Darkest Risings (12 page)

“That’s
a lie and you know it. No vampire can shimmer into another vampire’s home
without permission.” Aldin straightened to his full, impressive height with his
fists clenched at his sides.

“I
assure you that I can.”

“Please.
Just listen to me. We can sort through the details later,” Marilena pleaded
with her sons.

“Fine,”
they all murmured in near unison.

“I
have made some horrible choices over the years, and I’m afraid that after you
hear what I have to say, you will never speak to me again. Perhaps you will
even hate me.”

“Mother—”

“Hush.
I need you to listen now. All of you. And try to have an open mind. While I
don’t expect you to forgive me, I expect you to at least try to understand why
I have taken the measures I have. Everything I’ve done was truly done out of
desperation and love. I was trying to protect all of you because you are my
life.”

She
twisted her fingers together in her lap and Ragnor placed his hand on her
shoulder as if to comfort and encourage at the same time.

“Go on, Marilena. I’m here for you
now, and I’ll be here for you after.”

Ragnor’s
voice in her mind was like a soothing salve on the ever-widening gaping wound
in her heart.

“The
uprising of the drifters that is happening was prophesized many years ago…by
Ragnor, King of Vampyre.” She tried hard not to look into the puzzled faces of
her sons.

“I
knew about it from the start, and I have gone to great lengths to stop it. The
prophecy will not come to pass until all of the Aleksandrov offspring find
their mates. Once that occurs, the wheels will be set into motion. But there is
so much more.” She took a deep breath and continued, thanking the gods that
they remained quiet. “I thought if I could keep one of you from finding your
mate, it would stop the prophecy.”

“Doesn’t
make sense. How in the world could you keep any of us from finding our destined
mate? If it’s going to happen, you have no control over it. And why does a
prophecy revolve around us?” Ashe sat rigid behind the desk.

“No,
I may not be able to keep any of you from finding your mates, but I could keep
your brother from finding his by keeping him prisoner. And to answer your other
question, the reason the prophecy revolves around the Aleksandrovs is because
you are the only true bloods left. Ragnor, the Vampyre King, the last of the
true bloods, not only foretold the prophecy, but he is also your father.”

“Do
you hear what the hell you are saying? It’s crazy. Are you trying to pull a
prank on us or something? Did Aiston put you up to this?” Aldin glared at Aiston.

“Stop!
I’m telling you the truth. You have a brother that you’ve never met. His name
is Uriah. I concealed my pregnancy from you all. After he was born, I hid him
away. I locked him up and have kept him a prisoner since his birth. I thought
if I kept him from the world, he’d never be able to find his
viata amant
. I thought by doing this, I
could save all of you. Instead, by interfering with Fate, I am probably the
reason your sister is dead.” Marilena sobbed and Ragnor tightened his grip on
her shoulder.

“This
is absolutely insane,” Aiston said after standing.

“It
is the truth,” Ragnor said.

“And
exactly who are you?” Ashe asked.

“I’m
Ragnor. Your father.”

The
whole room became deathly quiet for several minutes.

“Our
father was burned by vampire hunters hundreds of years ago.” Aldin spoke.

“Marcus,
the father you knew, yes. But I assure you that I am the one who sired you. All
of you, including your brother Uriah. The one you have never met. The one who
only found out he had brothers yesterday.”

“Ragnor
is only a legend,” Ashe whispered.

“Why?
Because no one has seen me? I didn’t want anyone to see me. After your mother
left me, I wanted nothing else to do with anyone. She took everything I loved
away. I allowed her to do it because she was scared, and I loved her enough to
let her do what made her feel safe. I now realize I was a fool for doing so. I
missed out on too much.”

* * * *

Aldin’s
head reeled with the aftershocks of the bomb his mother had just dropped on him
and his brothers. And the man standing beside her? Was he Ragnor? Was he his
father? He took a closer look at the man. While he appeared to be in his
fifties—which was a great illusion if he was the Vampyre King—the only thing
that made him look that old was the sprinkle of salt in his dark coppery-brown
hair and fine lines around his eyes.

Any
doubt Aldin had about his mother telling the truth was squashed as soon as he
looked into the man’s eyes. While it was true that Marilena, too, had turquoise
eyes, no one could mistake the even stranger, almost beguiling, turquoise color
of Ragnor’s eyes. They seemed to shimmer with hints of green, blue, and gray in
perfect accord with one another.

“How
is all of this possible? We have another brother? We are true bloods? We are
the sons of the Vampyre King? We are the key to the uprising involving the
drifters? Why?” He muttered more to himself in disbelief than to anyone else.

“It
is a lot to wrap one’s head around, but it is true, and you—you all—must come
to terms with this information quickly for time is paramount. The emotional
aspect of this situation must be dealt with later. Right now, you must focus on
the problem at hand. I did not make my existence known on a whim. You must find
a way to embrace this information, embrace your brother, Uriah, when he comes
tomorrow, and devise a plan to squash this uprising before it claims you all.”

“If
you are the legendary Ragnor, why don’t you simply take care of Trinidad and
let us be done with all of this bullshit?” Ashe asked.

“I do
not know who or what Trinidad is. I cannot risk being injured or worse because
I am the only one who can bring all of you into your true blood powers when the
time comes. After that happens, I will be weak and vulnerable for several days.
I will be drained.”

Anger
hit Aldin’s veins with a force that made his vision blur red. “You have never
been a part of our lives. You’ve never bothered all of these years to let us
know you were alive, and now you expect us to follow your orders?” Aldin
practically spit the words at the man.

He
walked toward him, surprised that Ragnor met him halfway with no fear in his
eyes. Aldin hadn’t met many who didn’t at least give his anger pause.

“Aldin.”
Ashe rose from behind the desk.

“No!”
Ragnor flung his hand toward Ashe. “We will settle any words that must be said
now.”

“You
left us.”

“Actually,
I did not. Marilena took you all away. But yes, I am at fault for allowing her
to do so. I loved her enough to let her make that choice. I cannot tell you how
many times I have regretted it.”

“You
stand before me as Ragnor, the supposed legend, and yet you blame this on
Marilena?” His fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to hurt Ragnor, wanted to
cause him as much pain as he was creating for him and his brothers at this
moment.

“No.
I blame nothing on Marilena. Although her choices were poor ones, I understand
that she thought she was doing the right thing. She was trying to protect her
children. I was not going to force her to stay with me if she did not want to.
There are some things worse than losing your
viata amant
. One of those things is watching the hatred in her eyes
grow for you with each passing day.”

The
situation was overwhelming, too much for one person to take in at once.
Hundreds of years of lies and deception. The rage took control and he swung on
Ragnor. However, everyone in the room, including him, gasped when Ragnor’s hand
flew up in a blurred speed and easily caught his fist in mid-air, holding it
without effort as if chastising a small child.

Aldin’s
eyes grew large. Never had he come across a vampire or other being who
possessed that amount of strength. He’d swung on Ragnor with everything, and
yet Ragnor stared at him in resignation and held him with ease.

Aldin
gasped and stumbled back. Ashe and Aiston came to stand beside him.

“This
will take some time for us to come to terms with,” Ashe said.

“Deal
with it quickly because your brother will be here tomorrow. After that, you
will have little time to devise a plan that will protect the family until Uriah
finds his
viata amant
”—Ragnor glanced
at Marilena and frowned—”and I can perform the ritual that will awaken your
true blood powers.”

“Aldin
hasn’t found his life mate yet either. That gives us more time,” Aiston argued.

“I
think we all know better than that,” Ragnor responded.

“Why
must we all find our life mates before we can come into our powers? Why can’t
you do the ritual now?” Ashe asked.

“The
powers of a true blood are not limited as your powers are now. You will be able
to do things you’ve never been able to do before. Command things unthinkable.
With that kind of power comes a certain darkness, a darkness that is consuming.
Your life mates are the light, the reason that will always lead you out of the
darkness that will call to you.”

“I
still don’t understand why you can’t simply take Trinidad out and end this,”
Aiston said.

“The
prophecy was specific. I don’t know why, but it is essential that you all play
a part in defeating Trinidad. You cannot do so without your true blood powers.
You cannot obtain those powers without me. I cannot risk myself. Doing so risks
all of your lives, and I am not willing to do that. If it were only my life
hanging in the balance, I would not hesitate to go after Trinidad, but I think
it has become all too clear what happens when we try to alter Fate’s plans.
While the details surrounding the prophecy may be possible to change, the base
structure that sets things in motion cannot. Try to alter Fate’s base plan, and
She will do whatever She must to get that plan back on course.”

“Are
we finished here, Mother?” Aldin gritted his teeth.

“For
now,” Marilena answered.

Aldin
stood, glared at both his mother and…no, he couldn’t say it. Ragnor could not
be his father. He headed for the door.

“Where
are you going?” Ashe asked.

“Hunting,”
Aldin ground back.

“You
cannot go on your own.”

“Watch
me.”

“No.
Aiston and I will come with you. I think we could all use an outlet at the
moment.”

Aldin
nodded. “Don’t fuck around. I’m not waiting long.” He wrenched the door open
and started for his room.

The
house shook with a sudden rumble of thunder. Wilhemina jumped and Avril and
Ebony looked at one another, worry etching their features.

“I
didn’t know it was supposed to storm tonight,” Wilhemina said.

“Me
either.” Ebony bit her lip. “Excuse me for just a moment please.”

Only
seconds after Ebony left the room, chaos broke out. Wilhemina followed Avril
out into the entryway to see what all of the commotion was about to find Ebony
talking to a not-so-happy-looking Ashe.

Out
of the corner of her eye, Wilhemina caught a glimpse of a broad back before it
disappeared around the corner on the second floor. She was certain it had been
Aldin. She looked back at Ashe and Ebony who seemed to be in a deep and heated
discussion. Avril went to Aiston, and they too were soon in what looked to be
an intense discussion.

A
moment later, Marilena and a man Wilhemina had not seen before appeared from
the study. The man shook his head at Marilena when she tried to go to Ashe, and
tugged her along by the arm around the two couples and up the stairs until they
too disappeared. Although Wilhemina was curious over what was going on, she
suddenly felt like the third wheel—or fifth wheel in this case.

She
edged to the stairs and made her exit as well. The tension that boiled in the air
practically singed her skin.
Me thinks
something happened that pissed some people off. Yes. Something that isn’t my
concern
. When she got to her room, she dug around for something to sleep in
and went to the bathroom to have a long shower. Maybe after the steamy water
had relaxed her, she’d see if she could get some writing in before going to
bed.

* * * *

Grady
stood across the dark street under cover of the deeper shadows of a big tree
and stared at the mansion. After risking his neck last year by going to the
hunters to tell them how to find Trinidad, he swore he’d never come near the
Aleksandrovs again when they’d miraculously let him go with his head intact. He
had to be the biggest dumb ass in the entire world for being here.

No
hunter had ever let a drifter walk. Usually, any interaction between a drifter
and a hunter ended in the drifter’s death. Especially when that hunter was an
Aleksandrov. But he had to help them. Not only for their benefit, but his as
well. If Trinidad found out he was alive, there would be no dark corner on
earth he could hide in. He would be hunted until the day he died…or was killed,
which was the more likely scenario. He’d seen the demented evilness Trinidad
was capable of, and he had no desire to find himself on the receiving end of
it.