Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) (4 page)

“
Will
you stop?” asked the familiar voice of my best friend, Tabitha.
“It’s only me!”

“
Only
you?!” My heart was pumping so hard it felt like it would jump
out of my body. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“
Shhh,
Cheyenne”, Tabitha hissed. “Someone is watching your
house and I really need you to be quiet. I am going to crawl over to
the window and get a closer look. Don’t you dare move!”

I felt Tabitha’s
weight lift off of me and lost sight of her in the dark. Someone was
watching my house? Crap. And what was Tabitha doing in my bedroom
at…2:00 AM? This was crazy, but I lay as still as possible as
I heard a scrape on the window sill and I stayed there until Tabitha
returned to kneel on the side of my bed.

“
They’re
gone and we have to go, too. You need to get changed.” Tabitha
waltzed over to my closet and threw a pair of black jeans and a black
t-shirt to me as I climbed off of the bed.

“
Tabitha,
what the hell is going on?” I whispered, a little shook up.

“
Just
hurry. We don’t have much time.”

“
I
just heard my mom…” I choked on the words and started to
cry.

Tabitha seemed frantic,
which was starting to be normal. I noticed she was in identical black
jeans and black hoodie as I got dressed. Tabitha opened my bedroom
door and poured herself into the hallway; disappearing like a shadow.
I met her at the bottom of the stairs and we slipped out the rear
entrance and into the garage where we waited.

“
Ta…”
I started.

“
Look,”
Tabitha interrupted. “I will tell you everything once we get
to my house. But, what I will tell you now is this...your life
depends on us getting out of this garage in the next few seconds
without being heard or seen. Can you just trust me?”

Tabitha had been my
best friend for longer than anyone else ever had and right then I
needed someone to trust. I had just heard my mom betray me and I was
a mess. So, I nodded my acknowledgment and kept my mouth shut as I
watched her watch the street from a crack in the garage door. From
her stooped position, she reminded me of a dog guarding her pup, and
I was that pup. Something about this was primal.

“
Okay,
let’s go.”

Tabitha grabbed my hand
and forced me to crouch as we ran past the side of my Jeep. We ran
down the driveway to the street, avoiding street lights, until we
reached Tabitha’s car. She opened the passenger side door but
the overhead light didn’t come on. Once inside, I realized that
we were not alone and prepared to scream when the familiar feeling of
Tabitha’s hand covered my mouth for the second time in one
night.

“
He’s
with us. Now stay down.”

Tabitha lay on the back
seat and I tried to tuck myself into the floor space of the passenger
side as we sped down the street. The guy driving was in all black,
like us, but he had on dark sunglasses in the middle of the night.
This was not good.

Tabitha’s house
was about 5 miles from mine and we drove through the empty streets at
an alarming rate of speed. We pulled into her circular driveway
minutes later and piled out of the car, rushing towards the front
door. The mysterious driver held the door open for me and I saw him
bow slightly as Tabitha passed in front of him.

“
Did
he just bow at you?” I asked.

“
Huh?”
she shrugged, evading my question. “His name is Solomon.
Solomon, meet Cheyenne”, Tabitha said from over her shoulder as
she ran up the stairs toward the second floor.

“
Hurry,
Cheyenne, we don’t have much time.”

I ran after Tabitha,
following her as she entered her family’s library. This was my
favorite place in her house. All of these authentic first editions
were amazing and I loved the smell of leather and old paper. The
walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookcases made of cherry wood
and pine. There were no windows or harsh over head lights. Instead,
there were small Tiffany lamps throughout the large room. I knew it
was to help preserve the books. I didn’t care, however, how
much light was in the room. I just loved it.

It took me a moment to
realize that we were not alone. As soon as I dragged my attention
away from the wall of books, I saw them. There were twelve, maybe
fifteen people in the room aside from me and Tabitha. Solomon was
standing at the door like a sentry and I began to back my way into a
corner.

Tabitha appeared at my
elbow to intercept my retreat and looked up at me with sympathy as
she led me to the large table and helped me sit down. The people at
the table hardly took notice of my arrival. There were a few of them
who made eye contact and gave an acknowledging head nod, but the
information on the table was obviously more important than I was.

“
Err
um,” a voice from the head of the table started. He was a 6’4”
man who looked like a wide receiver. His skin was about three shades
lighter than mine but we had the same color eyes. His bald head and
extra white teeth made him the most gorgeous and most dangerous
looking man I had ever seen in my entire life. It was as if I was
looking at an African god and yet I wasn’t the slightest bit
afraid of or attracted to him. Strange.

“
So,”
he began, “as you all know we are here for an untimely
extraction. The subject, Cheyenne, has been successfully extracted
from the pawn of the Oleander hive and will be transported to home
base. Any questions?”

No one moved. No one
had any questions about what he had just said. Everyone at the table,
including Tabitha, just sat there and took what was said as if it was
the most natural thing he could say. I was not a subject to be
extracted and transported. I had questions!

“
Yes,
there’s a question!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I stood up and slammed
my hands on the table, thinking only too late that it would hurt like
heck. To my surprise, the table gave slightly and I removed my hands
to discover that I had left hand prints in the wood. I looked down at
my hands, sure that I would see cuts and lacerations, only to find
them as smooth as ever. What is the world was going on?

I sat back down on the
chair so hard that my teeth chattered and I began to shake. Someone
from the other side of the table was saying something about shock and
the need to lay me down. Another person said that they may need to
call Efia, Tabitha's adoptive mother, and postpone transport. All I
could concentrate on, however, were the two hand prints in the table.

A noise in the distance
grew insistent until I turned and found that it was Tabitha saying
something over and over again. Slowly, I began to recognize that she
was saying my name and trying to get me to drink some tea that was
placed in front of me.

“
Tab,
what’s going on?” My voice sounded shaken and wounded. I
had no idea who to turn to and who to trust, but I was praying that I
had ended up on the right side of this nightmare.

“
Just
drink the tea. We will talk in the morning.”

The tea smelled like
lemons, tasted like honey and was soothing to my throat. After a few
sips I was able to be walked to Tabitha’s room where I promptly
fell onto the bed and went to sleep.

Chapter 2

As soon as my eyes
closed I was in the bowls of a ship. There was loud moaning and
screaming coming from my fellow passengers and I tried to stop the
bile rising from my stomach. The smell of disease and feces mixed
with urine and blood assaulted my nostrils as I climbed down from a
bed of straw with a mind to investigate. I could only move if I
stayed in a crouched position and I had to maneuver heavy chains on
my ankles. I stopped and stared down at the chains and wondered how I
had gotten to this place. I could see movement from the far corner of
the ship and began to make my way toward it. Stepping over discarded
bedding and waste as I went, I made it to the corner in time to see a
man with long black hair biting the neck of another.

My scream was lost in
the screams of the man being bitten. I tried to turn and run but
there was no room for me to stand up and the chains were slowing me
down. I finally reached the ladder that would lead me to the deck of
the ship and the help I knew was there when a hand grabbed my leg and
pulled me back down.

I woke up gasping for
air and kicking my foot wildly. I was wrapped in the soft sheets and
plush comforter of Tabitha’s huge bed. I had had dreams like
this before. I was always the same girl encountering the same
monstrous man. Each scenario was more vivid than the last and it
always took me several minutes to recover. This dream was no
different. I still felt his cold hard hand on my ankle; right above
where I had been shackled.

It was time for me to
get some answers so I swung my legs out of bed, only then noticing
that I was in a long black nightgown. I didn’t remember
changing but I was sure that Tabitha had helped. I looked around for
my clothes, but only found a robe to match the night gown.

I pulled on the robe
and walked out of the room. Sunlight streamed in from a window to
reveal the ornately decorated hallway. The house looked like it was
straight out of the 16th century and I would never get bored walking
through it. However, I was on a mission and didn’t take my
normal interest in all of the antique items I was passing. I still
couldn’t believe that my mom had been about to sell me out and
that I was somehow a subject to be extracted. Unbelievable.

I was stomping through
the house looking for Tabitha when voices drifted from the alcove
just outside the library. I ducked behind a life-size vase and peered
around the corner to see Tabitha and the gorgeous man from last night
in a heated discussion.

“
Jordan,”
Tabitha pleaded. “I can’t just keep her in the dark like
this. Aside from everything else, she really is my best friend.”

“
You
know that it is not your place to tell her anything. Efia will make
that call. We simply…” Jordan’s sentence trailed
off and he tilted his head up slightly.

From where I stood, it
looked like he had just sniffed the air. Subconsciously, I smelled my
armpits to make sure I wasn't offensive. When I was satisfied that I
didn’t stink, I looked back up to see Tabitha’s blue eyes
staring at me. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t jump
and let out a little squeak, but I was embarrassed that I had gotten
caught and I should have known better.

“
Hi,”
we both said at the same time. We giggled at the synchronicity which
drew a gruff sound from the man standing behind Tabitha. She
stiffened and turned toward him, a little bit embarrassed by our act
of immaturity.

I looked at the
gorgeous man that shared the same eyes as me and tried to muster up a
smile. He still looked like an African god and Tabitha was acting
like one of his worshipers. It was the first time I had ever seen her
truly interested in someone. I wondered how long they had known each
other and if he felt the same way about her. I immediately became
protective of her feelings and I hoped he didn’t hurt her the
way older guys did. My fears where squashed when Jordan placed his
hand at the small of Tabitha’s back and kissed the top of her
head.

“
So,
Cheyenne,” Jordan started, “you must be hungry.”

“
I
could eat,” I replied lamely.

Jordan led me and
Tabitha into the kitchen and began looking in the fridge. I sat next
to Tabitha at the breakfast bar and made goo goo eyes at Jordan’s
back. Trying not to laugh, Tabitha swatted at me to stop just as
Jordan turned and caught me. For someone so professional and
sophisticated, I expected him to roll his eyes at my juvenile
behavior but he surprised me. Instead of passing judgment on me,
Jordan simply gave me the most amazing smile that I had ever seen and
shook his head slightly. He seemed like a cool guy and I was really
happy for Tabitha.

We sat and watched as
he expertly chopped and diced an assortment of vegetables and cheeses
and mixed them together in a bowl. Eventually, the smell of garlic
bread sticks from the oven was so thick and rich that my mouth
watered. Tabitha had taken three plates out of the cabinets and set
them on the counter along with the proper silverware and glasses.
After about twenty minutes, the meal had come together nicely and we
were able to dig in. For a regular carnivore like myself, salads were
usually considered rabbit food, but this salad was amazing. I had
never thought to substitute meat with avocado. When my plate was
empty, I had to suppress the urge to pick up the plate and lick the
homemade dressing off of it. Completely satisfied, I sat back in my
chair and sighed heavily.

“
Did
you enjoy your meal?” Jordan asked with a smile.

“
Yes,
very much so. Thank you.”

“
My
pleasure, Cheyenne. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Tabitha and I
have a meeting to attend in the conference area. We shouldn’t
be too long.”

And with that, I was
alone. I sat at the counter for a little while longer, letting my
food digest and making a mental list of all of the questions that I
wanted answers for. While I waited, I went to the sink and washed all
of our dishes and did my best to put them in their rightful places.
After a while, I began to get antsy waiting for this secret meeting
to commence. Tired of standing and pacing and sitting again, I
decided to take a walk.

Once in the hallway, I
discovered that I had nowhere to go and decided to head to the
massive library. The meeting was being held in a conference area so
this room was empty. I ran my hands along the shelves of books
wondering who had the daunting task of keeping all of them free of
dusk. I touched the spine of a Tolstoy and then a Poe and a Brontë
and then a Melville. If Heaven had a suburb, this was it. I would
never get tired of browsing through Tabitha’s library. It was
like taking a walk in history and I loved it.