Chapter 1
I saw everything happen right in front of me, but at the time I really didn’t care. I was surprised anybody actually cared in Aristomache. It was the Sin City of our hidden little pocket of the world we once belonged to. Before we became vampires and went on the other side of that thin veil which separates Earth from Erebos, the netherworld of eternal darkness and my “home”.
Or it’s the home of Angel Kaveri; Kaleo Zephyr wasn’t welcome here anymore.
But even if it was my home, the girl didn’t matter at all to me.
She was a prophet, she was to be the savior of Erebos and everyone rejoiced when they found out that she was alive. I detested the thought of some religious figure trying to cleanse my damn soul, like there was anything that they or anybody else could do.
Morgana hated my attitude about this affair and constantly reminded me how similar we were, I didn’t see any point in laying out useless facts. I was half shape shifter, half witch, and Darien was part shape shifter, witch, elemental, and she even had vampire blood in her veins long before she was changed.
I wasn’t blessed with special abilities and given the “burden” of saving my people, but then again… I couldn’t even save myself.
But I did meet her one night at the Wandering Rocks Pub; I was tired and slightly drunk with vampire blood from a duel with Gabriel Frost.
She wanted to know what Aristomache was like and I told her the simple truth,
“You’re in the Prison of…excuse me…City of Hell, what more do you need to know?”
“You’re a monstrous excuse for a vampire,” she replied bitterly.
“Why thank you,” I replied sarcastically, “and you’re a clueless bitch.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she snapped which turned a few heads in the pub.
“Angel Kaveri,” I muttered
“Oh damn,” I heard running through her head 10 times a second.
“And I swear to Heaven, Hell and all the worlds between I will give you good reason to scream if you don’t leave me alone.” I said as she left the pub never to return.
“Remind me never to cross you Kaleo.” Someone said behind me.
I swerved around and glared at the person…excuse me vampire, and ordered a drink.
“What the hell are you doing here Demetrius?” I said angrily as I turned around.
God he was a handsome vamp, he was 300 years old, short auburn hair, pale skin, and coal black eyes like every vampire.) (except me I kept mine the same gold with ruby specked eyes I’d been born with.
“I’m here only for business,” he replied as he slipped me a letter, “You’ve been requested for a job.”
“I don’t do that kind of work anymore,” I replied as he sat down on the stool next to mine.
"Liar,”
“Leave me alone Demetri,” I sighed as I had my drink.
So this is what’s become of the great Angel Kaveri,” he mocked, “The greatest and most famous vampire of the Underground for her battles, gambling, and…other things, has gone soft?!”
“Shut up, I don’t care who the employer is I am not taking the job, can you comprehend through that thick skull of yours?” I snapped as I moved my attention to
Ayano Sasori, the lovely 100 year old barista who was also an on call assassin, who surprisingly looked slightly frightened of me.
“Ayano hit me with a Saoirse,” I muttered the name of an Erebos drink (which means “freedom” in my native language of Gaelic) as Demetri looked slightly surprised.
“You’re drinking that?!” he muttered, “It’s got well …”
“Do I look like I care if it has blood,” I replied as I drank it, I knew I was done drinking after that. Even though I knew I wouldn’t get drunk regardless of what it was, “well, why you are still here? I told you I’m not taking the job.”
“Angel listen to me, you’re not doing too well maybe a job would get you back in the game.”
“I’m only 46 my dear friend, I have a lot of time to change my ways.” I sighed as I slightly flashed a smile.
“For 25 years you’ve been bitter about the night you were changed,” he sighed, “So you trained and fought your way to respect in the Underground, but look at you now, you can’t bring yourself to stop grieving.”
I opened the damn letter than glared at him when I finished it,
“No, I’m not gonna do it,” I replied bitterly,
“Why? We both know this is what you want, revenge.”
“Not a day goes by that I don’t wish that I had the power to put a knife through that damn woman’s heart, but I will not take that job!” I exclaimed.
“Just come to the address tomorrow night and see if you don’t change your mind,” Demetri sighed as he got up and left me to ponder and gather my thoughts.
****
When you live forever, life moves so slowly that time disappears like so many other things that we have lost. The only value time is the number of years we’ve been vampires, the more years the more respect.
I may have only been a vampire for 25 years but I was the most respected vampire in the Underground, the group of outcast vamps who are anything from assassins to mercenaries.
But even though I’d had 25 years to think about it killing that woman, I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet.
Lucretia Kaveri, that damn woman had ruled my line for over 500 years; she was also the one who turned me.
She may have been considered my blood mother by law but Morgana had taken care of me where Lucretia had not.
She gave me a reason to be happy
Then the damn woman tried to take it away from me, like she always tried to ruin any life or small amount of happiness I possessed.
But as I sat in the bay window in my flat I thought about what demerit said, and then I thought about my family: Carson, Xavier, Alexander, Gregory, Maximilian, Juliet, Kalidasa, Rebbeca, Lyla, and Clarisse. My blood brothers and sisters, though there were many Kaveri’s in Erebos, theses were by law and in my heart my siblings. But as I continued to think about them I wondered what they would do to me if I killed Lucretia,
Then someone knocked on the door.
“Holy….” I said as I jumped from fright and then opened the door to see it was only a good friend of mine, “Dammit Holly. Don’t scare me like that! And what the hell are you doing here?” I asked as I let my friend in trying to be blissfully unaware of what separated us.
Holly looked amazing for a 150 year old vampire; she was in long, tailored, black jacket, hip huggers, a grey scarf, a red sweater, a great pair of black boots, and she had long golden hair and skin the color of a vanilla latte
“I just came to see you, is that now a crime or something?” she asked.
“Yes...no…wait don’t confuse me like that!”
In spite of my mental block, Holly came in quietly, causally sat down on the couch, and put her black stiletto boots on my coffee table.
“Nice flat,” she said casually as she looked around briefly before returning her coal black eyes to me, “It suits you.”
“Now cut the crap,” I sighed as I paced slightly, “what in the name in heaven and hell could possibly make Holland Silver come to a low-class vampire like me?”
“I told you…”
“Yeah,” I said with a small amount of sarcasm, “you wanted to check on a friend, your clan doesn’t do that.”
“And you do realize not everyone is exactly like there kin, I thought you would know from 25 years of experience.”
“Yes Holly I do, but you need me for something important.” I sighed, “I can see it in your eyes.”
“Demetri told me that you were going to see your blood mother,” she replied, “I need you to do me a favor while your there.”
“Remind me to kill Demetri when I see him.”
“Why would you want to do that?” she asked.
“Just forget it.”
“Well anyway,” she said as she put a photo on my coffee table, “I need you to make sure she isn’t doing anything to him.”
“Who’s he?”
“His name’s Nikolas,” she replied, “he disappeared and we need him back?”
I looked at the Native American man in the photo, he was no older than 25, with stunning green eyes and short onyx hair.
“What is he an old boyfriend or something?”
“Sadly no,” she replied, “he’s a human and he showed up here then in a blink of an eye he disappeared,”
“Why don’t you talk to Darien, she still has connections to humans.”
“And you don’t?” she asked.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, not even my fellow people in the mortal realm cared if I died; now they’re probably rejoicing.”
“Just look around Lucretia’s manor and see if you can find him.” She sighed as she got up. “Cause no one wants a human unaware of what we are hanging around Erebos.”
“That’s just you; I know plenty who would love to twist his mind.”
“Just do it Kaveri!” she snapped as I grabbed my black coat, red scarf, and ran out the door with her.
