Chapter Four.
Vladimir
“O h!” Eden exclaimed. “You shouldn’t be here!”
“Why not?” Drake demanded. “What are you hiding? What happened in the room behind us?”
“That’s none of your business,” Jacques replied. Annoyed, he caught our gazes. A tingle ran down my spine, and I guessed what Jacques was about to attempt.
He spotted the dagger in Lucian’s hands. “That is mine, I’ll take it back, thank you.”
“This is a very old relic,” Lucian said, and Jacques glared at him. Of course it was, it was his!
“You’ll return to your women and tell them you found nothing unusual. The noise you heard was the wind blowing through the building. It blew in through the windows,” Jacques ordered.
Interested, I watched as Jacques repeated his words. Drake hesitated and shook his head, but Jacques recited them a third time.
Drake spun on his heel and began walking off. Lucian seemed more resistant, forcing Jacques to enforce his order for a fourth time. Lucian turned away with a blank expression and followed Drake.
Jacques held my gaze. “Compulsion won’t work on you.”
“No. Let me guess, you’re a Kaltonian.”
Jacques cocked his head and didn’t say a word.
“Or do you prefer Atlantean?” Today, the word Kaltos, where Jacques had originated from, meant Atlantis. As in the lost city of Atlantis.
Jacques responded, “Try Vam’pir.”
“Indeed, well, Vam’pir, you can’t compel me,” I stated, relaxing.
Undeniably, I was more than a match for the creature in front of me, especially since I was older, stronger, and faster.
“No, apparently not, which is unfortunate,” Jacques murmured as Eden pressed in against his back.
“I’ve heard of you,” I said, keeping an outward appearance of being at ease, but deep down I was ready to pounce.
The three Sins I carried inside of me rose and warred with each other.
Bloodlust demanded I rip his throat out.
Self-Doubt sought to undermine my confidence, and Destruction tried to get me to destroy them both.
“Are you in control?” Jacques asked, and I knew he meant the Sins.
“Of course. Always am. Are you, Atlantean?”
Jacques smirked. “Naturally. I must say, how strange it is to meet the other person who birthed the Vampire race.”
“Yes, that’s a pickle. Both of us created offspring that became the Vampire race.”
“Well, Vladimir, your descendants are likely to be stronger than mine, but somehow I doubt it,” Jacques quipped as I nodded an agreement.
“Who is the original?” Eden asked, looking confused.
“Me,” Jacques and I spoke together, and I laughed.
“Both of us. I was the first to walk this earth, and my first children were alive before Jacques was even born. There is a difference. Mine all contain the essence of Bloodlust and therefore have a demon inside. They must feed nightly. Those from your line, Eden, can control their hunger and bloodlust, whereas mine can’t.
Mine are usually senseless creatures with just one goal in mind.
Feeding. Those from Atlantean lines can think and rationalise, and they retain their soul, however dark it might be,” I explained.
“That means they are a different race,” Eden said, considering my words.
“No. They, sadly, are the same. They have to feed to live, and they require blood to survive. Why are you here? I’m sure it’s not so we can compare notes,” I asked.
“An evil created by my people seeks to rise again. I’ve tracked it across the world before cornering it here. I will end what we failed to do before,” Jacques said.
I wondered whether to offer assistance and then shook my head. The Legendary Shifters understood we weren’t the only supernaturals around. The Vam’pirs hadn’t crossed our paths before, but we knew of them. Jacques didn’t need my help.
Content with my decision, I turned and began to walk away.
“Is that it? Commander Mir’ald Ula, leader of the Protectors of the Jar, Beloved of God?” Jacques called out, and Eden hissed.
“Attempting to provoke me is a mistake you’d not return from Jacques. I could easily destroy you both. But I’ve no wish to. Stay in your lane, Vam’pir, and vanquish the evil you seek,” I replied and kept walking.
I had no interest in taking out Jacques, and I had left Emmaline alone long enough.
Phoe
When Drake returned and offered his explanation, everyone accepted it, but he appeared a little dazed. Lucian too. They explained that Vladimir had gone to his room to fetch an item. But I knew Drake. There was something off. He smiled for reassurance, but even that seemed forced.
“Did something happen you don’t want to frighten the others over?” I murmured as I leaned into his body. I stood between his muscular thighs as Drake drew me close.
“No, babe. To be honest, I think this whole building has me a little unnerved.”
“Are you sure? You can talk to me,” I pushed, and Drake smiled.
“Know I can, babe. But honestly, everything is fine. I’m just unsettled. Nobody can deny this doesn’t have a spooky feel.”
“Okay,” I replied, but I wasn’t satisfied.
“Shall we explore?” Kate asked.
“No, Jacques and Eden weren’t lying about the other side of the mansion. The floors and ceilings have huge holes, and the walls have partially collapsed. It’s not safe,” Vladimir said, entering the kitchen. His gaze swept the room, and relief crossed his face when he spotted Emmaline with Clio.
“Well, the stew will simmer and doesn’t need constant watching. Shall we try to find the sitting room?” Maggie asked.
“Sure!” Rosie agreed.
We headed into the entrance hall, and Vladimir led the way to the other door that Eden and Jacques had pointed out to us.
“Damn, it’s only half-past five. It feels like we’ve been here for hours,” Sabine murmured to Daniel, who nodded.
“Time seems to drag here,” he agreed.
A forked flash of lightning made us all jump. Its silver rays of light haunted the inside of the mansion with rays of unnatural-feeling light.
“That storm isn’t lessening. Shouldn’t it have moved on or blown itself out by now?” James asked.
“Yeah, I’d have thought so,” Inglorious replied, looking out of the window.
James opened the door to the room Vladimir waved at and entered. “Wow,” he said.
I was next in line, and I stood amazed at the scene before me. There was no dust, cobwebs or dirt present. The room was spotless, and a fire blazed merrily in the hearth.
“Warmth!” Maggie cried and hurried over to it, holding her hands out.
“Considering the state of the rest of the house, this is unexpected,” Lucian said as he sat down on a couch.
“This is a cheerful room. It seems wrong compared to what we’ve seen,” I said, sitting next to Clio.
“Maybe Jacques and Eden cleaned the rooms they’d be using?” Emmaline suggested as she sat near the fire.
“Possibly. I still don’t like those two. They’re hiding something,” Chance stated. He eyed Drake, who gazed steadily back. “Are you sure you found nothing odd?”
“Certain. The wind was blowing through a loose board over a window, and creating the howling noise,” Drake said.
I frowned. There was something off in his statement, but I couldn’t figure out what.
“What about the scream?” Rosie asked.
“Same again, honey, the wind,” Drake replied, offering a warm smile.
No, that made little sense. The penny dropped.
How the hell would Drake know it was the wind when there had been no further howls after they left?
For Drake to believe it was the wind, he’d have had to have heard or seen the wind blowing through the board.
But as there’d been nothing but silence, how could Drake be so certain?
I opened my mouth to confront him and then shut it.
Something really weird was happening in this house, and I’d no idea what.
I didn’t need Drake getting agitated, plus it wasn’t my place to challenge him in public.
Not if he was trying to protect everyone.
Drake appeared relaxed, but I was unsure if that was on purpose to settle the others or if he really was.
We were discussing children and the antics they got up to when Inglorious, Nanci, and James volunteered to get the huge coffee pot we’d found. Moments after they left, a loud crash came from outside, and we jumped to our feet and rushed into the entrance hall.
James
I heard a creak and turned around as we crossed the floor towards the kitchen. Clio had unearthed several of those industrial coffee pots. All we needed to do was fill it with water and bring back mugs, sugar, and milk.
A second noise echoed through the hall. This one sounded more like a snap, and I glanced up just in time to see the links on the chandelier towering above us break.
Instincts kicked in, and I leapt at Inglorious and Nanci, shoving them out of the way and knocking them down.
Nanci screamed and hit the floor as the chandelier crashed to where we’d been walking. Something hit my foot hard at the same time, and I cried out as sharp pain flooded through me.
Voices filled the entrance hall as the others rushed out. Hurt, I flipped onto my back and shoved upwards, staring at the smashed glass surrounding us.
“James!” Kate screamed and rushed towards me.
“Mind the glass!” I warned. Kate picked her way around it and knelt beside me.
“Are you injured?”
“My foot,” I gritted out. Drake and Calamity appeared, shaking their heads.
“It’s pinned down and twisted in the frame. We’re going to try to lift it off you. Kate, can you wriggle his foot free?” Drake asked.
Kate nodded and moved to my feet.
“On three,” Drake said to Calamity. He counted down, and they both heaved.
“Fuck, that’s heavy,” Calamity gasped.
“Chance, Inglorious, we need you,” Drake stated.
The four of them lifted the weighty bronze chandelier, and Kate yanked my foot out.
I hissed in pain.
“Should we take his boot off?” Kate asked as she patted my thigh absentmindedly.
“Gonna have to. Let’s get James comfortable, and then we can find out what the fuck happened!” Chance said.
They pulled me to my feet, and my ankle gave way. “Shit, I think it’s bruised.”
“Can you walk?”