Thunderstorm, p.10
Thunderstorm, page 10
“I’m coming with you,” she asserted.
I stared at her shortly. She had what it took to do well. If I told her no, she would chase after me anyway. Essence had a bit of my power from when I had transformed her. She would be able to hold her own if she came along.
“All right. The car is waiting.”
She was my life and my love and when nothing else mattered, she did. I wanted nothing more than to have her at my side.
I opened the door and went downstairs. She was right with me.
“Are you going down there now?” Legend questioned as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
I stared at him as Mirage stuck firmly by his side. The violet lace dress that she was wearing made her violet eyes even more vibrant. One thing was for certain; she refused to leave his side. We never saw Legend alone since she got here. Legend hadn’t said anything about when they were going to get married, but looking at them, they had already bonded. It was his life and I had other things to worry about.
“Yes, Essence and I are going to check things out.”
“Do you need me to come?” Legend asked.
“No. We won’t be long.”
“Wait,” Ulysses said as he jogged down the stairs. “If you’re going to the Club, I need to go with you.”
Rain looked at Ulysses up and down. “This is not a trip to go and play, Ulysses. I’m going to handle business.”
“We have to do this together. The Ravens are deep in number and there is no way you can take them alone. I have to come.”
“He’s right,” Mirage spoke up. “Ulysses has to go.”
This day would come. The day, when Ulysses would be ready for his crown, was upon me. I could’ve yelled, screamed, and told him to stay back, but the Ravens would be too much for me to handle on my own. I clenched my teeth together and replied, “Let’s go.”
As much as I dreaded this day, I was going to have to face it.
We proceeded quickly to the limo. We were in the back and the door was closed. As the car pulled around the circular driveway, I stared out of the tinted window at the night. I chose to be silent and they didn’t try to break it up. My thoughts were too heavy. Not only was I thinking about a way to stop this madness with the Ravens, but also I was thinking about what life would be like with Ulysses on the throne.
I felt he wasn’t ready, but tonight, he was going to have to prove it to me.
We arrived momentarily and got out of the car. The driver parked the car on the other side of the alley and waited for us. We stood in line and waited to be let inside. Once inside, the energy immediately felt different. The music was blasting so loud that it made my sensitive ears ache a little. It had been a long time since I’d been in a club, but the music seemed to be extra loud. It was crowded and full of those pathetic creatures, dancing and jumping around. Ravens.
I still couldn’t believe that there were so many of them, but when vampires lose themselves, they are so lost that they become heartless and rebel. Nothing is on their minds except to kill. Essence nearly became one during her Newborn stage. I was glad she came to her senses. I noticed the way she had her nose turned up at them.
Ulysses stared around the room bravely. Purebloods were born with many gifts. He could destroy everyone in here with the lift of his finger. He could rip their hearts from their chests in a blink of an eye. The disgusted look on his face let me know that he didn’t approve either.
I looked back around the club. Everyone was doing different things. A woman was dancing wildly on the bar. A live band was on the stage, giving a rock performance. Those that weren’t getting a drink at the bar were dancing to the band.
I noticed a vampire sitting coolly in the VIP area. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and a muscular body.
“Stay right here,” I told Essence and Ulysses.
They did what I told them as I walked over to the VIP. His eyes landed on me and a smirk appeared on his face. He signaled for his men to let me in. I observed the two men carefully and walked on the other side of the ropes.
“Ah, King Rain, what brings you here?” he asked.
“You know why I’m here.”
His eyes darkened, turning to a dark blue as he stood up from the couch. “You came to tell me that every vampire would be free to do as they please?”
I put my hand around his neck and squeezed until he began to lift off his feet. “Of course not. I’m here to let you know that your days of ruling the Ravens are over.”
Claude had a look of surprise on his face at how strong I was. I kept squeezing. One of his men stabbed me in my back. I lost my grip around his neck and he fled. The men fled with him and disappeared somewhere in the club. I removed the dagger and threw it on the ground. Essence and Ulysses rushed to me.
“They went upstairs,” Ulysses said.
We eased through the crowd that kept right on dancing with the band. We went upstairs, and then went right and then left. Things had changed so much that I wasn’t sure I would be able to find my way along the corridors as the wound in my back healed.
Something stopped me in my tracks. I felt something was wrong in my gut. I could smell my sister’s scent and it was strong. It was the scent of her blood. Azura was dying.
Ulysses said, “Azura’s in trouble.”
“She’s in one of these rooms,” I said.
CHAPTER 18
LEGEND
“This isn’t right!” Onyx shouted as he slammed his hands on the round table. “You and I should be down there with them!”
Onyx’s chest heaved in and out. Soleil tried to comfort him by putting her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away. He wanted to protect Ulysses more than anything and he would be upset if something happened to him.
MiMi spoke delicately. “Onyx, your son is a Pureblood. He will make sure that they all will return in one piece. I assure you that.”
I frowned once I realized I hadn’t seen our sister since earlier.
“Where’s Azura?” I asked. “Is she in her room?” I went up the stairs and down the hall to find her bedroom was empty. She wasn’t there. I returned to the table. “She’s gone.”
“I hope she didn’t go down to Vaisseau,” Soleil said. “Does Rain know she’s there?”
“If he didn’t know when he left, he’s about to find out,” Onyx said. “So what do we do? Wait here until they return?”
“That’s all we can do. Rain wanted us to stay here,” I answered.
MiMi walked over to the window and stared out at the dark sky. Thunder lit up the sky.
“A huge storm is coming,” she said.
Whenever a storm came, it always connected to Rain’s strong emotions. This was going to be it. Rain was going to end the Ravens’ reign.
CHAPTER 19
ESSENCE
After opening nearly every door on the top floor of Vaisseau, every room was empty as if Claude had warned them that we were there. We came to the door that used to be the office. I could smell the scent of Azura’s blood intensified as we stood outside it.
“She’s in here,” I said. “I can smell her.”
Rain tried the door, but it was locked. He kicked it down and barged inside. No one was inside, but Azura’s limp body was chained to the wall. Her head was hanging to the side. A massive amount of her blood was like a pool under her feet.
I gasped at the sight of her. Rain was at Azura’s side in a flash. As he lifted her chin, we could clearly see that all her life had been drained from her. Tears emerged from Rain’s eyes and he shouted, “Fuck! We’re too late.”
Ulysses balled up his fists angrily and I couldn’t hold in my own cries. Claude had killed her. Rain broke her chains to release her. Azura rested in his arms.
He caressed her hair as he cried, “My dear sister . . . My dear sister . . . Essence, you must get her home. I want you to take her home!”
I wept as I responded, “All right.”
I took Azura from him and tossed her over my shoulder. Instead of going out the front door, I jumped out of the window and landed on my feet. I didn’t want to have to fight on my way out. I ran around to the front of the club where the limo was waiting. I slid Azura’s body inside.
“Take us home,” I said to the driver.
I held Azura close to me as we rode back. It seemed like such a long ride. I could only imagine the rage Rain was feeling. I, too, wanted to kill Claude. I wept for Azura. As I stared down at her motionless face, I could only imagine what kind of torture it was to feel her blood leave her body.
Once we arrived home, I carried her out of the car and into the house.
“Legend! Onyx!” I shouted as I laid Azura down in the middle of the floor.
Everyone came rushing into the room.
“What happened to her?” Soleil asked as she gasped.
Fresh tears emerged from my eyes. “She’s dead . . . Claude . . . He killed her . . . She bled to death.”
Legend knelt down by his sister with a look of anguish. Soleil wrapped herself in Onyx’s arms as they cried together.
“Where are Ulysses and Rain?” Legend asked.
“They’re still there. Claude disappeared, so they’re going to find him.”
“I need to go down there!” Onyx asserted angrily.
“If you go, I’m coming with you,” Legend said, rising to his feet.
None of us was going to stop them. We wanted revenge for Azura’s death. They left the Château, leaving Mirage, Soleil, and me alone with Azura’s body.
“I can’t believe this . . .” I sniffled.
“When my brother, Evan, was murdered, I felt this pain that I can’t describe.” Mirage knelt down beside me and said, “Being a vampire was something you never wanted . . . But, it brought you a family you always needed.”
I hadn’t thought of that. I struggled with accepting this life, mainly because I missed being human. When I was human, I had no family. My mom and dad gave me up for adoption and I didn’t know the first place to look to find them. The only motherly figure I had was Joanne. Mirage was right. I now had a husband, brothers, sisters, and a nephew. They embraced me and loved me. I was their family and they were mine. That was something that I needed to hear.
I nodded as I picked up Azura’s limp hand. “Thank you, Mirage.”
It was time for me to move past my pain at no longer being mortal. Soleil took Azura’s other hand in hers as she wept silently.
“You’re welcome.” Mirage rubbed my shoulder and said, “Azura will always be with us.”
I kissed Azura’s forehead and we waited for the family to return.
CHAPTER 20
ULYSSES
When we came down the stairs, we noticed the club was nearly empty. We stood in the middle of the dance floor. There was no bartender and no band playing. A few more people were leaving as if someone told them to get out and to get out fast. We heard a loud click of the front door once the last person was out. Without the bodies in the club, the atmosphere turned cold. I looked over at Rain. He was waiting to see how many of them would appear. The Ravens were still inside. We could hear them moving around.
We heard a single pair of loud footsteps echoing as he walked through the door to the main floor of the club. As he walked toward us, his eyes didn’t shift nor did he blink. He stood a few feet away from us, very still like a pale statue.
“Claude,” Rain said, breaking the deafening silence.
“Rain,” he muttered through his clenched jaw.
“Why’d you kill my sister?”
“Because I needed your attention, Rain!” he yelled.
I balled up my fist as soon as those words escaped his mouth. Rain put his hand in front of my chest to stop me from pouncing on him. Ten other Ravens came from out the shadows. Some were standing above us while the others surrounded us. They didn’t come too close, but it was close enough to let us know that we were out-numbered.
“Now that I’m here, now what?” Rain asked calmly.
“I’ll let the both of you leave untouched if you leave right now. What we are doing is unavoidable and unstoppable,” he replied in a gentler tone. “That’s something you’re going to have to deal with.”
“As your King, you are ordered to stop.”
“As my King?” Claude chuckled. “That’s funny. The Ravens have no King. We follow no rules, ain’t that right?”
His brood verbally agreed. I had instant thoughts of how I was going to kill each one of them. I didn’t know what Uncle Rain was thinking about doing, but I wasn’t going to walk out of there peacefully. They were going to die.
The way Claude’s devilish grin was carved into his face and how his black hair was plastered in front of his face as his eyes peeked through it made me want to rip his head off.
“I have to say, I expected you to come down because of what I’ve done to your sister. You know I didn’t have to kidnap her. She came to me and I fucked her so hard before I ended her life. She couldn’t stay away from me.”
I hated the gloat in his voice. Uncle Rain apparently did, too, because he charged at Claude. They exchanged blows, punching one another viciously. I almost thought of stepping in, but Rain was handling him. Claude tried to step sideways as if he had predicted Rain’s next blow, but he stumbled. Rain grabbed him by his neck and threw him across the room. Claude’s body slammed into the wall causing the brick to crumble.
Claude looked up with raging eyes. He stood up on his feet quickly. He signaled to the Ravens to step in for him. Some jumped down from the stairs and started charging us with their fists. A surge of anger came from the tip of my toes up to the top of my head in a flash. Thunder sounded and shook the whole club. It felt like an earthquake. That didn’t stop me. The Ravens looked around with confusion. Rain looked around at how the chandeliers were shaking and pieces of the ceiling fell.
I put up my hands toward a group of them and a full force of what looked like the wind left my body. I froze them in their tracks.
I had no idea I could freeze anybody. The Ravens stared in shock. I didn’t act as if I was surprised by what happened. I did it again and froze the rest of them.
Claude immediately tried to run.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
With his back turned away from me, I froze his ass too.
We listened and the building stopped shaking. All was quiet. We could hear no other sounds. I looked over at my uncle.
“Did you know I could do that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I had no idea. Pretty impressive there, nephew.” He walked around one of the Ravens and observed them. He used one of his fingers to tap on it. “They’re still alive under that ice. Once they thaw, it will be like nothing changed.”
I had an idea. “I can fix that.” I went to the first frozen statue of one of the Ravens and I punched through the hard ice and reached into his chest. I ripped out his heart, tossing it onto the floor. “He’s dead now.”
I proceeded to do that to the others while Rain kicked off some of their frozen heads.
Before we could get to Claude, we heard banging on the door. Together, we walked over to check things out. Opening the door cautiously, Legend and my dad walked in with daggers in their hands.
“Y’all all right?” Legend asked.
“Yeah, everyone is dead. We still have Claude left.”
They walked in to see the massacre of frozen bodies and dismembered heads.
“Goddamn. Their body parts are frozen?” Onyx said. “How’d that happen?”
“Ulysses, here, has the gift of freezing apparently,” Rain said.
“Damn. Well, all right,” my dad stated.
“Go ahead and finish off Claude, Ulysses. We aren’t leaving him alive.”
I walked up to Claude’s hard statue and I was more than glad to be the one to take him out. This was for my aunt. I punched through his frozen body and ripped out his heart. I threw it on the ground.
“Anybody left?” Legend asked while looking around.
“I think this is it,” I said. “If they are any, they’ll be too afraid to do anything now. Their leader is dead.”
“What we going to do with the club?” Father asked.
“We’re taking it back over,” Rain declared. “To make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
I smiled. To know there would be a place where we could get out of the Palace to have a good time made me instantly happy. “I like that.”
“Sounds like someone is way too excited about that,” my dad stated. “But, I’m down. Soleil misses bartending.”
Legend added, “I’m in.”
Rain nodded. “Good. Come on, we must get home. We’ll come back to clean up this mess later.”
I left out of Vaisseau with my uncles and father. The rain was coming down so hard that it soaked our clothes as we ran to get into the limo.
• • •
We entered the Château and after walking down the corridor, we found Azura lying in the middle of the floor with Mirage, Essence, and Soleil sitting around her.
“I’ll be right back,” Uncle Rain said as he went up the stairs.
My mother came to me and hugged me. She was glad to see that I had made it in one piece. Then she went to hug my father. Legend held Mirage’s hand.
“What happened? You guys are soaking wet,” Essence asked.
“It’s a thunderstorm outside,” I said. “The rain is coming down really hard. Did you feel the earthquake?”
“What earthquake?” Legend asked.
They all looked confused. It dawned on me that my anger caused the building to shake like that. No one else felt it but the ones that were inside the club. My strength was greater than I thought.
Onyx said, “When Rain gets angry, he can make a storm happen. I guess with the two of you together, it created a thunderstorm.”
“Oh,” I replied.
