Transfusion (Transfusion Saga #1)

Chapter 2

Final Whispers in the Air

Finding Sophia that evening in my study lounging on one of the sofas was like finding a contented cat licking the cream off its paws.

She was looking at her nails as if reminiscing about the last time they were used to kill something.

It had to be said, that she was as beautiful as she was deadly.

Gods, but I would have felt sorry for her husband if he hadn’t been considered too much of a blessing for Vincent and I.

For he took the hellcat off our hands, figurately speaking. It didn’t bode well thinking back to a time when she was even worse than she was now and a brat we both adored, even when she was forcing us to loathe her at times.

But now, since Zagan came into her life, and far beyond all expectation managed to tame the beast, then at the very least she didn’t make our lives quite as difficult as she once had.

The Demon certainly loved her, there was little doubt of that.

But then again, he was also a brutal son of a bitch, so they certainly suited each other, and both Vincent and I couldn’t have chosen any better for her.

However, now he was nowhere in sight and I was left with the task of dealing with her.

And after the night I’d had, then let’s just say that my patience was likely to only stretch so far.

“Bad night?”

she asked as if homing in on my thoughts, ones that many a millennia ago had been blocked from her.

I rolled my eyes as I took my seat and snapped,

“What do you want, Sophia?”

I knew it was bad when I saw the demonic smile seep through that porcelain skin of hers, turning her features to a baked sandy complexion for a second.

Of course, she was beautiful to me no matter what side of herself was shown, the vessel or the mischievous demon that lay hidden beneath.

The trials and tribulations of being a big brother I’m afraid was one she seemed to enjoy toying with.

“Is that any way to greet your wonderful sister?”

she asked dramatically.

“I’m not sure, is it anyway to greet your equally wonderful brother by reminding him of the cause of his foul mood?”

I replied dryly making her laugh before saying,

“HA! I knew it, I knew you had been dreaming of her!”

she said clapping to herself and making me groan aloud after rubbing a frustrated hand through my hair.

“Not this again,”

I muttered knowing that she would hear me.

“Yes, this again…seriously Dom, do you even want to find her or…?”

This was when I hit my limit, and this was known when I hammered my fist down on my desk in anger, splitting the heavy wood.

However, she didn’t even flinch, and this left me questioning if I had lost my touch.

“Enough of this!”

I warned making her sigh before slapping her hands to her knees and getting up.

Then she walked over to my side of the desk with a grin I didn’t understand and after patting my cheek she said,

“You will thank me one day, brother…one day, very, very soon.”

I shook my head at her but before I could say a word she asked,

“Now come on, you can take me shopping.”

I frowned and told her,

“You have a husband for that.”

“Yes, but he is busy, and I cannot wait, besides Vince already told me you are on your way to the Forge,”

she said making me want to growl out my brother’s name.

“Fine, but I have business to attend to first,”

I told her, and she kissed my cheek and said,

“But of course, you do.”

Then with a knowing wink she left.

Now what by the Gods did she mean by that? I was still questioning this when I had dialed the number I needed and had started issuing orders.

“I am sorry, my Lord, but what exactly am I looking for?”

Ranka, one of my most loyal subjects, asked me and again I found myself rubbing a hand down my face, feeling as though I was losing a semblance of sanity just by asking this.

But it couldn’t be helped after the way I had felt when exiting the plane.

“I want you to check the passenger manifests for all incoming and outgoing flights at Portland international yesterday and get me a list of all passengers aged twenty-three and their details,”

I told her knowing that she was intelligent enough to know the reasons why without needing to be told.

Ranka had been with me since the beginning and was, as I said, as loyal as they came.

But she was also loyal to the cause and the Fates, so no matter what her own personal feelings maybe for me, her faith in the will of the Gods came above all else.

So, we both played our parts and did this silently.

Mine was to fake ignorance on her behalf and hers was to do her job without the cloud of emotion getting in the way.

And we had done this from the very beginning without question, which was why I wasn’t surprised when she replied,

“It will be done, my Lord.”

After this I ended the call and released a heavy sigh asking myself what was I even doing? I knew the chances of finding what I was looking for just through a ‘feeling’ was unlikely.

But then with an average of 180,000 girls being born a year and no more than 16% being naturally blonde that still left me with 28,800 possibilities to search through.

Yes, I had done the maths, many times in fact, which was as far as my obsession would often take me.

And like now, those odds seemed to be in the hundreds which was worth a look considering how strong my reaction had been when stepping from that plane.

And as much as I hated to admit to it, Sophia had been right.

My dreams of her had started once again and this time, there was more than just a hand for me to see…

I opened my eyes the second I heard her soft cries battling against the sound of a storm overhead.

The moment my eyes focused I knew it was a dream as I was in what was known as a Void.

It was a name given to a projected endless world that we sometimes used as a tool for newborns of our kind.

It was a safe environment for them to express their powers and test the limits of their minds without harming others or their new vessels.

A kind of state of mind if you will, but for some, like myself it can also be a manifestation of someone else’s dream. Someone linked to your soul who is reaching out to you the only way their subconscious knows how. So, waking up within my own mind and finding myself in the void only meant one thing,

My Chosen One was sharing her dream with me.

Or, from the sounds of it, more like a nightmare.

This made sense as in her unconscious but panicked state it would cause her natural reaction to kick in and the mere speck of supernatural ability in her would ignite and call out to what she considered her safe haven…

Me.

This had never happened before, so I knew the importance of such a moment, which was why I bolted upright a second after my eyes opened.

Because that small and tiniest amount of power within her would only have accomplished such a task if she were near.

Which meant that finally, we were at very least sleeping in the same state as each other…she was close.

I got up from my bed still half-dressed from the night before and that was when I saw it.

The mirror was back and the crack in the glass stone was still at its centre.

But now, instead of it being as black as night, it was clear as water and the picture it showed me was one that I had been asking the Gods to show me for years.

It was finally her.

I swear just the sight of her made me stagger towards the mirror as though I could barely get my own limbs to work in sync with each other.

The sight rendered me incapable of anything more than one step at a time until I was at the glass.

And once there I could see a blonde beauty running scared through a wood and caught in a downpour produced by the storm that raged directly above.

Her skin was drenched and alabaster white as she shook in the cold.

She was wearing no doubt what she had gone to bed wearing, meaning she must have been too exhausted to change from jeans and a long sleeved T shirt that was currently plastered to her shivering body.

I couldn’t help but take in each factor ending in aiding my growing concern for her wellbeing and the obvious display of fear that was mounting.

But my demon side, well such a sight only ended up adding to my growing arousal the second I took in not only her startling beauty but also her delicious curves that pleased me greatly, knowing that indeed, she was all woman.

But her face was still mainly in shadow as she ran, half looking behind her at the mounting danger.

I looked beyond her at what she saw and growled so low and threatening that the cracks on the glass started to branch out.

How dare they hunt what was mine to capture!

I watched as she started to slip on the muddy ground as twigs and branches tore at her clothes.

Then I saw a familiar sight in the night sky and whistled too low for my Chosen One to hear but it was a call my faithful pet would hear anywhere.

Ava swooped low and bellowed out to threaten all that would want to harm my girl, warning them to fall back for I was coming.

However, the second Ava did this the girl dropped to the floor and covered her head in fear as if this hadn’t been her first encounter with my pet, making me wonder if Ava hadn’t in fact gone and found my beauty first?

“I want to go home.”

The sweet and fearful first sounds of her voice drew me in like a moth to the eternal flame and I slapped a hand to the glass, unintentionally creating a purple energy to project outwards in a sphere of light.

I watched as she looked up at it, obviously only seeing the light and not the reason behind it.

I decided to use this to my advantage because if I was unable to go to her then maybe this way I could get her to come to me.

For it was possible that that was the only way this would work, as after all, the Fates had stated as such, so it was time to test the theory.

Which was why I decided to concentrate even more of my powers to my hand, forcing the light to grow and pulsate as if calling her towards it.

She looked behind her to see that the creatures in the darkness had now started to retreat fully, knowing exactly what I was capable of and now each fearing for their manifested lives.

She sucked in a startled breath now she could see just how many beasts there had been lurking in the shadows and just waiting to make a meal out of her.

It made me wonder where in her mind she had conjured up such Hellish creatures for she couldn’t possibly have known that they were in fact real.

Whether real or not, I knew that no threat other than her very real fear could befall upon her.

For if any had taken the chance to lunge at her then she would have merely awoken far sooner than I would have liked, which was why I intervened in taking control of her dream and those creatures in it.

I couldn’t chance this ending now, not when I was so close to touching her, for the second I did, then I knew the connection would be cemented between us and my chance at finding her would be greatly increased.

Eventually she bravely rose from her knees and started to inch forward now examining the light more closely.

Her face was bathed in purple light barely making it possibly for me to see her features clearly and this made me frustrated enough that the purple light only intensified.

This was when she stopped moving and I felt my hand curl into a fist by my side in annoyance.

“Come to me,”

I told her, hoping that my voice would be heard.

The second her large eyes widened further, a pair that looked as purple as mine did thanks to the light, her feet also started to move once more.

“Yes, come to me…”

I started to tell her now using the power in my voice to beckon her closer and I was unable to help myself when I declared,

“…You belong to me.”

I knew it was working the second I saw her mouth the soundless word ‘yes’ in return as if she was drugged, unable to fight my strength and control on her will.

It should have been wrong, but I didn’t care.

For I had to have her at all costs.

I had to touch her, at least once to secure the connection before once again she was lost to me.

So, the second I saw her reach out and hold her hand so close to my own beyond the light and imprisoned cruelly behind the glass she couldn’t see, I pushed once more, only this time not only cracking her will but with it finally something else…

“Yes…be mine…Electus…the chosen girl…My Chosen One.”

The second the declaration was made my hand finally pushed through the glass as it didn’t just shatter, it evaporated! Meaning that I could at last grab what was mine to take.

I took hold of her arm and before she could escape me I quickly pulled her forward.

She fell a step into my embrace and the second I felt her trembling frame against my chest I wrapped my arms around her, banding her in my flesh and taking her as my prisoner.

The purple light diminished from my hand and quickly started to plunge us both into darkness.

I could feel her slight body fit perfectly into my own as I held her to me with absolutely no intentions of letting her go again.

This was it, the moment I had been waiting for so long now, it had long ago started to feel like an impossible dream.

But then she started to move as if testing the strength of my hold and forcing me to prove that I wasn’t about to let her go.

So, my arms tightened possessively, and I couldn’t help the snarled demand slip through my lips,

“Mine!”

However, the second I did something happened that I couldn’t have possibly foreseen for the first had been like a prayer answered, one swiftly followed by the cruelest of endings as first she whispered back,

“Yes.”

Then, the second that sweet acceptance was uttered from lips I still couldn’t see, I felt my arms fall through her as she suddenly disappeared from my hold.

She was gone and somewhere in the world next to mine she had awoken.

I too awoke but did so with what felt like my whole kingdom knowing the sheer force of my fury when I did.

As I roared out into the night with enough force that it shattered the glass doors opposite my bed and caused some of the balcony to crumble into the gorge below.

Hence my foul mood the next day.

This had been made even worse when the reality hit me that I wasn’t as connected with her as I had made myself believe would happen, for I didn’t wake knowing where she was as I thought I would.

I couldn’t feel her presence, nor could I access her mind to find where she would be.

No, instead all I had was a shadowed image in my mind of a girl I knew couldn’t have been that far away.

So, needless to say, my patience for Sophia’s antics had long run dry.

And with the feeling of the girl’s body still imprinted beneath my fingertips, then I was unsure I would even last the day without destroying something in my home.

My desk included.

“Oh, you can just drop me off at the mall in town and pick me up later on your way back...Dom?”

I heard my sister talking just after we passed a car coming in the opposite direction that for some reason took all of my attention.

To the point where my head turned fully to watch as our paths crossed.

I suddenly wanted to turn the car around and follow it, but my sister’s voice had already given me the excuse to do just that.

I watched until it went out of sight and then gave the driver his new orders and I did all of this before I even questioned why.

“You’re not coming to Portland?”

I asked once I was assured we were once again following the car, only feeling myself relax the moment I could see it barely ahead in the distance.

Whoever was behind the wheel certainly was a little heavy on the accelerator that was for sure.

“No, I thought it better to try something more local this time,”

she said nonchalantly, making me raise a brow at her in question.

“What?!”

she snapped making me shake my head at her.

“I know not what you are up to, Sophia, but I can tell you now that it won’t end well,”

I warned making her laugh.

“What makes you say that? For all you know I could just fancy a change for once,”

she said, this time making me laugh in disbelief and in turn she folded her arms in defense.

“Because I know you and have long been funding your expensive tastes, tastes I shall remind you don’t tend to lean towards shops found in some small-town mall that is void of a single designer label.”

She shrugged and said,

“Everyone can change.”

At this I couldn’t help but smirk to myself and found myself ending the conversation by saying,

“We shall see.”

Shortly after dropping Sophia off to cause mischief I continued on towards the Forge, a nightclub exclusively for our kind.

It was situated in a set of old warehouses I owned and was run and co-owned by my good and loyal friend Leivic.

But right now, I could barely understand the urge I continued to feel which was to simply have the car turned around and make my way back to Evergreen Falls.

I had been annoyed when dropping Sophia off to find that I was too late in seeing for myself who had been in the car ahead of us.

“My Lord?”

The sound of my driver’s voice shook me from my thoughts and I looked up to see we were at the security gate.

“Change of plans, Fredrick, back to Evergreen,”

I told him without much cause other than a gut feeling.

“Very well, my Lord,”

was his reply before the privacy screen rose once more leaving me to contemplate my actions.

I knew why I was acting out of character and it was all down to that dream.

By the Gods but I swear I could still see the ghost of her image in the reflection of the glass I looked out of now.

I didn’t know whether I wanted to hammer a fist through the glass or reach out and caress the invisible memory with the back of my fingers.

Doing so just in case there was a possibility she could feel such a touch through the connection I allowed myself to hope for.

I couldn’t wait any longer so took my phone out of my pocket and instead of calling Leivic to cancel our meeting, I found myself calling Ranka.

“Do you have any results?”

I asked in a brisk tone that no doubt told her of my mood.

“I do, my Lord but with so many passengers, I am trying to narrow it down to, well…to…”

“Natural blondes,”

I finished off for her as she knew well enough why I had suddenly rejected all fair-haired beauties in my Harem.

“Just send me what you have, Ranka,”

I told her knowing the list would no doubt be long but now at least I was sure to reconise her…wouldn’t I? Doubting myself wasn’t common practice for me, so the unknown feeling was as distasteful as it was foreign.

“Yes, of course, my Lord.”

“And Ranka, cancel my meeting with Leivic.”

I knew the moment I said this she would find it odd but thankfully she also knew not to comment.

After acknowledging the order, I hung up to find only moments later I was to spend the hour back to Evergreen scrolling through the list of hundreds of female passport pictures Ranka had managed to acquire.

They were all aged twenty-three as requested and were blonde but by the time I made it back to the small-town shopping mall to pick Sophia up, not one single girl had been her.

However, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find Sophia stood waiting next to the car we had been following but what did surprise me was the hooded jacket she was now wearing.

To say that it wasn’t exactly my sister’s usual type of attire was an understatement.

We pulled up alongside the vehicle and I waited until she was sat next to me with the door closed before turning to face her.

“What?”

she asked making me nod at her jacket that had a large black hood that still covered half of her face.

“Another change?”

I asked in a knowing tone making her shrug her shoulders which wasn’t good enough for me.

“Sophia, I don’t know what it is you…”

I started to speak but then suddenly my vision started to waver as the brightest light erupted from outside the car.

My hand shot out to hold myself steady even though I was sitting down, and I frowned through the blinding glare.

“Dom?”

I heard my sister’s voice reach me through the fog and I would have sworn that the sun itself had just fallen from the sky.

I felt my demon growling at me just as much as my angel was trying to aid me in making sense of the intensity of it all.

“Drive on, Fredrick,”

I heard Sophia say in surprising calm as if she knew what this was.

And it was soon discovered that she did considering the moment the car had pulled away and created some distance from the incident the light began to fade.

“Better?”

my sister asked of me, bending slightly as I was currently bent over with my head in my hands trying to rid myself of this feeling.

“What…what was that?”

I asked still from my vulnerable position and glad that it had only been my sister in the car to witness it.

This was when I finally managed to open my eyes and I did so just in time to see Sophia place a hand to the window and whisper her answer…

“A lesson learned.”