Eversong (Midnight Playground) (3 page)

She nodded.

“You may speak to us, Mercy,” Ever said, his voice soft, making her melt a little all over.

“I…yes, I was scared. And so alone. This was…everything was so strange. I didn’t understand. I’m still not certain I understand.”

“Of course,” Ever soothed. His dark eyes were making her tremble, yet his words were calming.

“Can you tell us what happened with Gaius?” Aleron asked. He had a soft French accent. Lovely, smooth voice. “We know you’ve told Ramsey, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

She nodded once more, gathering her courage. “It was in Barcelona. I moved there from San Francisco with my parents a few years ago, when I was fifteen. My father is a diplomat.”

“How old are you now, Mercy?” Ever asked her. “And Deo?”

“I’m twenty-one,” she answered.

“And I’m twenty-three.”

Ever nodded, and she went on. “He came into our house,” she said, her throat tightening at the memory. “I don’t know how he got in. We had the best security system. But he got in—he came into my room as I slept and he…he took me.”

Deo wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. She’d only ever told the story in detail to him, and only once. Thinking of it now, of her parents, whom she knew she’d likely never see again, broke her heart. Tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away. She didn’t want to cry in front of these powerful strangers.

“It’s all right, Mercy,” Deo told her, his thumb stroking the back of her hand.

Aleron leaned forward in his chair while Ramsey sat quietly beside him, his gaze moving from her face to Ever’s and back again.

“Go on,” Aleron prompted.

She glanced at Deo and he nodded.

“He took me away. Just carried me over his shoulder to some old abandoned house. He drank from me. And drank from me again. And again, until I thought I was dying. I think I
was
dying. Then he bit into his own wrist and held it to my mouth. I…I couldn’t help myself. I drank from him. I did it.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to but I did. This is my own fault.”

“It’s not,” Deo said, his tone fierce. “This isn’t your fault, Mercy.”

She turned to look at him once more. His aquamarine eyes were full of sympathy. Love.

“But it is, Deo. And you…that’s my fault too. I did this to you!”

“Shh, love. You didn’t understand what it was you were doing. You were afraid. And you thirsted. I understand now.”

She shook her head, and he pulled her in, brushed a kiss across her lips. And for a moment, everything, everyone else disappeared, and all she knew was Deo’s touch. Comforting and searing her at the same time.

He looked around the room. “It’s not Mercy’s fault,” he said to the three other vampires, his eyes blazing. “You can’t blame her.”

“We don’t,” Ever assured him. “We are only interested in finding out what we can about this Gaius.”

“I will not be separated from her,” Deo said, his voice a low growl.

“And you shall not be,” Aleron told him. “Did Ramsey not tell you so?”

“I did,” Ramsey said with a shrug, “but apparently they didn’t believe me.”

“It’s only that this is our worst fear now,” Mercy explained. “To be apart, when for the last few months all we’ve had is each other.”

“You will never have to be apart again, if that is what you wish,” Ever said once more, leaning closer. “What else can you tell us of Gaius? Do you know his age? Where he came from?”

“He’s old. Maybe as old as you are, Ever. I’m not very good at sensing these things yet. He said something to me at one point about Rome. And I saw into his mind…” She paused, shivered, not wanting to remember all of the ugly, twisted things she’d seen there. “I saw what looked like ancient Rome to me. I recognized the names of some of the places, the gods he still prayed to. Cursed. But he never spoke to me as much as he sort of muttered to himself, and little of it made sense. He was with me only for a few days before he left me.”

“And that’s when you met Deo?” Aleron asked.

“I found him camping on the beaches of Valencia, south of Barcelona. After Gaius left…I wandered. I didn’t know where I was going. Only that I couldn’t go home again. Not like this. And I was so alone. It was…terrible, until I met Deo.”

“We traveled around Spain for a few months,” Deo said, “learning what we could do with these new bodies. This new life. We’d both heard of the vampires, of course, but neither of us knew much. We… I’m afraid we did some violence learning to feed. We didn’t know…until Ramsey showed us. Until we heard of the Midnight Playground and made our way to Madrid to ask for his help.”

“You met Mercy in Spain, yet your name, your accent is Greek, is it not?” Ever asked Deo. “You look Greek, with that dark, curling hair. Except for your eyes. They are most unusual.”

“My family is Greek.”

“Ah, you have family, then.” Aleron nodded, stroking his chin with long, pale fingers.

Deo shrugged. “I lost them several years ago. There was a riot in Athens.” He’d told her about the loss of his family. She knew he still carried that pain with him, despite his casual attitude. She could feel his sadness, even if he never spoke of it. “Mercy is the first real family I’ve had in a long time.”

“I’d been alone for several days by the time I found him,” she told them. “I couldn’t stand it. At first we just talked. Then he kissed me and…he realized something was different about me. But there was the blood lust, as Ramsey has explained to me. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to,” she said fiercely, tears scalding her eyes. “It just happened, I swear it. I didn’t have the strength to stop.”

“You’d been taught nothing by Gaius,” Aleron said, and she could detect the restrained rage beneath his calm tone. Rage that was clearly aimed at Gaius, not her. “This is why we require that a new vampire wait ten years before Turning another. So that you can act as teacher as well as lover and companion. But you’re here now. We’ll teach you both. And when we find this Gaius, he will be dealt with appropriately.”

She was suffused with gratitude. And beneath that was some strange sense of dread that Gaius should be hurt if they found him. It didn’t make sense. He should be punished for what he’d done to her, she knew that. But she couldn’t shake some vague attachment to him.

Ever stood, taking her hand in his. His fingers were cool, yet she could feel his pulse beating just beneath his skin, his blood warm. “You must be overwhelmed, both of you. We have rooms set aside for you. My assistant Calam will take you there. Go. Rest. Be together. I will come to you after a time.”

Deo stood and helped her to her feet. She felt as if she were out of her head. Could all of this really be happening? She’d existed in this state of disbelief for the last several months, but she and Deo had been too busy simply surviving to think it all through.

Now her life was about to change again, and while Ramsey, Aleron and Ever had tried to assure them that all would be well, she found it difficult to trust. And regardless of what they said, nothing could relieve her of her guilt.

She looked at the vampires, who had also risen to their feet. A sort of old-world gesture, but she loved it. Then Ever stepped forward and took her face in one hand, cupping her cheek. The other he laid on Deo’s shoulder. He looked into her eyes, his that bottomless black that would be frightening if there wasn’t so much sadness in them. Her heart surged—for Ever. For herself and Deo and everything that had happened.

“We will not let anyone hurt you, either of you,” Ever told her. “I promise you that. We will see that your family is protected, Mercy, in case this Gaius still lurks there. Ramsey has already sent someone to watch over them.”

“Oh…” It came out on a small sob. “I didn’t dare to hope… I know I’ll never see them again. I’m learning to accept that. But I’ve worried. I don’t know what they must think about my disappearance. But I couldn’t go back to them. Not this way. They would be horrified.”

“That is something you can decide later. But I don’t want you to worry any longer, do you understand? We will help you. Take care of you. And you have a strong protector in Deo. I can see that.”

“I would do anything for her,” Deo said, his tone low, but there was power in it.

Ever turned to him. “Yes, I think you would.”

He lifted Mercy’s hand, kissed the back of it, and need coursed through her, strong and hot. And as he lifted Deo’s hand and brushed his lips over his wrist, an even stronger surge of desire passed through her.

She had an image in her mind of them together, Deo and Ever. The old vampire’s plush lips coming down on Deo’s. Their beautiful, naked bodies pressed together. When she shook the image away and glanced up at Ever, she knew he’d read her thoughts, knew from his small, wicked smile that he’d seen it all, felt the reverberating desire in her body.

“I will come to you both a little later,” he said, his black eyes glittering, his smile widening just enough to reveal his sharp eyeteeth. “Ah, Calam is here.” He turned. “Please see our new guests to their rooms.”

“Aye,” the muscled redhead said. He was beautiful, as was everyone here. She could smell his humanity as though it were an exotic perfume. Smelled the human blood in his veins. “Come this way, please.”

Deo slipped an arm around her waist as they followed Calam from the room.

Her body, her mind, were buzzing. Everything was changing so quickly she couldn’t seem to focus on any of it.

Ever. Aleron and Ramsey. The council of vampires who were to arrive at the club soon. A new life she could barely begin to imagine. And all of it with Deo.

“Always,” he said quietly, his fingers squeezing hers as they moved toward the elegant elevator.

They stepped in. The doors slid shut and she held on to Deo as the elevator began to move down and down. She gripped his hand tighter and he pulled her in closer. She needed him, to feel the safety in his arms. To feel
him
. It was the only thing that made the fear go away.

Deo tucked a hand under her chin, looked into her eyes.

“Make it go away, Deo,” she begged him in a whisper.

“I promise,” he told her.

It was the one thing she knew she could count on.

Chapter Three

Calam opened a pair of doors and led them into their room. Creamy damask wallpaper everywhere, a row of tall windows draped in mossy-green velvet. An enormous bed—large enough for six people to fit comfortably—was at the opposite end of the room. Here and there were sitting areas, gilt-trimmed lamps shining softly. The furnishings were luxurious even beyond any she’d seen in her father’s house, making her think of the grand homes she’d read about in books. Fit for royalty. But perhaps the vampires
were
a kind of royalty. How was it that she was one of them now? She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.

“I hope it’s all to your liking,” Calam said, and again, if she drew her breath in, she could smell his sweetly mortal flesh. His blood.

She didn’t
need
blood. Ramsey had made certain they were fed before their long trip to London. But she’d found the vampiric appetites—for blood, for sex—to be nearly unquenchable.

She swallowed down the urge.

“This is wonderful,” Deo said, moving farther into the room, taking Mercy with him. “Beautiful. Like everything here.” He smiled. “Including you, Calam.”

Calam grinned. “As I find you both. Perhaps after you’ve had time to settle, you’ll find my love, Ilana, to your liking, as well. We sometimes choose to share ourselves with others.”

Mercy shivered as desire struck her like a small, electric shock. She had never been with a woman. But since she’d Turned, everything was different. And Calam was a gorgeous specimen of a man, his muscles heavy, beautiful to her.

“Mercy would like that,” Deo answered.

“We will be here should you require us.”

Calam made a small bow then turned and left them alone.

Alone. For the first time in days. She moved into Deo’s arms, and he pulled her in, kissing her. Softly at first then harder, deeper, his tongue pushing into her mouth. In moments he was taking her clothes off then his own, his lush lips never leaving hers.

No one had ever kissed her the way Deo did. Even when he was mortal, there was something about his mouth, the softness of it, the way he used his tongue that made her crazy with lust. Her body burned as she pressed against him, naked flesh to naked flesh. His body was all hard planes, muscle like steel beneath his velvet skin. And against her belly his cock was thickening, lengthening until all she could think of was having him inside her. Fucking her.

His hands came around her, under her buttocks, and he lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his narrow waist, her hands going into his dark, silky hair. She arched, impaling herself on his cock.

“Ah, Deo!”

He thrust into her, over and over. His cock, his pubic bone crashing into her, driving pleasure deep.

“I need you, Mercy love. Need you. To fuck you. Be with you. A
part
of you.”

“Yes…”

He reached between them, his fingers pressing onto her hard clit, and she moaned as desire built. With his other hand he entered her ass, a firm press of two fingers. She loved it, that sensation of being filled. Loved that her immortal body could handle things she never could have as a human. She arched, taking his cock into her cunt, moved back to take his fingers deeper into her ass.

“Come on, Deo,” she murmured. She didn’t know if she was asking to come or asking him to. She was full of pleasure, overflowing. Full of him—cock and fingers and his tongue surging into her mouth, wet and sweet.

As the first shudders of her climax trembled in her sex, her breasts and belly, he lowered his head and bit into her.

His mouth was hot on her throat, sucking, sucking, drawing the blood in. And it was as if his mouth were on her cunt, on her nipples. Everywhere at once. Images flashed in her head. Of the ocean in Valencia, the two of them exploring each other for the first time, when she had Turned him. His cock slipping between her thighs, nearly as hard then as a human, as he was inside her now. She felt it as though she were pussy and cock all at the same time. Through his eyes. Through her own memory. Even then, it had been frenzied and beautiful, pleasure burning into her like a flame.