Thunderstorm, p.8
Thunderstorm, page 8
“That’s what I keep telling him.”
We rushed out of the Château.
“I’ll drive,” I said.
We headed to the garage to get one of the cars.
CHAPTER 12
ULYSSES
I sensed something warm against my cold flesh. I wasn’t used to waking up to having something warm in the bed next to me, but I think I liked it. Matter of fact, I loved every moment of it. She snuggled up against me and made me feel warmer. Her hands rubbed my back, up and down, and this feeling came over me. What was this? Was this what love felt like?
I wondered if my cold skin felt too cold to her, but she didn’t seem to mind as she snuggled closer, placing her face into my chest. I could feel her warm breath as she breathed in and out. I slowly opened my eyes to see Nicole wrapping her arms around me tightly as if she didn’t want me to escape from her.
By now, everyone was probably looking for me. I realized how long I had been gone. I wanted to stay awhile longer, but Rain probably wanted my head on a stake.
“What time is it?” I asked her.
She looked at her clock on the nightstand. “It’s five thirty.”
“In the evening?”
“Yeah.”
“I slept that long?”
“Yeah. I got up and had breakfast and lunch without you.” She giggled.
“Damn. I should be leaving now,” I said.
She groaned, “Noooo.”
“I gotta get back home.”
Removing her head from my chest, she stared up into my eyes. “I keep forgetting you have royal duties. It must be nice to be a Prince.”
“Not really.” I eased out of her arms and out of the bed.
While I dressed, she wrapped the white sheet around her body to cover up. She observed me with a naughty grin on her face. A part of me wanted to wrestle her and pin her down on that bed, but that would only make it harder for me to leave. Once I was fully dressed, she came to me.
Nicole hadn’t put back on her necklace that she used to prevent vampires from controlling her mind. She wanted to show me that she trusted me not to manipulate her. I pulled her to me for one last kiss before leaving.
“Will I see you again?” she asked.
“You’ll see me again,” I assured. “If that’s what you want.”
“That is what I want.”
“Good. Be careful when you go out. The Ravens are dangerous and they will kill you. Might be a good idea to wear your necklace at all times.”
I had told her all about the Ravens. I also told her to keep it to herself. She promised me she would. I believed her. She had no reason to lie to me.
“All right. I will. Call me sometimes,” she said.
“Wait, I don’t have your number.” I took my phone out of my pocket and turned it back on.
All kinds of voicemails and text messages from my mom and dad immediately notified me. I ignored it and as she gave me her phone number, I saved it.
“I got you locked in now.” I smiled down at her.
She smiled back. We kissed again and I left out the front door of her apartment.
I walked through the busy streets of the city. The sun was still up and I could enjoy the warmth of the sunrays. The sun wouldn’t go down for another two hours, but it still felt good to catch it while it was still up. As I walked around, I observed humans until it was nearly dark.
Humans fascinated me. I wondered what it was like to be like them. I was in no rush to get back home. I didn’t care. It was so boring there since I couldn’t entertain company. What else was I supposed to do? There was so much more life on the outside. I imagined being human, going about everyday life without having to hide in the shadows of a vampire kingdom. What did it feel like to grow old? What did it feel like to have such freedom?
To be free away from Pigalle Palace was something I liked to do. I wanted to be one of the elite to have the blessing of possessing freedom. I wanted to do what I wanted, whenever I wanted, without caring about the consequence. I wanted to be in control of my life. Humans seemed to have that and I envied it.
I was about to cross the street when I saw an elderly woman with her walking stick in one hand and a bag of groceries in the other. She looked worn and weak as she struggled with the bag. She lost her grip on the bag and her groceries fell and spilled out into the street. An apple rolled away and fell into the sewer.
“Shit,” she cursed.
People kept walking, stepping over her groceries as if they didn’t see that she needed help. What kind of humans were they, too busy to help an elderly woman in need? That was shameful and interesting all at the same time.
I walked over to the old woman. I picked up her things and helped her out of the street.
“Here you go.”
She smiled at me and replied, “Thank you. Thank you so much, young man.”
“No problem. You close to home?”
“A block up. I’m trying to hurry. It’s not safe out here when the night falls. These crazy wolf attacks are happening lately at nightfall. I’m sure a strong man like you could kill a wolf with your bare hands.”
It wasn’t wolves that were leaving the city in fear. It was the Ravens. They were frightening the whole town. The look in her eyes was fear and sadness wrapped all into one and hit a place in my heart. Suddenly, I cared and I wanted to help the city. I didn’t care about the Ravens before I saw the look in that woman’s eyes. I realized I had to help my family make this city safe again. It was an emergency.
“I’ll walk you home.” I put her groceries back into her bag and carried it.
“That’s sweet of you. Thank you.”
We walked, made small talk about random things like her favorite TV shows and what she was going to make for dinner. It was a beautiful and short conversation. When we were outside her house, I took a few glances to make sure she was safe. It was a cozy brick home with a fenced-in garden. Everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you so much, dear. May God bless you and keep you from harm’s way,” she said.
I smiled at her. “No problem, you have a good night.”
“Can I trouble you again?”
“No problem. What do you need?”
“Can you help me inside? I can’t really see when it gets this dark out and looks like I forgot to turn on my lights.”
I wondered what she would’ve done if I hadn’t walked her home. I continued being a gentleman. I followed her to her front door. The house was warm and nicely decorated once inside. I turned on her lights and helped her take the groceries out the bag before I left. She tried to hand me some money when I was done, but I declined.
“Bless you,” she said.
“You have a good night.”
I walked out of her house and went back to the street. I suddenly felt my hunger rise. What was I going to eat? I didn’t want to go back home to eat, but there was no way I was going to hunt and feed on an innocent human. So, what else was I going to do? It wasn’t as if I could go to a vampire blood lab. I only heard stories about how Vaisseau had one available. I wished it were still up and running. If I were King, I would definitely want to make Club Vaisseau ours again.
I walked past a dark alleyway. Loud groans and shuffling echoed. The air wasn’t right. Someone was in trouble.
Entering the alleyway, I suddenly wished I hadn’t. What I saw boiled my blood. It was a female vampire sucking the life out of a little boy. He looked to be no older than ten years old. She must’ve been a Raven, I thought to myself. I felt my fangs emerge as I approached the redheaded vampire with long flowing hair. She was so busy feasting that she hadn’t noticed that I was behind her. I placed my hand on her shoulder. She pulled her fangs out of the human’s delicate neck and looked at me with fire in her eyes. My own eyes became fiery. The sight of the blood oozing out of the boy’s neck made my hunger intensify. The smell of his blood made my mouth water.
She dropped the boy and pushed me into the wall. I arched my back and moaned. She was strong. I used my strength to force her against the wall. Her nails met my back and dug in. I grabbed her hair roughly, exposing her neck. I jammed my fangs into her skin. I heard her groan in pain, but I ignored it as I snapped her neck. She fell to the ground with a loud thud. I walked over to the human boy to make sure he wasn’t dead. It was too late to save him. He was already gone.
I ran my hands down his pale cheeks. As the smell of his blood became more pungent, my hunger really started getting to me. He was already dead and his blood would spill out into the alley anyway. While his blood was still warm, I sank my fangs into his soft tender skin and drank what blood he had left inside of him.
A loud snap startling me echoed through the alleyway. I stood up and turned slowly to see my father and uncle Legend glaring at me as if I had lost my mind. I had sucked the blood of a lifeless young boy. Blood was all over my mouth and two bodies were resting at my feet.
I wiped my mouth and immediately started to explain, “It’s not what it looks like. This Raven killed him. It was too late to save his life and I was hungry so . . .”
“Do I look stupid to you? Rain will rip your heart out when he finds out,” my father said. “You had no business leaving the Palace in the first place!”
I wanted to run, but I hadn’t gained my strength up enough to run away from them. Not feeding for that many hours was my own fault. I had been caught up with Nicole and then I people-watched for far too long.
We heard another sound down the other side of the alley. We fled and headed home in a flash, undetectable by the human eye before waiting around to see who was there.
I was in a lot of trouble. How was I going to explain this to Uncle Rain if my own father didn’t believe me?
CHAPTER 13
ULYSSES
When we got back to the Château, the household was waiting for us in the grand room where Uncle Rain’s throne was. He was seated with Aunt Essence next to him. My mother, Aunt Azura, and an unfamiliar face were all glaring at me. I assumed she was the Prototype Legend had brought back from Antigua. Everyone seemed to be in a funk and I knew it was because I had disobeyed the Covenant once again.
“I found him in Paris, sucking the blood of a young boy,” my father explained.
Rain put up his hand. “Ulysses can speak for himself, Onyx.”
I cleared my throat. My father released his hold on my arm and went to my mother’s side.
“Speak, boy!” Rain demanded.
I felt insulted that he called me a boy. I was a grown-ass man.
I straightened up and held my head high. “I only went into Paris to visit a friend of mine. Since you made her leave the other night, I wanted to see her again. After my visit, on my way back home, I came face to face with a Raven in the alley killing this young boy. I fought her, but it was too late to save him. The boy was dead and I was hungry, so I drank his blood.”
Suddenly, Rain rose and walked over to me. He took his sword from his side and rammed it into my chest, missing my heart. I coughed out blood the deeper the sword went. I felt like I was dying as my insides began to burn. The sword had been dipped in silver. Though he couldn’t kill me because I was a Pureblood, he was making me feel the pain. The silver burned like hell.
He looked at me with disgust and asked, “How could you be so stupid?”
I glared at him, holding my chest. He removed the sword. I continued coughing. I looked down at my own blood as it splattered into my hand.
I gasped for air. “I didn’t kill him . . .”
“You must learn your place, boy. You are destined to be King one day. You don’t do stupid things like wandering around aimlessly in the city.” He stood over me and I tried to scoot away, but the pain in my chest was killing me. I felt my eyes water, yet I refused to cry. There was no way I was going to show him any more weakness. “You will do exactly as I say from now on. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to do something to you that I don’t want to do . . . I will behead you if I have to.”
My mother gasped before she quickly held her hand over her mouth. My father placed his arms around her. I looked over at my parents and realized my behavior was causing the family some problems that we didn’t need to have.
I managed to say, “Okay. I won’t do it again.”
“If I allow you to bring this woman into the Château to visit, will that keep you here?”
He was trying to compromise with me. He recognized that I had a weakness for a mortal, the way that he had. He saw in me what he saw in himself.
“Yes,” I replied.
Though that was my answer, I wasn’t absolutely sure that would work. What if I got bored with Nicole? Would he allow other mortal women to come see me? Would I be able to have my parties again?
“Get out of my sight. I don’t want to look at you any longer.”
I got up quickly as my wound began to heal. It was still causing me a lot of pain, so I clutched it tightly. I headed to my bedroom. As I settled onto my bed, a knock was on the door. Before I could answer, the door opened and my mother entered with two tall gold cups on a golden tray.
“Here, I brought you something,” she said with warmth in her tone. “You must be starving.”
My mother had been given the right name. Soleil, like the sun, was always so warm and caring. She was an excellent mother—the best anyone could ask for. She set the tray on the side of my bed. I was still hungry. Servants collected blood from donors and kept it in the Château. It wasn’t available to all the vampires. That blood was for the Royals. It was up to the vampires to get their own blood slaves. I felt that was another reason why the Ravens were doing whatever they wanted to get blood. They didn’t want to be bothered with blood slaves because they acted like mindless zombies.
“Thank you, Mother.”
She nodded. “You know I believe what you said earlier about what happened in that alley. You are not a monster. I raised you the right way. Rain knows you didn’t kill that boy, too. He wanted to show you that there would be consequences when you disobey him.”
I rubbed my sore chest, took a deep breath, and exhaled. “I understand.”
“We love you, but don’t let your curiosity get the best of you. Soon, the Ravens will be gone and you’ll be able to move around a little better. For now, you have to follow the rules.”
“All right,” I sighed.
“Were you with a woman?” I could tell she really didn’t want to ask that question, but she was my mother. Mothers worried about their sons when another woman was involved.
“Yes.”
“Are you falling in love with her?”
“It’s too soon to tell,” I replied. “I enjoy her company. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Be careful. Mortals have done nothing but bring problems to this family.” She placed a motherly kiss on my forehead before leaving me alone.
As I stared up at the ceiling, I thought about Nicole. Though I had left her a few moments ago, I was missing her already. I took my phone out of my pocket and I sent her a text.
I made it home safe.
Within seconds, she texted: Good. I was thinking about you.
I smiled to myself.
Another knock on the door halted me from replying to her.
“Come in!”
The Prototype with the lavender eyes walked in. I sat up and stared at her, wondering what she wanted. I thought maybe Legend was with her, but she was alone. She had come to my room alone. She saw the look of confusion on my face and began to speak.
“Ulysses, I came to introduce myself . . .” She stood at the door. “I’m Mirage Oleander and I’m . . .”
“A Prototype. The last living Prototype.” I eased off the bed and walked over to her. I shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mirage.”
“I see that you’ve done your homework.”
“No, not at all. The walls are too thin around here. I hear everything.”
“Ah, well, I was intrigued when I heard about you. You’re a Pureblood like your great-grandparents. Usually, a Pureblood can only come from two Prototypes . . . But, you . . . you were born to two ordinary vampires . . .”
I interrupted her, “I was born to two half-blooded vampires. I’m rare. I’ve heard this all my life. To keep it real, none of it means shit to me.”
“It should mean everything to you and I’m here to tell you why. When the first two Purebloods were born, Allemand and Christione, we discovered that they were more powerful than Prototypes. As the two of them grew rapidly, we saw the most incredible things. Not only could they move objects with the lift of their fingers, but they were also Daywalkers. That was something we couldn’t do and it was like some sort of miracle that they could. We were cursed by the Night and they weren’t. For that, we crowned Allemand once he married Christione. This was our first royal family. They gave birth to Valerie, but for some reason, she was born human. How could two Purebloods create a human? It was shocking. She was whisked away, hidden somewhere safe, and she married a vampire to conceive half-breeds of her own. It was predicted that one of her children would be a Daywalker. . . This made Rain the Divine One. He has done his job of saving vampires from the Préfet, but his job is temporary. So, now that you are a man, you are to be King. You do understand that, right?”
There had to be some mistake. I was told that as long as Rain was living, I was never to be King.
“Rain is King,” I replied.
“He is for now, but your bloodline overrules his. Purebloods aren’t only very strong and handsome; they are the most eye-catching, breathtaking beings known to man. Purebloods are very dangerous to all vampires, even Prototypes. Your blood can kill us if we drink it. We will die from the inside out. So, you see, as long as there is a Pureblood, he is to be the King.”
I stared at her, feeling so confused. I had to take into consideration that she had been one of the first vampires to exist, but I wasn’t ready to be King.
“I hear you,” I said. “Does Rain know any of this?”
