protectively in front of the girls, relaxing when
she waved at him.

Rathe introduced Simon to Rand. “Simon, my
youngest brother.”

Offering his hand out to Rand, Simon grinned, “Welcome
to our home.”

Rand shook it. “Thank you. I’m Rand.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen others of
our kind.” Simon turned to introduce them to Lydia, when the girl with blue hair
gasped.

“You were human!”

Lydia smiled. “Yes, I survived the Change.”

“You did more than survive, you kept you soul.
Amazing.” The girl shyly held her hand out to Lydia. “My name is Lizzy.”

Headlights approaching had the vampires in
semi-circle, ready to fight.

“At ease,” Rathe ordered. “It’s Faeroes, my other
brother, and his wife, Anya.”

Several of the girls’ huddled together, chatting
excitedly about meeting the legendary Anya Romulas. Wanting to know why, she
didn’t have the chance to ask when the luxury car parked and Faeroes and Anya
climbed out. By their grim expressions, the news they bore wasn’t good.

“What's wrong?” Rathe approached his brother.

“We are hereby ordered to appear before the Elders
and defend our actions in killing members of the Damned. We are accused of willfully
sabotaging the peace treaty to start another vampire war.”

“Great.”

“Gets better. Those we know, who we’ve defended,
hell, protected, will not join us. They say our feud with Jarrod is a personal
one, not an epidemic of vampires losing their souls. Basically, they will not
risk angering the Elders, not even for us.”

Rand’s gray eyes flashed angrily. “We have killed
more than a hundred demon vamps in the last month, and that’s just hunting here,
in Southern California. Our allies have encountered the same across the United
States. We are severely outnumbered! Word is that Jarrod is ready to declare
war on the Borne.”

“Jarrod is no longer a threat to us,” Rathe replied
darkly, his eyes glittering chips of black ice. “I killed him.”

Shocked at the news of Jarrod's passing, they stilled
when Alexander and his men arrived. “The Damned!” Rand and his people drew
their weapons, running to attack them.

Flying over them, Rathe landed in front of Rand,
forcing him to stop. “Stay your weapons! Alexander Walker is
not
the enemy! He was misled, as were those
who follow him. Think you have been betrayed? Think you’ve suffered? Imagine
the nightmare he and his men have endured living amongst the Damned!”

She noticed there were only men with Alexander. “Weren’t
there any women who wanted to join us?”

“The Damned seek the women first, ensuring our
kind has no choice but to lose hope and turn demon.” He waved a hand at the
thirty men who had accompanied him. “We are the only ones left who have
possession of our souls. The others are lost.”

Placing his hand on Alexander’s broad shoulder, Rathe
said to those gathered around them, “We have enough to make our stand, to make
a difference.” Then he let out a deep sigh. “Faeroes, I leave tomorrow night
for New York and will meet with the Elders, to address their accusations.”

“We will go with you,” Faeroes declared. Simon
added he would, too.

“No, I go alone. You and Simon will be in charge
here.”

“Tough. We’re coming. No arguing with us,” Faeroes
said firmly, refusing to back down when Rathe glared at him. Simon wouldn’t
either.

“Fine. Next rising we leave.”

Protests erupted.
Alexander argued, “Rathe,
we need to go together, strength in numbers.”

“The Elders will consider it an act of war. If we,
three, go, we can perhaps make the Elders see how they’ve been wrong about the
Damned and the Laws.”

In the vampires’ minds, she saw they were convinced
Rathe and his brothers were dead men and the hope they had vanished. “Simon,
Rand, let's build a bonfire and get to know one another.” She urged Mina and
Kai to help them.

“Alexander, may we speak privately?”

“Yes. We need to talk.”

They walked to the cliff, away from the others.
Gazing out at the sea, feeling the cool spray on her face, it soothed her
frayed nerves. “Strange, isn’t?” She observed the quiet man beside her. “How I
remember you when I was a child and you stand here, having never aged.”

A fond smile broke his somberness. “I see the
child I saved and loved, yet, the woman before me has surpassed us all in her
wisdom and capacity for love.”

Blushing at his compliment, she asked, “Alexander,
why did Jarrod think I could bring his soul back? What is this prophecy he
spoke of?”

“I have a theory about that.” Alexander hesitated.
“I am uncomfortable in sharing because I do not want you to think me a man like
Jarrod.”

Wary, she asked, “What is your theory?”

“Raising you brought joy into my life, after years
of sorrow. My life had meaning.” He went silent for a moment. “Five years of
bliss until I learned that Jarrod was organizing the Damned. Then he summoned
me, proposing I become his second in command. I couldn’t refuse, not without
rousing his suspicion. So, I had Relle take you to a couple, who were her clan.
They agreed to raise you as their own. Then the Slayers found you.”

“In your dreams, I showed you the night Thomas and
Rose died, so you could see why I had to do what I did for you. Why I wanted to
protect you and your child from the monsters, Damned
and
Borne. I had to distance myself from
you, broke the blood bond we had, to protect you. I became the cold monster I’d
been before I met you. Until … until I saw Kai.”

It clicked his meaning when he asked her not to
think him like Jarrod. “My daughter?”

Hastily, he corrected, “No, not anything perverted
or sexual in nature. It was like an electric current had struck my heart, and I
could
feel
again. Do you
understand what I’m trying to convey?” Alexander implored to her, and she found
she did.

“I think I do. Whenever Jarrod spoke of Aidan, remembered
something about his brother, shared how much he missed him, I saw the Jarrod
before
he lost his soul. He thought it was
me who brought some of his lost humanity back, but it wasn’t me. It was
memories of his brother that was triggering it. Sadly, he never made the connection
and would not listen to me.”

“Huh, I never thought of it that way. Perhaps we
can save others who are close to turning by reminding them of
their
humanity?”

“Perhaps. There is another matter I must speak on.
I know my family has asked much of you already, but in truth, you are the only
one I trust to take care of what I love most in this world.”

“Ask me anything, and I shall see it done.”

“Swear you will protect Kai, even if it means
abandoning me?”

Alexander placed his hand on his heart. “I swear
to God, I will protect Kai with my immortal soul.”

“Good. Let us rejoin the others and see if we can
become a single fighting unit.” Observing Rand and his group, she was worried. “They’re
so young. How can we ask them to fight, if war is declared?”

He assured her as they walked back, “Rand and his
gang are good, very good, at hunting the Damned with their streetwise tactics.
They can hold their own against the Slayers, too.”

Glaring at him, Rand said, “Walker, I have a bone
to pick with you.”

Suspicious, he put his hand on his gun. “What's
that?”

Rand’s anger disappeared as he grinned broadly. “Where
do you find such cool clothes?”

Alexander’s men stared at Rand, confused until the
girls started giggling.

Relaxing, Alexander grinned back. “I will tell you,
only
if you impart your knowledge
how you hack into computers.”

“Deal.” Rand held out his hand, and Alexander took
it.

With the ice broken, they congregated round the
bonfire, talking until three shadows flew past them, and the new vampires landed
near the cliff. A stately vampire, dressed in an expensive, brown suit, his long,
silver-grey hair pulled back in a ponytail strode forth. He was followed by who
she assumed were his bodyguards.

“Rathe Romulas, have you lost what little sense
you had? Only the Elders have the official power to call a Borne meeting.”

Crossing his arms, Rathe gave the vampire a cold,
arched glare. “Fredrick, you dare come to my house and tell me what
I,
a Slayer, can do?” His entrancing voice deepened
with menace, black eyes glittered in barely suppressed anger.

Simon and Faeroes flanked Rathe. Fredrick stared
at the other vampires as they stood behind the Romulas brothers. “You plan to
overthrow the Elders!”

Outraged, Simon replied, “We plan no such thing!
All we want is to stop the madness and save people. If you hadn’t noticed, the
Damned are turning humans at an alarming rate, killing the Borne without
restraint, and no one is stopping them.”

Fredrick snapped back, “You lie! Since we signed the
peace treaty with Jarrod, there has only been peace!”

Alexander stood beside Simon. “Julius and the
Elders
allowed
Jarrod to distort the
teachings of the Borne vampires, giving him the opportunity to extract his
revenge.”

Fredrick looked as if he had seen a ghost. “Why
are you here? Where’s Jarrod? Does he know you’re here?”

“I and my men have recently learned we are not
Damned and no longer have allegiance to Jarrod.”

“You have a soul? How is this possible?”

“Long story. What matters now, we must help others
from turning Damned.”

“The Laws are in place to protect us. They do not
need modifying.”

She couldn’t believe it. Fredrick thought nothing was
wrong? “By your own laws, Alexander and others have been falsely accused of
becoming soulless. You gave the one thing Jarrod wanted most — the destruction
of our kind. If we don’t stop this, the Damned will overrun us, we and the
humans will be destroyed.”

“Mind your place, woman! You are undead, a thing
that should have been put down by these Slayers!”

“I am a not undead!”

“Mariah is Aidan Draco’s daughter,” Alexander said
quietly.

“What?” Fredrick’s nostrils flared, his fangs
dropped. “She is the half-breed child Jarrod searched for?”

“Yes, Mariah is his niece.”