Chapter 12

As I drew open the wooden door to my chamber, Maya and I were met by the barreled chest of one of Luther's fiercely loyal guards. "Apologies, my lord. You are under strict orders to remain inside your quarters and rest until your son returns."

I looked up and down the corridor to make sure we were cleared before I punched through the vampire's chest and pulled out his still-beating heart. "Sorry, mate, nothing personal." The poor chap was dead before he realized what had happened. I took no enjoyment from killing my own kind, but collateral damage was par for the course. I was not about to risk him thwarting my plan by alerting other guards.

He fell back against the wall then slid to the ground. I dropped the heart on the floor, shaking blood from my hand, but my sleeve still dripped. "Lovely." With no time for a wardrobe change, I leaned down and wiped the blood off on his clothes. Searching his body for weapons, I found a blade strapped to his thigh.

"Why not take his gun?" Maya asked, seemingly committed to helping me escape.

"You mean this curious piece of machinery?" I said, hooking a finger through the strap of the modern weapon secured to his chest. She nodded. "Because, my little bird, I want to remain inconspicuous and these things, from what I witnessed, are far from."

I may have looked restored, but my strength was not at full capacity. Last thing I needed was to fight off a horde of vampires.

Maya's body shook as she stood with her back flattened against the stone wall. Her wide-eyed expression made her look like a scared rabbit. My gums throbbed. Fucking hell. I needed her to staunch that fear, or she'd derail my mission.

I stood and cupped her chin. "I'm not planning to hurt you. You do as I say and you're going to make it out of this alive, you might even have a chance to save your sister, but I need you to stay focused. You understand?"

She stared blankly.

Looking deep into her eyes, I attempted to use compulsion, but my gifts hadn't returned to me yet. Another by-product of my entombment, compliments of my brother. Fucker.

Still, I did my best to reassure her that despite what I'd just done to the guard, she was safe. A sparkle returned to her eyes as she relaxed her facial muscles. The beats of her heart also took on a normal rhythm. "That's it, little bird. Take a couple of deep breaths. Good. Now I need you to do as we agreed. Get me the hell out of this place."

We wound around several more hallways where I used the blade I confiscated to stab two more guards in the heart. Thankfully, Maya knew her way around the structure and made sure to keep us out of the prying eyes mounted on the top corners of the walls—the security cameras, as she'd called them.

She took me through the secret passages used by the lilies to keep them out of sight as they moved through the underground home, which minimized unwanted temptation for the guards. Most of the girls were asleep or at Requiem, Luther's nightclub, which, from her explanation, sounded like a tavern of some sort.

As we arrived at an indistinct gray metal door, she said, "That's the exit, but there will be guards positioned outside."

I gripped the knife's hilt harder. "How far away is the club?" I asked, glancing at the quivering lily. But that wasn't fear I smelled perfuming the air. Sweat beaded on her forehead and I spotted small droplets on her neck as well. The stress I smelled was her body preparing for flight. She was already planning her escape. A part of me lamented not being able to sire her—she would have made a formidable vampire.

"Maya?"

She licked her lips as she held my stare. "Make a left at the end of the alley, followed by a quick right and then make the second left. The entrance to the club will be down another alley to the right."

Stepping closer to her, I said, "Wait ten minutes after I exit this door before you try to leave."

Her head cocked and she raised an eyebrow.

"Ten minutes. Not before," I reiterated, offering her a knowing look. Perhaps she hadn't believed me when I told her I wouldn't harm her.

"And then?" she asked.

"Spread your wings, little bird. It's time to fly." I winked as I pulled the door open and slinked out, quickly shutting it behind me.

The two guards standing at their posts heard my approach a second too late.

There was no scuffle, neither one had a chance to draw their shiny weapons. Both died of twin stab wounds to their hearts. I cleaned the blade on their black clothes and walked toward the main street. The morning sun would make a meal of their flesh before any humans would find them.

I stopped and took a full minute to delight in my freedom.

Five hundred years was a bloody long time to be imprisoned. I stared up at the wintry evening sky, tiny snowflakes flurrying in the wind, skin welcoming the icy particles, the sensation inundating my senses.

This frigid night was brutal, but it felt heavenly. I'd not bothered to ask for a fur coat, not that I truly needed it. The cold was a nuisance, but it wasn't something my body couldn't tolerate.

I was alive. Nothing else mattered.

Except maybe finding my son and ensuring he knew his father was back. Then we'd get down to business.

I'd not been unearthed to keep resting.

Luther had explained he'd designed an elaborate plan to give power back to the immortals. Claimed that with the advancement of science a toxin had been created that could render our vampire enemies dead without the need of hand-to-hand combat, but he'd also found a way to enslave humans to vampires without much effort. This I needed to see. Compulsion wasn't permanent, and very few vampires inherited the gift.

Needing to lay my eyes on this kingdom my son had promised, I took off into the night in search of Requiem.

I strolled down the streets of New York City, puzzled but mesmerized, trying to immerse my mind into my new surroundings. Awoken into a world once known to be vastly unpopulated, and only having one day to absorb five lifetimes worth of history and technological advancement, my heart struggled to find the right rhythm. My blood rippled through my veins, unsettling me at the immense lapse of time and space.

The world was no longer what I remembered… far from it.

Luther said vampires had been reduced to mere folklore and fantasy. Surely witches were also that of legend. Yet, if they too were still in hiding, how else could the world have advanced so rapidly? I refused to believe humans were capable of such genius.

In my time, witches had been behind most technological endeavors and industrial achievements. Their wizardry had proven helpful in ushering out the dark ages and welcoming the rebirth of civilization, but even then, their power and practice was kept secret.

As I walked, staring at windows and streetlamps, I mentally scratched at my head. Fire was no longer required for illumination. Lights shimmered and twinkled from peculiar lanterns lining the streets, and homes shone bright in similar fashion.

Roads were covered in smooth stone-like surfaces and carriages no longer required equine power. The metallic roars, wheels treading, and loud honking from the automated machines ripping past me on the road clawed at my eardrums. I shut my eyes, attempting to hone my senses and dull out the chaotic sounds of this place.

Sliding my hand into my overcoat pocket, I cradled the small, black mechanical object Luther had left me for communication. I retrieved it and stared at it with a pinch of resentment.

A cellphone, as he had called it.

To communicate with someone all I had to do was press on the glass screen, enter a passcode, press again and the voice of the person I sought to reach would be summoned.

For a moment I thought of summoning Luther. But for what? To warn him I'd escaped his poorly designed prison? No. I needed my mouse thinking the cat was still in its cage. My thumb hovered over the device. To hell with this technology.

Sticking the cellphone back in my pocket, I was forced to pause in my tracks when the thundering rumble of an object skimming the sky rattled the insides of my ears.

The pain made my face tense as I stared up at the heavens. One of those airplanes I'd had the pleasure of traveling in from my homeland flew past.

A mournful sigh escaped my lips. The mortals had been extremely occupied the last few hundred years. Meanwhile, I'd been stored away inside an iron box. I hated playing catch-up. Vulnerability was not one of my virtues.

These modern human dwellings and structural innovations were baffling, preposterous buildings that stretched beyond the limits of my imagination. And that was not an easy feat since I had quite a vivid imagination. Despite the thrill of feeling alive again, my heart pounded with longing for the familiarity of my native hunting grounds.

As I made the first right Maya had instructed, I looked up and down the long, wide streets. How could I possibly rule here when none of this made sense? When I had no idea where I was or how anything functioned.

My beast growled, the vibration echoing deep in my chest. For far too long, my existence had been denied of the one and only thing I needed to survive—human blood. And now my beast demanded his first real kill.

Saints. The hunger never dies. It gnaws and rips and tears. But I couldn't let it win. Couldn't let it distract me. The time for hunting would come. But right now, I needed to find that club and see for myself what my son had promised.

Picking up my pace, I flashed across the next two streets until I made the second left, finding the alleyway Maya had mentioned.

There you are.

The scent of Luther's guards was potent. Something in their blood stank of impurities. What the hell had they been feeding on, diseased rats?

I contemplated my options as I walked down the alley. I'd shed enough vampire blood tonight. There was no longer a need for the element of surprise. Donning my diplomatic skin, I trained my face to erase all signs of irascibility.

The vampires stood at the top of a stoop, sniffing the air as I approached, no doubt detecting my scent as one of their own. Still, their scowls and puffed out chests were an indication they didn't recognize me as their elder, but saw me as a mere pest.

Despite the scent of my Gen-Two blood, I was unfamiliar to them, and they held zero respect for who I was. We'd need to remedy that.

They drew closer to each other, blocking the entrance, shoulders squared, sleek weapons strapped across their chests. I blew a vexed breath, dropping the smile I'd plastered on my face. Diplomacy would not work with these imbeciles.

Ripping the hearts from their chests before they could blink would save me some trouble. Or… I could try civility. This was a new modern world after all. Back muscles tense, I resigned myself to giving these dimwits another opportunity.

Putting my palms up to show I held no weapon, I said, "Why don't we do this with minimal grief, huh mates? I've managed to keep my suit blood-free so far." Then I remembered the guard outside my chamber, and I shrugged. "Well…mostly blood-free."

"Get lost, asshole," the one with the short-cropped beard uttered, pointing his weapon at me.

My jaw twitched.

Here we go.

"You heard the man," the one with blue eyes added, sneering at me as if I was some Third-Gen. "Get lost. Entry is invite-only."

Flexing my neck, I pulled the leash tight around my beast and tunneled my gaze into the guard's challenging eyes. "Why would I need an invitation to enter an establishment that belongs to me?" I replied, lips taut while I worked to retain some sense of composure.

They glanced at each other and sniggered, then cropped-beard said, "Seems we have ourselves a comedian."

His buddy laughed. "Not gonna tell you again, asshole. Get lost."

Cursed Saints. I'd truly hoped not to shed anymore vampire blood tonight, but these two jobbernowls had plucked my last nerve. "Tell you what, I'll give you one last chance to bloody move away from the door and let me pass. I'll even promise to forget this slight impediment."

"Who the flying fuck do you think you are?" Cropped-beard left the deceptive safety of his perch, his chest now a mere arm's length away from me. "We said get lost, pal. Unless you want?—"

I could have used the knife hidden inside the waistband of my pants; it would've been cleaner. But feeling his blood spill over my hand as I squeezed his beating heart with my fingers was far more gratifying. "I don't enjoy killing my own kind," I spat, my face inches from his. "But I'll gladly dispose of useless blockheads." Before yanking out his heart, I drew even closer, catching my reflection in his moist, horrified eyes. "Name's Azrael, mate." Looking up at the second guard, I gritted, "Go on, run along. Tell Luther that daddy is here."