The Vampire Hunter's Academy: The Darkness (13 page)

“Yeah,” He answered finally. “You are. I see that sucka Trent still trying to take you from me and that is never going to happen.”

“So is this about Trent or is it-“

He silenced her question with a gentle kiss on those soft lips of hers. She gasped and silenced that too. Eve kept walking. He knew she knew but he didn’t care. Whatever this was between them, he never wanted to end. She was his and always will be. At seventeen, she was old enough to choose. He could see into her mind, sense her fears, her questions…he dug a little deeper as he deepened the kiss and yes, there it was…her heart knew. She knew even when she could not articulate it she knew. He gently pulled away, blown away not only with his discovery but with the young goddess that made up Sanaya. He pulled her in close and going based on her dazed expression, he could argue that she was weak on her feet and needed the support.

“Come on you two!” He heard Eve shout from the steps of his building.

They moved as a single unit, a step up from what they were during training, moving quickly until they met Eve who stood at the top of the steps frowning.

“Listen here you two,” Eve began. “Sanaya, you and I are going to have a serious heart to heart and King, I have already said my piece…” She stopped when she realized the young couple had completely tuned her out and was focused on each other’s gaze, locked in a private moment.

“Oh for the love of Pete,” Eve grumbled. “I will personally separate you two if-“

“Alright Eve,” Sanaya muttered. “I get it.”

Eve sighed and ushered both of them inside. She was kind enough to allow them a moment to say goodnight. Dinner would be served in their respective rooms to give each student time to recover from their injuries.  Eve watched as King expertly kiss Sanaya once more, pulling away and taking her breath away along with it and she had to give it to the young man. He had skills. However, the last thing she needed was her Slayer distracted by the nasty little bite from the love bug. No wonder Archer wanted to kick his ass.

She watched the young couple part ways like it was the last night they would see each other and when King closed the door behind him, Eve mentally prepared herself for the conversation that was about as comfortable as a trip to the Gyno’s office for a routine pelvic exam. If she didn’t, then Archer would and that was the last thing either of them needed. Especially not now.

Sanaya refused to think about her hour long conversation that was forced upon her by none other Eve, Tia, Lois…hell even Tatsu felt compelled to add her two cents in about sex, men, the changes taking place in her body and the dangers of her own erotic power. Things took a turn for the worse when the topic of pregnancy came about and the last thing she wanted to think about was having anyone’s babies. Not now. Tia expressed that she should hold off on exploring this bond with King. She said, “Sanaya you are so young. You need to know what is out there. Never make a man your entire world.” For Pete’s sake she just met King! And yes, she felt things for him that went beyond a hard core crush or infatuation. There was something intimate about him being in her headspace-way more intimate than sex. Eve stressed that she needed to remain focused: King had to prove himself worthy to be her Guardian. To be her boyfriend was one thing, but to take that sacred oath to put her life above all others including himself was another. And, Eve declared that he is not just proving himself worthy to be her Guardian: he must prove himself worthy of her heart. Things really went down the crapper when they asked her about her virginity and when she admitted begrudgingly that King was the first guy she’d ever kissed, she damn near fled the room when they swooned all over the living room. Maya had just walked in when the swooning took place and she too made her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

She turned the hot water on to boiling proportions and stepped in. Her bruises had healed, but her muscles were achy and sore. Grabbing her loofa, she lathered up in the Coconut scrub before deciding to wash the sweat and grime from her wavy, shoulder length hair. Massaging the herbal Essence into her hair, she closed her eyes remembering how this brand of shampoo had been her mother’s favorite. She pictured her mother, washing her hair in the kitchen sink, muscles completely relaxed as her senses indulged in the fruity scent of the popular shampoo brand. Then, she would blow dry her hair, looking every bit like Pam Grier with her fro’ before she placed a hot comb to it, to straighten out the kinks and coils. It was in moments like this that she missed her mother more than anything in the world. She had no idea what happened to her aunt Francis. When her mother was killed, she was not permitted by The Vatican to come to her funeral. All contact to surviving family members came to an end and the life she once knew was over when her mother’s ashes were emptied onto  the hallowed ground of a local church.

Look at me mama,
she thought to herself.
I am strong now. If you were alive I could protect you. I should have protected you…
One tear led to another and soon, she was standing beneath the head of the shower, Herbal Essence fused with tears rinsing down the drain. She stood underneath the flow of hot water, until her soul cried itself empty. She sniffled, rinsed her face once more and prepared to step out, when that familiar erotic presence made itself known in the dark corners of her mind. She threw up mental blocks, shielding herself but the intruder already had his foot in the door. She cut off the water, wrapped a towel around her and there she saw his image, a transparent projection of him standing in the middle of the bathroom.

“Get away from me,” she growled, gripping her towel.

The vampire smiled, his green eyes lit with lust. “You are exquisite,” He whispered. “Come to me! Put down your barriers slayer or-“

“Or else what?” She demanded, wishing she could put a stake in his cursed heart and be done with it.

The vampire didn’t bother to respond verbally. He attacked her mind, sending her every sexual visual he owned into her mind, bringing her to her knees.

“Stop!” She groaned, fighting the urge to remove her towel and put an end to her own misery.

“Now you know what I suffer,” He murmured. “But let us not suffer any longer.”

Her towel came off and the entity was on top of her, struggling to break the invisible barrier that prevented him from manifesting in the flesh, when something within her snapped.

No. He would not take her against her will.

The bathroom door burst open at the same time as her eyes came a lit with bright silver and when her eyes met the master vampire’s, the entity unleashed a bone chilling scream.  Eve shot a series of silver tipped arrows into the hologram image only to look away in horror as he disappeared with blackened eye sockets. Sanaya remained trembling on the floor. The other Guardians rushed in, followed by Maya while Sanaya sobbed.

“He tried to…” She could not bring herself to finish the sentence as Eve wrapped her in her towel. “I don’t know what happened. He was on top of me. I-“

Maya barreled into her friend’s arms, sobbing with her. “He didn’t take it did he?” She asked repeatedly, referring to her virginity.

“No…but I was afraid if I didn’t fight harder that he would.”

“Your eyes,” Eve began. “You did good. Your eyes burned silver and blinded him. He’s gone now…”

Tatsu in her fury flung a ginsu knife into the wall. “We couldn’t get to you. He sealed you in!”

Maya and Eve helped Sanaya get dressed, while Lois called Archer, and before she tied her damp hair up, Archer, Congo Asim and a number of other male Guardians came storming in, including one everyone would least expect.

“How the fuck did that bitch get in here?” Archer shouted, pushing past his team members. “Where is he?”

“Gone. It was a projected image of himself. He was testing our barriers and he was somewhat successful,” Eve explained calmly. “Her eyes burned silver and blinded him and sent him on his way.”

“I’m more concerned about how he got past three Guardians and an assassin,” Congo commented, studying the angry faces that glared at him.

“He had her sealed in. We couldn’t get to her,” Tatsu snapped. “Eve is not a full blooded vampire and even with all of our strengths, he was still too strong.”

“Son of a bitch,” Archer murmured.

“She is no longer safe here. The room has been compromised…”

Sanaya emerged from the bedroom, her eyes red rimmed and tear stained when she noticed the only person in the room that seemed to matter. While everyone else was talking, he approached her and took her for an embrace.

Everyone stopped talking.

“Are you alright?”  King asked, wiping away residual tears that had yet to fully shed.

“Who the hell let him in here?” Archer fumed.

“He is my charge,” Congo shrugged. “Where I go, he goes.”

“This is not the goddamn Love Hotel!”

“Archer,” Eve scolded. “Please…”

King held onto her despite Archer’s threatening looks, and then once again, the voice in her head became a maddening, incessant plea to leave the campus. The voice sliced through her, prickling her skin and sending an electric current combo of pleasure fused with pain. She dropped to her knees clutching her head. King was on the ground with her, calling her. Chaos erupted around her.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhh! He’s in my head!” She screamed. King pulled her into him, cradling her against his body.

“Sanaya, focus on me,” King told her. “Focus on me.”

Hands. Various sets of hands were on her but all she could hear was the maddening call and King’s voice gaining momentum in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out again.

“Focus on me,” She heard King repeat. She felt King’s presence enter her mind.

Noooo! Get out of here! He will kill you…
she pleaded to him mentally.

Yes, tell him…
the vampire taunted.

“Focus on me,” King whispered to her again and this time, she saw him standing directly next to her.  She reached up to touch his face and the instant his brown eyes melted into hers, everything went black…

Chapter Seventeen

Sanaya came awake to the relaxing sounds of heavy breathing, and an even heavier arm draped across her back. She stirs, slowly becoming mentally aware that she is not alone in the room. She carefully shifts so as not to disturb whoever it was that has taken refuge in what was supposed to be her bed. She opens her eyes, and all of her senses awaken at once, alerting her to every energy signature and every scent of every individual crammed in the moderately sized bedroom that was supposed to be for her and Maya only. She gasps when she realizes that the arm once draped across her back belonged to none other than King! What was he doing in her bed? And, why would the Guardians allow it-especially Archer? She pushed a loose strand of hair from her face and studied the sleeping young, fiery man that destiny brought to her life. He slept now on his side, one arm above his head, his thick long locks blanketing his shoulders. He reminded her of a sleeping lion, nestled in the tall grass of the Serengeti. Gentle snores and deep breathes were his harmony.

She scooted over just a bit to give herself some space when she accidently bumped into a perfectly manicured foot. Maya! Her best friend was burrowed underneath a mountain of blankets, sleeping soundly. What happened?  Scanning the room she noticed Congo, still strapped with a multiple Bowie knifes on his left leg holster and a Glock held firmly in his grip, while he leaned against the wall, his head nodding to the side while he dozed. Lois was sprawled out on her stomach on the floor, a stake tucked into her back. Sanaya could also sense the presence of several more Guardians nearby, and she could only imagine how many there were patrolling the halls and scaling the rooftops.

She centered her thoughts on the series of events leading up to this moment, and the last thing she remembered was the psychic attack from Ronan and then King stepping in encouraging her to focus on him. She glanced at him once more. Had he not been there, she could only imagine what would have happened. She remembered what else happened: the bathroom, Ronan on top of her…she could feel his strength, but not all of him physically. He wasn’t tangible. Something blocked him from manifesting fully into corporeal form. The erotic sensations he threw off were intensely real, and she managed to get him off before…

Shaking her head, she leaned back into the cool comfort of the sheets, finding herself to be perfectly content between the two people she cared about most on the planet at this time. She could not recall everything that happened after the moment King mind locked with her, but she did know one thing: it felt great to be surrounded by people who actually had her back.

King was up at first light as were the other Guardians. Sanaya, apparently was a very hard sleeper and he reasoned that it might have something to do with the changes Eve explained were taking place in her body. He kissed her gently on the top of her tussled hair, and said silent prayer of thanks that Congo allowed him to follow when she was attacked by the master vampire. The poor girl was strong, but had not reached the stage where she could mentally safeguard herself from a vampire’s telepathy and was still vulnerable. Fortunately for him, he’d honed that skill years ago when he started noticing that things were changing in his old neighborhood in Atlanta. Vampires had come ‘a’ callin’; the youth started disappearing and violent crimes increased. He was the only kid on the block that understood what was up, and had the skills to defend himself. A female vampire rolled up on him when he was fifteen and out in the late hours hustling for some extra cash and he sensed her pull. The female was all that and then some, possessing that exotic look where identifying her race offered a challenge. He barely escaped with his life but each encounter made him stronger, and gave him the opportunity to survive both the streets and the supernatural threat that was destroying more lives than drugs and violence combined.