Crimson Midnight (A New Adult Dark Urban Fantasy Series) (The Crimson Series Book 1) (18 page)

Rose could see the neat claw marks
across its snout. Glancing down she noted Thistle’s elongated razor-sharp
nails. 

In the commotion she had almost
forgotten about the other two but she saw them now, two more huge wolves
stepping forward to flank the first. 

Shit, shit, shit!

The werewolves circled them, growls
reverberating in the empty air.

“Rose, don’t make any sudden moves.”
Thistle instructed around her fangs.

“Why do they want me?” Rose asked.
Her tone was even despite her thumping heart. Her eyes tracked the wolves.

“I don’t know but all we need to do
is stall until…”

The wolves obviously hadn’t gotten
the memo and sprang in unison.

Rose raised her arms in the air to
protect herself from the massive jaws aimed at her head and gasped as a surge
of heat exploded out of her skin. There was an anguished whimper, the heat
vanished and then Thistle was pulling her, yelling at her to move. 
Disorientated she staggered to her feet, eyes widening as another pair of amber
eyes hurtled toward her.

“Roll!” Thistle yelled and Rose
ducked and dived.  Close, so close. She felt the brush of its wiry pelt against
her cheek. She was on her feet quickly and running back into the fray.  Thistle
whirled and slashed at the two remaining wolves holding their attention, her
aim obviously to give Rose time to make a run for it.  No way was she leaving
Thistle to fight alone.

Thistle had just succeeded in
driving back the wolves, earning herself a seconds respite when Rose skidded to
a stop by her side. “Fuck’s sake, Rose, get out of here while you can!” The
wolves were pacing back and forth.  Bloody gashes decorated their snouts and
sides, one had lost an ear.  They were obviously exhausted but the
determination in their glowing eyes was still fresh.

“I’m not leaving you.  I can help.”

“Yeah, well unless you can
incinerate another one of those things then I don’t see how.” She glanced at
Rose expectantly.

Rose bit her bottom lip.  “Don’t
know how I did it in the first place.”

“Heads up they’re coming back for
more,” Thistle warned before shoving her so hard in the chest that Rose found
herself sailing backwards across the car park and skidding to a halt on her
behind. She saw Thistle’s arms raised, saw the wolf’s jaws aiming for her
friend’s throat, the other aimed at her side and then something equally big hit
the wolf from the side, throwing off its trajectory.  The second wolf was also
hit and thrown off target. The saviours were two new wolves– one shining and
golden, the other brown and sleek.  The wolves rolled across the asphalt,
tearing and snapping at each other.

“You okay?” Thistle was suddenly by
her side helping her up.  Her fangs were gone.

Rose opened and closed her mouth
unable to formulate her thoughts.

“It’s okay, the cavalry has
arrived.”

Two SUVs, tinted windows and all,
screeched into the car park, blocking off her view of the battling wolves.

The doors were flung open and Raven
leapt out of one vehicle followed by Kris.  Damon flew out of the other.

Rose found herself blinking
rapidly. “Okay, okay, will someone explain to me what the fuck is going on?”

And then, like the icing on the
cake, Roman strolled out from behind the cars, dressed in nothing but his
birthday suit and covered in blood.  Their eyes met across the expanse of
asphalt, his probing, hers stunned.

“I’m really sorry, Thistle, but I
think I’m going to need to lie down.”

For the first and only time in her
life, Rose fainted.

22.

THE GLASS BOX

Rose paced up and down the length
of her cell. She had no idea how long she had been held here and no idea how
much longer she would have to wait.  In the however long it had been since she
had been declared a captive, her feelings had graduated from bewilderment to
anger. It was with some relief that she allowed this more focused emotion to
take over in its mini-rampage through her system.  How dare they treat her like
this after everything that she had been through? After everything they knew she
had been through?  How could they treat her like a threat, a liar, when she had
done nothing to deserve it?  She allowed herself to feel the betrayal, the
burning need to yell at someone, an urge she was going to satisfy as soon as
somebody bloody gave her the opportunity! 

She couldn’t take much more of
this!  The light above her flickered and she glanced up through the transparent
ceiling of her prison directly into the glare of the single bright LED light.
She was trapped in a bloody transparent box.  It looked like glass but on
tapping it she was pretty sure it was made of something else entirely. Who knew
what the supernatural community had come up with?  It was probably made of
magic fairy dust or something.  Whatever it was, it had to be porous enough to
allow her to breathe because so far she hadn’t felt short of breath.  She had
searched for a hidden vent or pipe, which could be pumping oxygen, but as far
as she could see there was nothing else in the cell aside from a single clean
mattress. It looked clean but she hadn’t tried it out, finding no need to get
comfortable. Hopefully she wouldn’t be staying much longer. 

The sound of a door opening and
closing brought her back to attention.  Someone was coming.  She strained to
see into the darkness surrounding her prison. She walked right up to the wall,
pressing her hands against it, then jumped back, yelping as a light came on,
illuminating a strange figure on the other side.

“I am sorry. I did not intend to
startle you.” The man spoke politely.

“I don’t know what kind of game
you’re playing but you need to let me out of here now!” she said through
gritted teeth.  “I’ve done nothing wrong and you know it. So open the fucking
door!”

He frowned. “I am afraid I cannot
do that.”

Rose walked back up to the glass,
crooking her finger, beckoning him to come closer.  He politely obliged. 
Placing her lips close to his ear though the glass she shouted, “WELL GET
SOMEONE WHO CAN, YOU MORON!”

The man jumped back, clutching his
ear and shaking his head.

“Rose, please!” Raven stepped into
the light.

At the sight of him, Rose’s anger
surged upward with fresh ferocity. “Fuck you!” she screamed. “I thought you
were on my side. You said everything would be okay, you tricked me into this
fucking cage!” She slammed her hands against the walls, venting her
frustration. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe, she needed to get out. She needed
to get out!

Her body was swiftly suffused with
a molten warmth, her heart galloping as adrenaline flooded her system. She
could get out, she would get out. Nothing could keep her trapped. Her hands on
the wall began to glow, the veins starkly visible against her skin.

“Rose, stop! You need to calm
down.” Raven approached the wall, placing his hands against hers through the
glass. “Please, trust me. I would never hurt you.  Please calm down.” He made
eye contact and held her there as he talked her down.

A couple of minutes later and Rose
stood slumped against the glass, exhausted.

“Interesting.” The other man spoke
quietly

She wanted to tell him to shove it
but found she didn’t have the energy.

“Rose? Rose, are you okay?” Raven
asked.  He sounded genuinely concerned.

Rose found her strength returning,
her body seemed to be recharging itself.  She nodded.

“Rose, this is Richard Silverman.”

“You’re all werewolves…” she
whispered, “you and Roman and Kris… Damon and Harold…”

“Yes.” Raven said. “Richard is the
Alpha of the werewolf pack.”

“Thistle is a vampire.”

“Yes.”

“And what am I?”  She looked up and
met his eyes. 

There was a long pause.

“We don’t know.” 

She closed her eyes, hanging her
head.

“But I promise we’ll find out.”

“Why have you locked me up?  You
think I’m dangerous, don’t you?”

“That isn’t the reason.” For the
first time since entering the room he looked uncomfortable.

Richard stepped forward. “Raven,
please allow me.” He turned his attention to Rose. “Rose, I am delighted to
meet you.”

She snorted derisively.

“I can understand your anger, but
as you are an unregistered, and from the looks of it an unclassified
supernatural being, we need to take precautions. Coupled with the fact that
both a demon and rogue werewolves have made you a target within the space of a
couple of days…well, I am sure a lady as intelligent as you can appreciate our
position.”

“Don’t patronise me.”

“I assure you that-”

“Was not your intention,” she
finished for him. “Yeah, I got that.  So tell me what exactly
is
your
intention?”

“Good question.”

“I’m full of those, my being so
intelligent.” She laid on the sarcasm.

Raven rubbed his face looking
weary. “Rose, please. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner we can all go
home.” 

Home sounded great about now.
“Okay, let’s get on with it.”  

“Place your hands on the wall and
don’t move.”  Richard instructed.

Rose looked uncertain but followed the
direction.  

He held up a finger. “One moment.”

Rose resisted the urge to roll her
eyes.

The cell was suddenly bathed in
amber light.

“What the…?”

“Don’t remove your hands.” Raven
warned.

“Why?”

“The surface of the wall is reading
you. It will measure changes in your pulse and perspiration.”

“In other words, I’m in a large lie
detector.”

Richard nodded.  “It is, however,
much more sophisticated than the average lie detector.”

“Okay, fire away. Let’s get this
over with.” She was getting impatient again, and more than a little claustrophobic.

“What is your name?” Richard asked.

“Rose Carmichael.”

The amber light changed to green.

“What kind of supernatural being
are you?”

“I don’t know, I already told you
that.”

The light turned green again.

He nodded. “Good. When did you find
out you had supernatural abilities?”

“Friday night when Thistle and I
were attacked by that demon thingy and I killed it.”

Still green. 

Richard nodded again.  Thistle had
filled him in on the events of the past few days.  He was impressed and
intrigued that Rose had been able to vanquish the demon without any training or
actual knowledge of her powers.  It now remained to be seen if this was
actually the case.

“Why did the demon attack you?”

“I don’t know.”

Green.

“Why did the rogue wolf attack
you?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated. This
was getting ridiculous.

Green

“Have you been in contact with any
supernatural being other than Thistle and the pack wolves?”

“I bloody don’t know do I?” she
snapped.

The light flashed from green to
red, back to green, then settled on amber.

Richard looked confused, glancing
at Raven.  Raven shrugged.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. It could be that
your answer was also a question.”

“Look, I’m not sure what you’re
trying to achieve but I can tell you that until Friday night I knew nothing
about the supernatural community. I knew nothing about my own abilities. I was
happy being just a regular, human woman and if you have a machine that could
erase the past few days then I would gladly take a whirl in it.”

Raven stepped forward. “I’m sorry,
Rose. We have to be sure that you are who you say you are, that you haven’t
been sent by someone else, or being used or controlled by someone else, and
frankly we’ve never come across anything like you.”

“What do you mean?  You think that
it’s more than a coincidence that that demon targeted me, those wolves had a
mission?” she shook her head. “Thistle said there had been demon attacks across
the city and those wolves…well, maybe they just liked the scent of me or
something.”  Even as she said it she knew she was being naive.  She had stared
into that demon’s eyes, had seen the look of single-minded intent on those
wolves’ faces.  Deep down she knew it was her they had wanted.

“It’s too much of a coincidence.”
Raven said.

She was silent for a moment as she
allowed herself to process the fact that there was something out there trying
to get at her.  She nodded.  “What am I going to do?” When she looked up, her
eyes were moist. “I don’t know what I am. I don’t understand what’s happening
to me. I don’t know why these things are after me.” She spoke softly, her voice
cracking. 

The light turned green.

“Get her out of there.” Richard
said softly.

Raven nodded.  “Don’t worry, Rose.
We’ll figure it out.

23.

THREE VAMPIRES ON A ROOF

Jeremiah, head of the vampire
colony, regarded Thistle with a stern expression. “Rose is being questioned. I
have told you this at least ten times now.”

Jeremiah was old in both age and
appearance. A vampire holds a youthful appearance until its final years. When
the fade out approaches, approximately the last fifty years of a vampire’s
life, the aging process begins. Time etches its lines on the face and its grey
colours paint the hair. It has its own beauty, elegance, a sign of wisdom, an
indication of the preparation of being in the arms of the Goddess of the Moon.

“I’m just so worried.” Thistle
paced the rooftop of the flats, home of the vampire colony. “She must be
terrified.”

Gabriel stepped into her path. “Why
didn’t you tell us?”

He was the new guy from New York, dressed in figure-hugging black jeans and a form-fitting knit polo shirt,
standing six-feet in height.  His hair was a deep chocolate brown and long
enough to tuck behind his ears, the ends barely sweeping his shoulders and
accentuating his sculpted face and perfectly formed lips. But his most
arresting feature was his thickly lashed amber eyes. The outside wrapping was
an obvious attempt to conceal the arse hole he was.

Gabriel was next in line to be
Jeremiah’s successor as leader of the London vampires. Why he couldn’t be next
in line to be leader of the New York vampires was beyond Thistle. She had just
been told he was chosen and blah, blah, blah… She didn’t care about the
politics behind it, she just wanted to know why him? Why couldn’t it have been
someone less…pompous?

Thistle glared up at him defiantly.
“I was protecting her. Rose is confused and doesn’t know what to think. This
stuff…this power comes out of her while she is being attacked by a demon and it
terrifies her. Then she finds out she’s a supernatural and this whole other
world exists-” She broke off sighing in exasperation. “I was giving her time.”

“You had a duty to report any demon
attacks to me or to the council,” Jeremiah said.

“And any unregistered
supernaturals,” Gabriel added.

Thistle suppressed a sigh of
irritation. “She needed time to process this. She’s my friend. I knew this
would happen as soon as the council found out. I knew they’d come swooping down
on her and whisk her away to interrogate her.”

Jeremiah’s expression softened
slightly but his words were firm. “It’s for her safety and everyone else’s. She
will need to be registered.”

“I understand the protocol but I
could have stayed with her, made sure she was okay.”

“
You
,” Gabriel said, with a
little too much vitriol in his voice, “were brought back here to be punished.
You have broken rules, rules that are of the utmost importance. Your punishment
will be severe.”

Jeremiah approached Gabriel and
placed a hand on his shoulder. “She will be punished, yes, but it will not be
what you are thinking.  She broke from protocol but she did so out of loyalty,
friendship and the regard for someone else. That is an admirable quality. And I
respect it greatly. Gabriel, if you are to be my successor then you must learn
a degree of fairness and discretion. However,” Jeremiah turned to Thistle, “it
does not mean you let the guilty party off with a mere finger wag.”

“She should be banned from the
wedding,” Gabriel said. “Taking away something she wants to do would be a
fitting punishment.”

Thistle glared at him, wishing she
had a pair of really big scissors to give that annoyingly perfect hair of his a
good hacking at.

“No,” Jeremiah said. “Anthony and
Jared are close friends of Thistle’s. It would hurt them all too deeply if she were
not allowed to attend. I won’t allow that. I think the best form of punishment
for you, Thistle, is for you not to sing at the wedding.”

Thistle swallowed hard. She had
prepared a beautiful song for Anthony and Jared’s wedding, one she was going to
perform. The punishment really hurt. But she knew Gabriel’s suggestion would
have been far worse. Praise Diana he was not running things yet.

Gabriel sighed. “Is that all?”

Jeremiah smiled indulgently at him.
“You were right in saying that taking something Thistle wanted to do was a good
form of punishment and I have done that, without punishing Jared and Anthony.”
He turned to Thistle. “I will hand your song to someone else to perform.”

Thistle hung her head, accepting
the decision.

Gabriel threw up his arms in
obvious disgust, eliciting a hard look from Jeremiah.

Thistle bit the insides of her
cheeks to stop herself from smiling.  Jeremiah may be old but he was no push
over and she had a feeling that Gabriel would be learning that very shortly.

“You may leave us now,” Jeremiah
said to Thistle. “You have been given your punishment. As for you,” he said to
Gabriel, “seeing as you can’t grasp the notion of discretion or fairness, we
will have a lesson in both later.”

Bingo! Thistle shot Gabriel a smug
look before turning away from the two vampires and heading to the exit from the
roof back into the flats. She glanced up at the sky. The moon was smothered in
black clouds, the occasional beam of light shooting through a tiny gap in the
mass. She hoped Rose was okay.  

She reached the exit and stopped,
turning to face the vampires once more. “Jeremiah?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“May I ask a favour?”

Gabriel looked incredulous, opened
his mouth to speak but was silenced by a look from Jeremiah.

‘Yes, Thistle?’

“Could you inform me when Rose is
released please, so I can contact her?”

“Yes. Now go. I will come to you
when I am informed further.”

“Thank you.” Thistle inclined her
head in respect then left the rooftop.

She wondered who would perform her
song now as she descended the stairway. She hoped it wasn’t Sienna. Sienna
would only murder it with her lack of pitch and vocal ability. Tears welled up
in her eyes. She really wanted to sing for her friends, to give them that gift.
But it was done. Jeremiah’s word was final. At least she had the satisfaction
of knowing that Gabriel was probably getting a lecture on fair and effective
leadership.

She smiled, wiping away her tears. 
Now all she needed to do was wait to hear from Rose.