Daylight - Book 1 (No Death for the Wicked) (10 page)

I want more than anything to keep running but I'm not being tailed. Squatting, knees bent, back glued to the commercial steel structure
, I tug on my bottom lip with a fang in frustration. Where the hell did they go?  It's just me, the glint of the biased moon, and the uninformative wind. I swivel from one leg to the other anxiously and lean around the cooling unit. Nothing's there, it's as unoccupied as any rooftop that surrounds me. I puff out a sigh and tilt my head back, my palms are clammy and my next thought is
what the hell am I still doing here? Get up, Mattie.

I push off the unit with my hands and ditch th
is rooftop. I'm already mid-air when I see the skylight. I shield my face as I smash through the glass.

When it breaks it shatters into a million small jagged pieces, descending downward as fast as I am. Microscopic layers of glass spread
out like a glistening blanket on the floor as I land on my feet. Intact, I clomp through crunching the particles of glass under my foot taking one step forward. “
Fuckkk...
” I broadcast, stunned as I look up at the busted out skylight, the drop was deadly but fun as hell. And I decide I'll buy a T-shirt that says
I survived
once this dreaded night is over.

The building I have landed in is some type
of warehouse, or a loading dock, tons of shipping containers and crates. It's dark, but when I pass by a crate I notice a red security light blinking profusely on the far wall. My eyes immediately roam the area, my mouth becomes watery, and that quenching tight ache to taste that coppery substance again fills me. I try to lick my lips and shake off the sudden need. I convince myself to look for a way out of here. I edge around the humungous metal bins and come face to face with Graham. 

“Mattie, what a
re you doing here?” His voice, ill-natured and edgy with a hint of a smirk slowly appears.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I shoot back. “So, are you here to do inventory for the Voynich or were you just passing through?”

He catches my chin in the palm of his sizeable hand, tips my head up and says, “I'm here to protect what's mine.” His lips hardly press against mine and then he whispers, “Stay here.”

Like a moron I nod, I don’t know how he does it but he makes me nothing but a puddle of lust
and I watch him unify beautifully within the darkness. He definitely knows how to make an entrance and an exit. My legs want to go on strike as I mold my back into the open cool storage unit. The warehouse is climate controlled, snowy white in color and neat as a pin. I don't hear a sound, not at first, not until a headless body falls from the top of the crates directly in front of me. I may have lost all color in my floored face right then, I've never seen a vamp beheaded before. Not in real life any way, the body doesn't even twitch or convulse like a humans normally would. It's an instance death.

I don't have time to process it much because Varen rounds
a nearby crate and I can tell that I'm wanted now more than I was before. The dead giveaway is when he flashes in front of me and his hand tries to choke what life I have out of me.
What does a girl do in a situation such as this?
I knee him with everything I have in the balls. He drops like a weight and I bolt taking my cue while he cusses me out, clutching himself. I weave past the crates and storage units in a mad dash. I quickly find myself standing out in front of the warehouse. I must have stormed through there like a rampant tornado. Everything is a blur but it all becomes crystal clear as Varen and three more vamps march out.

Varen's ideal stance is a little hindered which is under
standable after the ball buster move I just gave him, instead he bosses out, “Get her!”

They jaunt down the sidewalk in my direction and I turn barreling past clumps of people. Shoving and almost using them as a barrier, blending into the talkative crowds. I smile and nod quickly but before anyone
can grab a hold of me and start questioning about the thugs shadowing us. I sprint across the street, there are too many bystanders for them to do any abduction or roll out the guillotine. I keep an eye on them as I hustle down the next block. The crowds thin and I change direction, veering left at the first corner, I whirl around in yet another dead-end alleyway.
Fuck! 

The windows are all bricked up and one rusty metal beam sticks out on the
far wall. A piece of what used to be the fire escape, but nothing more. The farther I walk down the alley the more the smell of stomach-churning waste hits my senses.
What the hell?
But there's nothing here, no rhyme or reason for the stench, not even a single dumpster exists. There's no leverage I can hoist up on. I can't devise a way to get up to the rooftop on this little detour, so, I reverse my steps and make out the well-defined silhouettes of three vampires lurking my way. I start to hustle and leap myself up onto the corroded old beam but it snaps and breaks from the wall once my weight hits it.

Before my feet touch the ground Varen locks his unbreakable steel-like arm around my neck and the stars start floating through my head. My feet dangle, my arms cling to his in some deranged, desperate attempt to fight him off. My brain feels like it's going to explode, the pressure makes my lips tingle and my fangs protrude. The harder I squirm or struggle the tighter he squeezes.

“Enough.” Krew's voice comes bellowing out of the darkness.

I'm released,
and I purposely slam my elbow into Varen's ribcage breaking myself away from the bastard. Rubbing my neck, confirming my head is still attached. I glower hard at Krew. 

“Miss Kinsley...” He nods and curls his long gray fingers out to me, beckoning he says, “Come to me.” His voice is
silky like tentacles and seems to wrap around me as my feet start moving my body in his direction. I fight the compulsion with all I have, but it is useless. Krew is a centuries old vampire and he easily demonstrates who is the master. “Kneel before me, child.” Again my body is manipulated into action by his dreamlike words.

My only response is
that my knees turn to Jell-O, and I become my own traitor. My arms stiffen as I drop to the ground and my chin involuntary lifts upward meeting his malefic eyes.

“I am the Monarch of Solace and my will is law.
And I say enough with your petty, foolishness.” He struts around me. “Enough, Miss Kinsley. Don't you agree? There's no reason to make a scene and no need to cause harm to others. Yes, Miss Kinsley?” 

Strapped down by some
unseen strength I'm held in place by his power and my lips burn to tell him to go fuck himself. But when I try to speak, I hear my voice through clenched teeth utter roughly, “Yes, I agree.”
So help me if I get the chance I will kill this motherfucker.

His immortal hands brush my hair away from my scowling face as he bends down, his eyes reel scanning my features. It's like he's on crack, his lips spread with a
n eerie smile and then it fades and he throws his head back and laughs. He heaves me up to stand, and just like that I'm dragged off to the car which is parked at the end of the alleyway.

Chapter Nine

The Knight

Krew's office is somewhat intimidating, one floor from the penthouse with the same pearl painted walls. The very walls I have an aversion to now. Bookshelves replete with variable sized books, and a two ton safe sits off in the corner. It's wide and tall enough to hold a body or two in there, I actually lean forward a little in my chair to see if my suspicions are right. Nope. But Krew pulls out a couple of vials of yellow serum and places them gently on his desk.

“Miss Kinsley,” he rolls my name off his snarling lips as he eases into his chair. His fingers steeple against his chin as his intense stare drifts over me. The bastard finally lifts his
I'm all-mightier-than- thou
influence over me and I can feel my muscles relax.  

“Mattie, my name is
Mattie
,” I iterate scrapping my fang along my lower lip ring. Porcelain doll Estelle traipses through the office, carrying two long-stemmed glasses in hand and bags of blood. She glances at me as she fills the glasses. Her placid expression doesn't give away a thing but she knows something, she knows what's going to happen next.

Krew pops open one of the vials and drops a tiny smidgin of the bright golden liquid into the blood filled glass and slides it across his desk toward me. With one flick of his finger Estelle is dismiss
ed and she steps graciously aside. Varen and my good friend Emerick decide to come and join the show. I swipe the glass from the desk making it slosh back and forth. I take a sniff and glare over the brim of the glass at Krew.

“Go on,
Mattie.
This is what you wanted,” he jeers holding his own glass up in a toasting fashion. He takes a sip, licking his thin lips slowly as if he's debating on world hunger or something monumental. He quietly pours more serum in and calmly returns to his drinking debacle. I chug mine down, I already know what it is. It's the one thing I have wanted since I came here. I don't even savor the flavor of blood as I quickly set the glass back down on the desk and wait for the effects.

Krew stands, rolls his long sleeves up and walks to a set of heavy coal-colorized curtains. He whips them back and holds his arms out. The overbearing sun is rising high above the city of Solace
, drenching the building in a blazing ray of light. His welcoming arms are wide and outstretched to the morning without any fear. His face still directs toward the window as he announces, “Mattie, as each morning greets this glorious city, I in turn greet the rising sun, every day as well. You see, I am not just the master over the night, but I rule the day too.”

I shift uneasily in my chair, I've had only a drop and I know this vamp is as dangerous as walking on a bed of wooden steaks. He pivots back around, sends me a flash of a smile and strides over to a separate lone table. His fingers lightly touch the odd shaped pieces on a chess board, it looks old, very ornate, solid glass, and
very
expensive. I have no clue what the hell each piece is or how anyone would think playing that can be any more fun than washing dishes. He firmly taps the board which seems to be made of pure glass and a red hazy light illuminates everything from below.

“Do you play Mattie?”

“Um... No, can't say that I do.”

His feigning smile fades from his
face as he comments, “Pity, chess is very much a parallel to life. How one plays chess will tell a lot about how one lives their own life.
You,
for example, live life with a pure reckless premise. It would only be by blind chance that one such as yourself would ever win a game.” He pauses while he looks over the board, tinkering with another chess piece. “You, my dear are not a pawn.” He holds up one of the smaller but identical pieces on the board. “No, you remind me more of a knight.” He now shows me another piece that is either a damn question mark or a horse's head bending downward. “A knight is a valued piece, although some people find it bothersome to play with. The advantage of a knight is that most opponents overlook its ability to maneuver and attack. Many a queen has lost their head to an overlooked knight.” He slams the piece down hard shaking the table. “I am not most opponents though and I will never miss the potential in each piece I have on the board. Do you know the biggest mistake made in playing chess, Mattie?”

I shake my head, knowing that there's some possible beneficial meaning to his blabbering, I just can't quite coach myself enough to give a shit.

“Underestimating your opponent, and that my dear is lesson number one. Come.” He motions for me to move with a dramatic wave of his immaculate ample hand. Willing or unwillingly I'm standing in front of the window. Krew clutches his long fingers around my shoulder, forcing my arm out toward the light and whispers softly into my ear, “I gave you what you wanted, but only the amount that you deserve, see?”

He grabs my wrist, jerks the sleeve down past my elbow and exposes my bare flesh to the sun. I immediately wince, but no pain comes. I expect the searing pain
and my fingers to ignite in all their glory, but nothing. I steal a breath of relief. I'm not sure which I should be more impressed with, my hand not blistered and sizzling with flames or the first time I have ever seen the city of Solace in the daylight. The tone of the city looks nothing like it does at night, it's even more spectacular. The cleverly sculpted virgin-white buildings outline the twisty crimson river like protection from the pearly gates above. My hand focuses back into my view and I study it. I lift it higher with the background of Solace stretching out and beyond the horizon. My skin feels the warmth from the sun and I rotate my hand till I see the backside of it. Spreading my finger apart the light shimmers and spills between my fingertips. I've missed this feeling, the comfort of feeling something other than the undying, lingering hunger inside.

Flashbacks steamroll through my mind when Sammie and I used to strut around in the broad daylight and the laughter that had us in stitches, the memories of her in hysterics, me in hysterics at her sappy ludicrous attempts at spell casting. I almost chuckle out loud when I turn to my audience behind me, Krew cocks his head to the side thoroughly entertained. He orders Varen to bring him a towel and the first aid packet.

I'm wondering what the hell does he need a first aid kit for, but as I nonchalantly glance back at my hand, it's on fire.  

“Motherfucker!” I howl out ripping the towel away from him,
quickly I wrap it around my hand smothering out the flames. 

“Your hand is still intact, the skin will heal, although, it may take the remainder of the day to do so. I think you...” Krew sidles up closer, so close that our noses touch as he continues, “will not make the
same mistake of underestimating your opponent, but just to safeguard against such an occurrence, let me show you yet another splendid chess move. I refer to this as sacrificing a pawn.” Krew flashes to the illumined chess board and again moves another smaller piece forward.

The office door
swings open and the first vampire I recognize is Pandora. She's not alone and she's not part of the welcoming committee, she's in the same fucked up boat I'm in. I can tell because of her troubled face, it’s smeared with blood as her tears stream down her cheeks. Her hair is disheveled and knotted. Jerking her by the arm is the same upper-class male vamp I saw at the subway. He grabs a tight fistful of hair and relates his words in a hushed tone in her ear. She instantly drops to her knees in front of Krew. Head and eyes lowered, submitting herself over to him. The male vamp straightens his black curtain-long jacket and tips his silver cane in my direction, greeting me. I do not like the sinking, gut-twisting feeling I’m having right now. I flicker my gaze back down to Pan and then to Krew as he speaks.

“Mattie, this is my brother, Sergey and his ma
te Vladlena.”  The exact identical blonde I saw with the male that day enters the room. Wearing a bored almost mournful expression, it’s the only thing she and I have in common at the moment. It’s obvious she doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.

“We had an agreement, you and I,
Mattie,” Krew states making his way back to the sunlit window. “A pawn on a chess board can be the determining factor in winning the game. When an opponent is playing erratically I will sacrifice my own pawn at their hand to achieve the correct response. Is this clear to you, the meaning I am trying to portrait here?” He looks almost distracted as he continues to stare out.

“Nope, not really…
you know for being such a refined group of vampires, you sure don’t express yourself very well.”

Two things happen
at once, Krew flashes instantly in front of my face and the quiet, unanxious Vladlena now holds Pan viciously by the neck with every intention of ripping her head off. The tension rockets through every bloodless vein I have. “You will obey every command I give you, no matter how small, or inadequate you think it may be
or
Pandora here, will die. Do these words penetrate deep enough for you?”

I hold his st
are. His eyes turn darker beckoning me to answer him. Pan screams out as Vladlena yanks her head back. “Mattie, please… just do what they want! Just… please, don’t figh—”

“What do you want? Whatever it is I’ll do it, but let Pan go,” I hiss between my teeth.

“I’d much rather you agree willingly Mattie, than through coercion,” he points out. “So you agree?”

“Yes,
fucking yes, I agree, okay?!”

My
anxiety over Pan has forced me to play this twisted game, as long as she is safe… I’m watching Pan and instead of the relief I expect to see on her face, I see this big cheesy fucking smile as she pops her neck from side to side. Vladlena eases over her and licks the side of Pan’s neck and says, “I would sure hate to see this beautiful neck not attached to this…” her hands slowly run down Pan’s breasts and along her stomach.

“SonofaBitch!”
I blurt out.

“
No Mattie, actually I was the daughter of a whore,” Pan mouths back with this shit eating grin on her face.

Inwardly I’m ready to roll some heads in this joint, every single one in here is nothing but a bunch of
psychotic bitches, Krew included. All this shit makes me miss my mother dearest more than I would like to admit and that is royally fucked up. “So Krew, what’s up your dirty damn sleeve next?”

Krew
’s creepy smile widens with an ad shot of perfect pearly white fangs. He’s pleased with my reply, I shudder when his arm drapes around my shoulders as he walks me over to the window. His voice is as smooth as honey, dripping with a sickening sweetness as he announces, “I have such a surprise for you, my dear Mattie. A young gentleman named Malcolm is coming to Solace. He is a human like no other you have ever met. Our supply of uncommitted humans moving into Solace falls solely on him and his team of Head Hunters, as we call them. He will be arriving soon. Outside of a few distinct member of the Voynich family, and just so you understand clearly, I consider him more important than any other.