Immortal Dynasty (18 page)

This wasn’t his crowd, and she wasn’t Julia. He decided to text Julia to meet him at the Starbucks down the street instead.

Before he could make it to the stairs, a guy in a Boston U sweatshirt grabbed Fernando by the arm and drew him into a room. He was about to punch the guy in the face.

“No, man. Not like that shit. Here.” He indicated a room full of guys and girls gathering around a coffee table. They were all emptying plastic baggies of multicolored pills into a large glass jar in the center of the table. “It’s our Hump Night Pharm Party! No better way to get juiced up for mid-terms.”

Fernando didn’t recognize anyone in the room, except maybe the guy sitting in the high-backed chair. He was pretty sure that was the fraternity’s president, and Julia’s former boyfriend. A girl stepped around the chair and sat on his lap. It was the girl who’d let him in the house, and who’d hooked up with him a few moments ago.

“So, Julia invited you here, huh?” The guy was sizing him up. Fernando did not want to fight. He could, but he didn’t want to. “Sit. Join us. If Julia wants you here, then you need to stay until she gets here.”

The others in the room happily poured their drinks and started popping pills from the jar at random.

* * *

The grandfather clock down the hall chimed midnight. Fernando felt each bong inside his head. He hazily remembered being pushed into a chair and having a handful of pills forced into his mouth. He’d swallowed them only after being punched in the stomach. The effects of the pharmaceutical mix hit him quickly after choking the pills down a dry throat.

As he awoke, he found himself slumped onto the couch and his stomach hurt like hell. Next to him, the party girl slumped over the Alpha-Z president. Others were scattered around the room, unconscious or giggling at some private hallucination.

He was probably having his own hallucination right now, because he was watching Julia float into the room from the balcony. She was so beautiful, floating there like a perfect angel. Her eyes scanned the room, but hesitated on him. She came closer.

He imagined her smooth skin next to his. Soft lips brushing across his jaw. Her silky, auburn hair cascading around his face. Her eyes--

“Whoa!” Fernando reined in all the strength he had left and shoved against her. This wasn’t his Julia. Yellow eyes glittered above two very sharp, very evil looking fangs. Her skin seemed to have grown green scales around her throat and on her arms. It reached for him with black, bloody claws. To make matters worse, he realized several more appeared around her…just like her.

A fear from deep within bubbled to the surface. Fernando Mendez screamed and kicked with a rush of supercharged adrenaline. All of the students in the room awoke. The air became thick with fear and the pungent smell of urine.

The demons attacked, toying wickedly with the students and relishing the sounds of terror. Fernando heard flesh being ripped apart and saw beasts lapping up blood with forked tongues.

Fernando had fallen off the couch and now watched mesmerized as Julia…or what was once Julia…sank her fangs into the party girl’s neck. She seemed to take extra pleasure in tormenting the young girl. He wondered why the girl didn’t struggle anymore. She had earlier. She screamed through lips that seemed frozen.

As the girl’s screams subsided, Julia’s eyes glowed red. She dropped the lifeless form to the floor and turned toward Fernando. He whispered a prayer and crossed himself quickly. He didn’t want to give up, but his drug-affected limbs were too weak. Julia made as if to pounce upon him, but hesitated. Her bright red eyes stared at him deeply, as if trying to figure out who he was.

A window burst open with a wave of cold, wet wind. A strange fog swept into the room. Black shadows filled with evil. The beast that was once Julia peered into Fernando’s soul. He felt pinned to his spot on the floor. Inside his mind, a voice rang out clearly.
Run, Fernando. Run, if you want to live. Now!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Darius could not have imagined anything so beautiful before this moment. Naked she was sinfully desirable. In flowing white robes she looked glorious, like an angel from the heavens.

He had stolen a statue and discovered an angel. He felt an odd calmness replacing the anger and guilt he’d felt moments ago.

Spellbound, he couldn’t leave the room. He had to stay and wait for Shaila to awaken from her meditation. He picked up Bessie and sat down in an overstuffed chair. Bessie twisted in circles a few times, nuzzled her nose in between his thighs, and fell asleep.

A slight vibration pulsed in the air. Shaila’s body almost glowed with ethereal light as it hovered a few inches above the floor. He wondered why he didn’t feel shocked anymore. He’d entered a Twilight Zone, and yet he believed it.

He admired the serenity in her exotic features, and envied her peacefulness. He’d been schooled in various martial arts, but he hadn’t felt any pull toward the meditation or communing part. Maybe there was something to it. She looked like she felt…free.

His own eyes slowly closed.

He was in a dark room. It felt as old and dusty as a tomb. A baby wailed from the shadows. A woman’s voice curled through the stifling air, humming softly. The baby seemed to calm with each note of the song. The language was unfamiliar, but it sounded like a lullaby. A candle sputtered to life, illuminating the woman’s profile.

She was bending over the tiny babe, rubbing its chubby little legs soothingly. She looked up at Darius, still whispering the ancient song. As she moved closer to him, he wondered why she had left the baby. He felt in his soul that there was a message in the song, but could not understand the words.

Standing opposite him, she cupped her hand on his cheek. He instinctively leaned into her touch. She smiled up at him, love flickering in her eyes like a candle flame. Darius breathed in the clean, jasmine perfume she wore.

He sighed, a feeling of deep contentment washed over him.

* * *

Sharp cat claws digging into the inside of Darius’ thigh shattered the dream and the euphoria. “Damn it, cat!”

Bessie lunged off his lap, deftly avoiding the swat he aimed at her. She howled at Shaila’s shivering form on the floor.

“Shaila!” Darius rushed across the room. Her breathing was quick and shallow. Sweat sheened across her brow, yet her skin felt ice cold. He grabbed the comforter off the bed and threw it over her. Covering her body with his, he rubbed everywhere he could, trying to create heat from the friction. “Shaila! Shaila! Wake up! Can you hear me?” He finally felt…and smelled…a long, coffee-laden breath. “Whew.”

“Yes, Darius,” she croaked through dry lips, “I hear you most excellently.”

Darius breathed a sigh of relief. “What happened? What was that all about?”

“I did not find my astral spirit. It was so dark there I became lost. I did not expect that.”

“It’s not usually dark in that…dimension?” Or wherever it was she went.

“No. It used to be filled with lights. Millions of tiny lights. The light energies of the Anunnaki. Like little stars in the heavens. There are so few now, and those that are there are very dim.”

“This is a bad thing, I take it.”

“When light is weak, the darkness gains power.” Shaila shuddered.

Darius rubbed up and down her arms to warm her up. He found her looking at him intently. Pulling one arm out of her cocoon of blankets, she’d cupped his face. As her palm smoothed across his cheek, he instinctively leaned into it. Her green eyes darkened to a deep emerald shade. The tip of her pink tongue slid across her dry lips.

Her palm tensed as it pulled his face slowly toward hers. Their lips hovered against each other, barely touching. Their breath mingling. He felt her blood pulse through her lips. His blood pumped faster in response. Every nerve in his body suddenly sizzled white hot. His lips burned. He needed…

His tongue licked across her lips, seeking an invitation. She accepted. Their tongues caressed in an ancient dance, gliding and teasing. She moaned. He pressed deeper into her. He felt her palms stroke his head and neck. Skin. This woman seemed to love the feel of skin.

Darius was so focused on conquering her mouth and feeling her dark hair slide between his fingers that he almost didn’t register that in one moment he felt hot skin across his front and cool air across his backside.

Shaila was frustrated with the miniscule amount of skin exposed to her. Every nerve in her body fired to life, itching with desire to be touched. She wanted more. She wanted to feel all of Darius. So she willed away the clothes that held a barrier between them.

A burst of energy fired through her. In answer, a dying flame roared to new life in the fireplace. Shaila brought his face to hers once more and pressed every available inch of her skin against his.

Shaila loved skin. His skin. Every smooth, hot inch of him excited her. This human, who reminded her so much of the strong, determined pharaohs of her past, created such a fever in her body. Had she ever felt this good?

Her blood built to a frenzy as he licked a path between her nipples. Sucking them in, nibbling and teasing sensations in her that rippled through her veins. She wrapped her legs around him and shivered with anticipation.

Growling possessively, she bit his shoulder to control him. Rolling them over, she straddled him, poised to plunge him deep into her.

That was when she saw them…two reddened punctures in his shoulder. Shock clouded his hazel eyes. Quickly, she re-sheathed the fangs, which had extended without her realizing it.
Oh, Goddess, how did this happen?

“Darius?” All of the fire and urgency whooshed out of her system in choking gulps. “I…I am so sorry. I do not know what came over me. I should not have…”

She expected anger. Instead, she felt two strong arms of protectiveness wrap around her body.

“It’s okay, Shaila.” He reached for the comforter and covered her with it once again. “You lost control. That might have been what Bakari meant when he warned you how potent it was.”

“I do not like that feeling…losing control.” Her teeth chattered loudly as the shivers returned. Her adrenaline must have enhanced the after-effects of the wafer. That and having been without the
mannah
for so long.

Darius continued to hold her through the worst of the shakes. “I know exactly what you mean.”

She heard no judgment in his voice.

* * *

Shaila swirled her morning coffee under her nose. As she savored the earthy aroma, she gave silent thanks that the tremors had finally ceased.

Marcus stomped into the house and swiveled carefully out of a wet coat and boots. “Good morning, wicked storm out there.” Marcus kissed her cheeks like they were old friends. He whistled as his eyes traveled the entire length of her body. “Leather sure looks good on you, Shaila.”

“Hey, Marcus.” Darius looked over at his friend’s grim features. “What’s wrong?”

“Haven’t you been watching the news?”

“No. I’ve been cooking breakfast.”

Marcus grimaced. “You mean you’ve been burning breakfast. Move over.” He made quick work of flipping the food in the pan. “See? You don’t stab at the omelet. Just flip it.”

“What’s on the news?” As Darius touched a flat screen device sitting on the kitchen counter, Shaila heard new sounds in the room.

She moved in closer and watched an image of tiny woman moving across the screen. The woman grimly described the chaotic scene: a group of college kids were murdered. Behind her, men in slick black coats entered a building that looked very similar to Darius’ home.

“They’re saying it appears to be another ritual murder. Wonder if the news will spark another protest in front of the State House?” Marcus ate his food, but his hands paused midway to his lips. “Could this be the work of some of those demons you talked about?”

The woman on the screen continued with gruesome descriptions and showed images of other recent murder victims. The opinion seemed to be that all were connected. Shaila thought of the dark beasts she had seen along the astral plane last night.

“There have been more of these
murders
?”

Both men nodded.

“I must go see this, Darius.” She pointed at the scene in the picture device. “I will be able to tell if it is the work of demons or not.”

“They’ll never let us near the place.” Marcus slumped into a chair.

Darius rubbed the medallion, pacing around the table. “I think I have an idea. Shaila,” he pointed to the picture device, “it’s like the computer signal you used.”

Shaila nodded. Gently closing her eyes, she searched for its signal. It was very weak, but it hummed with loud, fuzzy noises. She felt her body shimmering away from the kitchen.

“Holy shit, that’s wicked,” Marcus’ voice whispered with excitement.

The connection ended as Shaila appeared in full form behind a man with a huge black machine hoisted on his shoulder. The woman from the
television
stood in front of him, still repeating the same small list of details about the scene.

Remembering Marcus’ reaction to her choice of clothing, she realized that she might not blend in very well. She quickly melded her clothing to match the rain-slicked black coats of the men who were allowed access into the building. She entered undisturbed.

She managed to hold her composure, but she could feel all of the blood draining from her face. Fear. She felt the remnants of it shimmering in waves within the small room on the top floor. She feared the worst.

How could she explain to anyone that the scene before her equaled some of the bloodiest she had seen in her time? Of course, in her time Tia’Mat was the Great Dragon Queen, and she held the
shadow walkers
at bay from the humans. From time to time, a few of the dark sentinels would escape the shadows and feed from human flesh. However, Queen Tia always felt them coming, and sent her warriors to destroy them. Shaila had been one of those warriors for a while. That had been part of her training.

But nothing in her past could lessen the heart wrenching pain of seeing six mutilated young humans. Their blood painted the walls and puddled on the floor. Torn flesh barely clung to broken bones, and shredded clothing scattered across the room. A man had huddled in the hallway behind her, sobbing a prayer to his god.