DeLeina, Maya - Veil of Seduction [Ambrose Heights Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (63 page)

“Who is Aleksanteri?” Steffan inquired softly.

“Aleksanteri was my life. We had this instant attraction to one another that was so strong. I had dreams about him before we even met. It was you, Steffan, who brought us together.”

“Me? I don’t even know who this Aleksanteri is,” Steffan said.

“On my first night working at the hotel, I reported to Aleksanteri. He was the night manager. He honestly thought I had made a serious mistake about being employed at the hotel. He tried to tell me that not only was the manager tight with money, he would never hire staff without consulting with him first. He made a brief phone call to the manager, confirmed my employment and I sank into my role as the hotel musician. From that night on, we also sank into each other as well.” Chariana paused, relishing in the memory of Aleksanteri. “As I was packing up for the evening, you drifted past the doors and I screamed at Aleksanteri,
That’s him! That is the guy who got me the job!
Aleksanteri took one glance at you, and he turned white as a ghost.”

Chariana shook her head, reaching back into her memory. “He was intent on catching up with you, obsessed in fact. We followed you through the streets. You moved so swiftly. Some of your movements seemed unnatural. I shook it off, thinking I was just overly tired that evening. Suddenly, you darted up toward the mountains, and I couldn’t see anything in the thickness of the forest. I was giving up the chase, but Aleksanteri insisted that we find out about you. He picked me up, put me on his back and carried me up the mountain as he traced your steps methodically, in the darkness. I had no idea how he was doing it. Through the thick bushes and trees, Aleksanteri moved hastily and pushed through the forest. All of a sudden, we were in a clearing.”

“Then what?”

“We came upon your castle. It appeared out of nowhere, just plopped down in the middle of the forest. The moonlight cast shadows through the trees that surrounded your home, and the fog suspended right above the steeple. It was so frightening. Despite the creepiness of the place, Aleksanteri insisted that we sit and watch you from the cover of a low rock wall that surrounded the perimeter of the castle. All of sudden, he somehow knew you were about to sense us so he
shielded
us. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but as soon as he did it, I picked up on your energy and Aleksanteri’s energy. That energy told me you both were vampires.”

Anya turned to Steffan. “Did you know Aleksanteri?”

“No.” Steffan shook his head. “I thought I knew of all the vampires in the town. I can’t believe I couldn’t sense you two watching me. I thought my shield detection abilities were much stronger than this!”

“Once everything was revealed up on the mountain that night, Aleksanteri took me back to the hotel so we could talk. I was hysterical. I had no idea he was a vampire. Somehow, I sensed it with you, Steffan, but nothing ever registered in me with Aleksanteri. Anyway, he wanted to know more about you. He said that he had a good sense about you and was even thinking about introducing himself as one of the resident vampires. He was intrigued with the family unit you brought to the area and was especially curious about your generous nature. I told him what I sensed of your future for you and your family, and he was captivated.”

“What did you sense?”

“At that point, I sensed that you were going to be very powerful among your kind. Within the next minute, your future altered right before my eyes.”

“How? Why would it alter?

“She was there. Aleksanteri and I were so deep in our discussion that we didn’t even realize she was there. She heard our entire conversation.”

“Who? Who was your roommate?” Steffan demanded.

“Madeline,” whispered Chariana

“M.J. was your roommate! What? When I met her after moving to Manitou, she told me she was a newborn vampire who was turned when her daughter was in infant. In fact, Lisa’s no more than sixteen years old now.”

“God help whomever she’s trying to pass off as her daughter! All I know is she is vampire all right. But a newborn, not exactly. That night, after she heard our conversation, she insisted that Aleksanteri turn her into a vampire. By this time, she was obsessed. She wanted power and control in any form she could find it. Even if it meant becoming a vampire, she’d do it. To her, immortality was the ultimate power. When Aleksanteri refused to turn her, she cast one of her dark magic spell on us, making us witnesses to the
I
mmortalritual
.”

“What in the hell is Immortalritual?” asked Steffan.

“She summoned spirits with her dark magic. They are believed to be the direct servants of the devil. They taught her that if a dark witch committed suicide during the full moon phase, the spirit could not pass into the next world, be it a heaven or hell. Instead, the witch would be bound to earth, in the only immortal form imaginable. A vampire.”

Steffan looked overwhelmed with the shock. “I never knew this existed! In all of my years, I have never heard of this ever being documented!”

“Well, document this, because I have witnessed it. It was horrible. The dark spirits commanded her to drain her body of her blood. She stood, cutting herself, screaming in pain, collecting her blood in buckets, pots, anything she could grab from the hotel’s kitchen. She followed every sick and twisted command they gave her.” Chariana paused, her stomach churning in pain with the recollection. “I remember her eyes. They were black as night. They were bloodcurdling. That’s how I knew she was no longer human. Once she turned, the spell she cast on us was complete. I turned into this, and Aleksanteri’s image was altered and he was brainwashed to serve as her companion instead of mine.”

“So she is pure evil,” concluded Anya.

“She was born from evil. Steffan, when she found out what I sensed of your future, she was
obsessed
. Her plan was to allow you to go on with your destined path in life, plant herself within your family, and steal the power from you when the time was right. I believe that time has come. She’s executed her plan to destroy you, correct?” Chariana asked.

“Funny you say executed…that’s exactly what she’s trying to have done to me. But what the hell are you implying? What’s Madeline going to do after my death? This is not simply revenge because I used her?” Steffan’s breath was ragged and fear etched in the lines of his face.

“You never used her Steffan. She
enthralled
you. But, you were strong and broke through her cast. It ruined her original plan. So she went back to work, crafting another way.”

“What is her plan?” Steffan demanded.

“Think about it. Vampires are the strongest beings to roam the earth. Ruling vampires would mean overtaking the human race. And therein lays the true, ultimate power. Control all that inhabits the earth.”

“
Cacha!
Is that what she wants? Why didn’t you tell me in Vienna?”

“I couldn’t. Steffan, the future is predestined paths woven with the influence force of the relationships that touch your life. Each time I wanted to tell you, I never sensed the future with a different outcome. You see, certain events, incidents, influences needed to occur so I could introduce myself at the exact time where I could sense a different outcome.” Chariana reached for Steffan’s hand. “I’m sorry, Steffan. It had to be this way so I could save the future as it was originally planned for you and everyone around you. Of course I wanted nothing more than to run to you and tell you in Vienna. It festered inside me. But I’ve been watching over you and your family ever since.”

“And how does Griffin fall into place in all of this? I mean, it’s Griffin after all, that you held audiences with, instead of me.”

“Once she cast her spell on me, I realized that I could no longer sense energy directly from you. I needed a medium, someone who could channel your thoughts and energy to me. This is when I met Griffin. This is why I set him on the course to join your family so he could serve as my mirror to you.”

“I guess the influence force plays a strong role in our ultimate destiny.”

“Yes. Influences are a key role, they’re what cause you to stay or stray from your life’s path. Take our influence sharing for example. I knew your fated mate was in Colorado. I needed to influence you to move here to Manitou in order to cross paths with her. I am the one who transferred this to you through Griffin. Once I moved here to be close to the family, my path crossed with Ryan. I sensed a strong connection to you and your family in him, but I couldn’t determine what the exact link was. So I studied him for a few years and figured out the path. I influenced him with an enticement. I enticed him with Ambrose Heights.”

Chariana turned to Anya. “This man, his heart has never belonged to you. He belonged to no one. Material possession, status, money—this is his main focus in life. There is no deviation in his future. No matter what influences come into his life, it’s always the same outcome. More this, more that. It will be his eventual downfall.”

Anya nodded.

“With my necessary influences in place, I allowed Ryan’s path lead as predetermined. It was Anise that I had to put most influence on.”

“You knew Anise?” Anya gasped.

“Yes, she came down here in search of me. She found out about me from Dominic.”

Steffan took in a deep breath. “Dominic! So
he
turned Anise!”

“Michelle’s Dominic was involved with Anise? Oh my god, this is just too much!” Anya said, shaking her head.

Chariana sat next to Anya and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Anya, when Anise came to see me, she had already left Dominic and entered back into a relationship with Ryan. She was pushing for him to leave you and was frustrated by his indecision.”

“What did she want from you?”

“She wanted to know her future. She was so unsure about her choices. I tried altering different events in my head for her, to see if I could steer her in a direction with a happier ending, but they all had the same outcome. Death. I had to tell her about Dominic, that he would find her and destroy her. Then I told her about Ryan, all the other women and his eventual plans to funnel the money from her, just as he did to you. But with you, I told her about your true heart and the love you still held for her even though you were apart. That’s when she devised her plan. She would make a will and name you as beneficiary so you could inherit all that Ryan took from you. She hoped this would help ease the pain of what she did to you and get even with Ryan.”

Anya cried, “Anise!”

Steffan and Chariana sat on either side of Anya, embracing and comforting her in light of the discovery.

“Chariana, you need to come with us to face the council. They just ordered Steffan to be executed because of Madeline. You are the proof we need!” Anya spoke feverishly as she wiped back her tears.

“Even with us together now, I still haven’t sensed the outcome changing. There is something we missed. An event, a connection, a person—I can’t tell. I think it has to do with only the two of you being here rather than the three I’ve sensed all this time.”

“I don’t know who the third person can be. Where is the connection with this person—with me, you, or Anya?” Steffan probed.

Chariana closed her eyes and concentrated. “It’s you, Anya.”

“Me?”

Chariana opened her eyes. “Yes. Are you still feeling dizzy?”

“A little. Not as bad as before though.”

“The dizziness is a reaction to the energy expenditure you just had in order to do your biokinesis on me. This also diminishes your abilities temporarily and makes you vulnerable. Quick, give me your hand before we lose this opportunity.” Chariana grabbed Anya’s hand.

“An opportunity for what?” Anya asked as she watched Chariana’s eyes dart back and forth.

“To see what’s inside of you, what is unique to you, why you’re the one.”

Chariana held on to Anya’s hand, her body vibrating with the exploration.

“Oh yes. How interesting. That’s it!”