A Free ebook by Ally Thomas | Copyright 2011-2013 by Ally Thomas | All Rights Reserved
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this story’s content may be used by other authors including concepts, characters’ names and characteristics, plot and etc. for profit, publication, or fan fiction unless with written permission by the author.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No section of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval web site or system without the written permission from the author. The author holds all copyright certificates for this book. They are files with the United States Library of Congress.
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Chapters 1-4 are included in this section.
Chapter 1 – Grace’s Decision
If I hadn’t been staring out the windows that lined one side of the Golden Skull bar, I don’t think I would have noticed it was a full moon that night. The bar was situated at the corner of Clayton and Haight in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. The moon seemed to be hanging just above the street sign at the intersection. It was a huge moon, a big glowing ball shoving its way in.
I envisioned an angel flying out of it and whisking me off, far away from Nathan and T who sat across from me at the table, whispering constantly to one another or texting on their phones, essentially ignoring me completely. My staring out the window was the safest option. Really it was the only non-threatening thing I could think of doing while we waited. Nathan had a meeting with a woman he had met on the internet.
I kept my back to the other customers in the bar. Nathan had instructed me that if I so much as looked at anyone, including Max, my former boss, I’d be in big trouble. He was convinced I’d try to run for help, but I had a plan instead. Running was no longer possible. It was over for me.
“If you so much as look at anyone Grace, I’ll kill em all, especially that loud-mouth old hippy friend of yours.” Nathan’s words ricocheted through my brain again. Luckily it was Max’s bowling night, so maybe he wasn’t around. On the other hand, Jeremy, his son was another story. He had probably been left in charge for a few hours. Hopefully Jeremy wouldn’t stop by to chat with Nathan or flirt with me? He thought Nathan was so cool, and he told him often how cute his girlfriend with the flowing red hair was. I didn’t feel like I was Nathan’s girlfriend anymore. I felt like I was his slave.
Lately Nathan’s words had been harsh, even hurtful. Maybe I still felt an ounce of affection towards him despite our chaotic past. I guess it’s hard to let go of someone, even a person who enjoys victimizing you. I was becoming numb to his abuse though, slowly but surely numb.
How long ago had it been when we were good friends, then lovers, when we hung out together, just the two of us at the bookstore or library before work, and before he adopted his friends who turned him against me? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
One night, we had met in a bar, this bar actually. While attending the San Francisco Art Institute, we both needed a job and thought hanging out in the neighborhood bar would show the owner we were determined to get hired. Actually the plan had worked. We had laughed when we discovered we had had the same idea. I had admired his confidence. He was so sure of himself, almost to the point of being cocky. Later it proved to be a trait I found very annoying, especially when his new friends - like T - began stroking his ego. Nathan wasn’t the same after that.
Max Edwards, the bar owner was a good-hearted soul who went on about the old days in the 60s when Haight-Ashbury, the neighborhood where he had lived and resided, was happening, as he put it. While I worked the Golden Skull, he’d enjoyed reminiscing about how grand the neighborhood used to be before the punks and freaks moved in. His words, not mine. Max didn’t like many people, but for some reason he had taken me under his wing.
“You’ve got potential, Grace,” Max had told me. “Your boyfriend, on the other hand, is a loser. Pure and simple. Don’t let him drag you down.”
I should have taken Max’s advice because soon after that Nathan dropped out of school and Max fired him. Getting high and playing video games with his skinhead friends became Nathan’s new past times. Working at the bar, getting a degree, and avoiding Nathan at all cost became mine until he sucked me into his plan for a revolution.
It boggled my mind now how I had been so taken with Nathan then. He had been a tall, lanky, shy guy who dressed mostly in black or dark green hoodies and dark jeans, and rarely talked above a whisper. He thought it was cool to mumble and act uninterested in most things. That drove Max crazy, not to mention the customers in the bar who thought he was mentally challenged when he didn’t pay enough attention to get their orders correct.
Once Nathan was free from his responsibilities, he started cruising around the city with his new friends, experimenting with heavier drugs. That’s probably when the bloodletting started. I don’t really know. I tried to stay busy with work and school, and not ask too many questions. I should have left him then because Nathan’s appearance and his attitude towards me changed greatly. He became a bloated, twitchy shell of a man with shifty eyes, a sweaty bald head and matching black tribal earrings. The kind that sag your ear lobes. He talked down to me, told me I was too stupid to get a degree, and made fun of me in front of his friends any chance he got.
When I found out he was stealing money from me to buy weed, I knew it was time to walk away. In fact, I was going to dump him that night when he and his friends jumped me. His friends had convinced him that he had a better solution for a new world beyond any current political movement. T and the others puffed Nathan up like a god, gushing on about his wacky theories on vampirism. They told him he would be their leader and they would recruit people into their army, starting with me.
I still can’t figure out how Nathan became a vampire because to be honest he’s not like any vampire I’ve seen in the movies. Obviously I haven’t met an actual vampire, so I have little to go on. According to some popular urban legend floating about on the internet, vampires did exist on Earth at one point, along with werewolves and witches. But they were all killed off, burned at the stake around the late 1600’s. It went down in history as the Salem Witch Trials with werewolves and vampires never once being mentioned in the history books.
You may have a few friends who think they are vampires, and that’s fine by me. As far as I know, vampires don’t exist. Nor do werewolves, witches, or warlocks. Heck, now that I think of it, angels don’t exist either. Wow, that’s a depressing thought. Anyway as I was saying…
Once he read on the internet that vampires originated in Ancient Greece and anyone with blue eyes was persecuted for being one of the undead, he started reading up on Greek mythology and trying to connect the origin of vampires back to the ancient gods like Zeus, Athena, or Apollo. There was no stopping him after that. He became obsessed with it. Perhaps he figured something out with his bloodletting rituals and the herbal remedies a woman on the internet started sending to him. He called her a disciple of the ‘True Giver of Life.’ I never hesitated to remind him that the woman’s name was Stephanie. And she sounded like a nut job. One time I had insulted him when I asked, “How do you get vampire or true giver of anything out of a girl who calls herself Stephanie? Wouldn’t she pick a cooler name than Stephanie? Like imperial wizard or grand dragon maybe? Get real, Nathan!”
He split my lip over that question and comment, so I visited the care facility, got myself stitched up, and stayed away from him for several weeks. I decided the idea was so ludicrous, and that Nathan was so sold on it, that it was best to just drop it until I could figure out a way to get away from him for good. He had flipped for this woman. Nathan had come up with a notion that the Stephanie chic was some sort of enchanted goddess with special powers, and had a very intense look only few were blessed to witness. “She’s the real deal. Listen to me. She can turn people into vampires, I’m telling you. She’ll bring this world to its knees someday. I can’t wait!” he had said, giddy as a school boy. “She told me she looks just like Medusa from the Greek mythology books. She calls herself the new Medusa, but she keeps herself hidden under a dark cloak, so she doesn’t draw too much attention to herself when she walks among us.”
Once I heard Medusa, Zeus being a vampire, and this freak ‘walking among us,’ I was finished with Nathan’s nonsense. I didn’t want to hear anymore! I couldn’t persuade him to stop chatting with this woman on the internet. He was more than fascinated with her. He was enthralled with her, and I knew I didn’t want to have anything to do with someone who claimed to look like Medusa. That was too insane for me!
I’d had enough to last me a lifetime, thanks to what happened to me when Nathan and T jumped me.
Whatever they did to me that night, and I’m not admitting that I want to relive it here now, but according to Nathan, the version he told his friends, my transformation had gone wrong, or it hadn’t been what he had expected. I was different. I wasn’t a pure vampire. I didn’t have fangs. I didn’t drink blood. Imagine that! Duh! I’m not a vampire!
But to hear Nathan tell it, I didn’t believe this Stephanie person was a disciple of whatever, so I was beneath all of them. He explained to them that he was being a good Samaritan by selling me off to Stephanie, instead of destroying me. “Grace will get hers when the world comes to an end. It’s not up to me,” he had told them.
I really didn’t think Nathan was a vampire either. He was a poser, a pretender, wearing blue contact lens and fake fangs, and scaring the general public when he got ‘vamped up’ with the rest of the guys. He and the others dressed up all the time like they were going to a gothic Halloween party.
If he’d paid attention in his history classes, Nathan would have known that you never underestimate your adversary, especially if she’s a woman. Maybe he didn’t consider me his enemy. I was too weak to be a threat. Unbeknownst to Nathan, I did acquire a few tricks after that night. It wasn’t anything I wanted to show to him, or show anyone for that matter. I wanted to forget it happened. But I was different, as he said. I was very different and it scared me, almost as much as Nathan scared me. I wanted to forget it all together.
The stuff Nathan and his friends shot me up with that night reacted with my blood, my DNA, and brought something out in me that only comes forth during lunar phases of the full moon. I won’t use the word, ‘werewolf’ because I don’t think that’s it. But it’s something related to the moon, maybe even to the Moon Goddess. I don’t fully understand it. I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. I have a way to fix everything now. I have a better solution, one I know is the smarter way out of this excuse I have for a life.
Chapter 2 – Flaming Skull
Author’s Note: This chapter is told from Grace, the heroine’s point of view.
I shifted in my chair, hoping a move would alleviate some of the pain. I glanced quickly at Nathan and T, and then resumed watching the moon.
Knowing that the Moon Goddess was gazing upon me brought a great deal of comfort as I sat there with those bozos. I felt connected to her somehow, and I felt she would understand why I was letting go. I wouldn’t be asking for anyone’s help, or hoping some knight in shining armor would show up in the bar and rescue me. I knew the only angel who may come for me, if that sort of thing happened, would be the Angel of Death. Realizing how absurd that sounded, I glanced over at Nathan and T.
“What time did she say she’d meet us again, Nathan?” T asked. T’s voice startled me as I heard him ask Nathan a question. His voice seemed hazy and far away from me.
“I don’t know why she’s not here yet. Something is wrong. I can sense it,” Nathan replied.
Lowering my head, I leaned forward slightly in my chair and rested one elbow on the table while gripping my stomach with the other hand. Something was amidst in the Nathan plan, I mused. “What? The internet chic wasn’t showing up to buy me like a pair of shoes?” I thought to myself and let a smile flash across my face as I buried my face in the crook of my arm.
“She’ll be here,” Nathan assured T.
“You don’t think she’ll send the church lady instead, do you?”
When I realized both guys had paused in their conversation, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that they remained staring at each other for several minutes. Jesus, who was the church lady?
“She’ll send one of her guys. I’m sure. It’ll work out. Have a little faith. Besides the church lady is too busy.” Nathan announced in his polite, yet commanding tone I recognized only too well.
“That reminds me. You need to tell me about the ceremony again. I don’t think I understand what I’m supposed to do,” T added.
“What’s to understand?” Nathan snapped. “Stephanie has requested I select someone I know and trust to be our volunteer. You’re it.”
“You mean I’m to be a sacrifice, right?”
I grew still when I heard the word ‘sacrifice.’ That didn’t sound good for T.
Impatiently, Nathan slammed his beer mug on the table.
The thud scared me and I jumped, then looked around apprehensively. Nathan ignored my movement. Quickly I busied myself with reading a few names carved into the top of the wooden table. Then I returned to staring at the moon.
“Yes, yes, if you want to put it that way,” Nathan replied. “So? Don’t you realize you’ll be a martyr for the revolution? We need a volunteer, T. I can’t randomly pick someone off the street.
“Why not?!” T shrieked. “I won’t do it!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nathan yank T by the arm, pulling him closer. His lips twisted and he snarled at T. “Sure. Fine. You want me to tell her that? You wanna to disappoint the church lady? Hmm?”
I held my breath and shifted my gaze to an empty spot on the table where I would have been served a beer, if I’d been brave enough to ask for one.
T mumbled a few words I couldn’t understand. Finally he let out a short laugh and replied, “No, it’s okay, man. I didn’t mean anything by it. Dying for the revolution is fine by me!”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Do you have her number? Maybe something came up the reason she’s late?” T asked, dropping the ceremony sacrifice subject entirely.
“It doesn’t work that way. She’s a smart lady. She doesn’t give out her number.”
I heard T sigh. Then he asked, “How do you contact her?”
“Shut up, man,” Nathan hissed. When Nathan hissed at any of us, it meant we needed to shut up.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air again.
“Fine. I’m gonna get another beer,” T announced and rushed off.
“Don’t stay gone too long!” Nathan shouted after him. His impatience was showing in his voice, even with T.
***
I jerked my head up when I realized I had fallen asleep. I glanced around, searching for Nathan and T. Had they left? Could I be that lucky? Quickly I brushed off my navy flannel jacket to act like I was brushing away lint or crumbs from peanut shells from the set of small wooden bowls scattered across the table. The idea of eating anything made me nauseated.
I knew my main goal tonight was to stay conscious until the crowd in the bar picked up. The usual anxiety I experienced while being in Nathan’s company was changing into calmness, almost peace. It probably wouldn’t be much longer. Were they really gone? Maybe I could stand up and look around for them?
I leaned slightly forward, hoping to exit my chair and a wave of nausea seized me. It was worse than before. I’ll sit here for a few minutes, I decided. Then I’ll ask if anyone has seen Nathan. Maybe they’ll remember he used to work here.
Glancing up at the moon, I attempted to visualize a skull’s face coming out of the evening moon, a flaming skull that would zero in on Nathan and stop him in his tracks like a runaway comet. Out of nowhere my recollection of the time I had told Max he should change the name of his bar came to me.
“Why should we call it the Golden Skull? What is a golden skull? Why not silver or blazing. Oh! The Flaming Skull. Max, that’s it!” I had said.
Max reminded me a lot of Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead. He was a cool, hippy version of Santa Claus. I couldn’t help but love the man.
“I appreciate your suggestions, darling. But I named it after Jeremy’s mother, God rest her soul. She had hair as golden as sunshine. I added skull to make it sound cooler. I can’t go and change it.”
I smiled at the moon and folded my arms around me. The wetness under my arm was sore and hurt like Hell. Hopefully the dark flannel pattern would hide the blood from my wounds.
“Okay, Max. Have it your way,” I said aloud, forgetting myself.
An image of Max’s face materialized across the moon. He smiled at me with that wink in his eye he had and flashed me a couple of gold capped front teeth. I had often thought that the bar had been named after his teeth and not his dearly departed wife of twenty years, but there was no arguing with Max. Suddenly the image faded.
I shifted again in my seat, and then froze catching my breath as the pain wrapped across my midsection with renewed fury. Maybe I could make it to the restroom to check my bandages? Slowly I exhaled. The pain floated away, however briefly. I hesitated. The brilliance of the moon caught my eye again. Quickly I resumed my thoughts about the good memories I had had once in this bar. I was going to miss this place.
If I had sold Max on the idea of calling the place the Flaming Skull, I could easily have a weapon to use on Nathan and T when they returned. I could be sitting here waiting with several skull-shaped shot glasses full of whiskey, eyeballing them to see if they would ignite. Wouldn’t that be fun? I hadn’t tested the trick I supposedly got the night of my transformation, but I was fairly sure I could make inanimate objects burst into flames. It was worth a try. Wasn’t it? But attempting to do it to a person was probably a pipe dream.
I imagined myself waltzing over to Max, who I knew was usually sitting at the end of the bar by his precious vintage cigarette vending machine, and pitching my idea to him including the crispy critter Nathan and T scenario to see if he’d give me my old job back. I hadn’t ever asked my former boss what he thought of my boyfriend, but seeing the twisted frown surface on his winkled face when Nathan appeared in the bar was enough proof.
Since I was unable to stand, I resigned myself to settling in the chair next to me, so I would have my back to the windows. Maybe I could spot Nathan and T? Could I make a run for it then? I searched the back of the bar, looking past Max’s cigarette machine. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the customers sitting at a large square table near the exit door. She seemed very comfortable at her table, typing on her laptop and texting now and again on her phone. She played with a few strands of her long black hair while she rested one hand on the keyboard, thinking. It didn't take much more observation to see she was a confident lady, strong and decisive. I instantly wanted to hate her, but I didn’t have a good reason to do so. I was being silly. She and I were on the same team, being female. Suddenly I remembered I didn’t have any girlfriends really. Just Nathan and T. I was always surrounded by men. I dismissed the line of absurdity my thinking was taking, and focused on my current situation.
Maybe this woman had seen Nathan and T? There was something odd about her. Despite knowing it was risky on my part to be staring at anyone, I continued to admire her. I couldn’t help it. If only I could make contact with this woman. Would she help me?
Jeremy appeared at her table with a glass skull shaped bottle. It looked like it was about the size of a cantaloupe and had a gold cap. Yes, that’s right. Max’s brand of tequila. That could be the flaming skull, I thought. Had Max really started selling a line of his own liquors? Well good for him. Maybe he had taken me up on that idea after all. I smiled to myself.
As Jeremy placed the bottle on the table, he paused for a moment, talking to her. The woman shook her head and smiled at Jeremy. He walked away. Then the woman looked over at me. I froze. I didn’t realize she had become aware of my watching her. What could I do? Could I plead for help, motion for her to join me? “I’ll kill em all.” Nathan’s threat sounded again in my head.
A sharp pain in my left side brought me back to reality and reminded me escaping my current situation was not a possibility. I had made that decision after I had gotten off the phone with Nathan, and I had to stick to it. All negative thoughts he had towards me, he shared freely. And when I had refused to play along with Nathan and his gang, he had decided to get rid of me. But not in the way a person would normally do like just breaking up with the other person. Nathan had decided to sell me as a commodity to this woman he had met on the internet, the Stephanie chic.
As if I were ignoring my one opportunity at freedom, I decided to forget the black haired lady sitting at the table and looked away.
Chapter 3 – Keep Walking
Author’s Note: This chapter is told from Grace, the heroine’s point of view.
“Grace, stop daydreaming.” Nathan appeared over my right shoulder. His clothes smelled like weed. T slid into the chair next to me, near the windows, grinning like an idiot. Both of them were high. In the past, I couldn’t tell when Nathan was stoned. I instantly knew now, but I didn’t care. It didn’t matter anymore. Others couldn’t tell, but I could. Maybe the weed didn’t work for him the way it once did, or maybe Nathan was interested in other ways to get his kicks like using a knife to slice up his girlfriend. With T, it was obvious to everyone around. He thought if Nathan got high with him, they were best buddies again. After hearing Nathan say that T would be a sacrifice for some ceremony, it was evident what T’s future was. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy.
I elected to ignore them, pretending I was still focusing on the goings-on outside. A very handsome man briefly caught my dazed attention as he passed by and I heard myself make a quick, soft gasp. Who’s that? I thought.
“What do you think is wrong with her tonight?”
I heard Nathan sigh at T’s question. “I don’t know, but I don’t have time for this shit. Will you get her attention please?”
I knew to expect a flood of renewed pain before the blow came. It was T’s way of showing he had the upper hand, not me. He couldn’t lightly tap me on the shoulder or wave his hand in my direction. He had to be a smart-ass and punch me in the stomach. He had to remind me he was Nathan’s second in command, not me. He prided himself on the fact, that he had assumed my place in the group. Poor T. It was only a matter of time for him too.
Even though the pain radiated down my legs and up my arms, I managed to grit my teeth and remain conscious. I didn’t want Nathan to know he was selling off damaged goods. The multiple stab wounds I had given myself earlier in the day were deep. I had wrapped several wide strips of cloth around my waist to hide the bleeding. It was probably starting to show. Hoping knife wounds were as difficult to die from as being shot in the stomach, I was fairly certain it would take me between 16 to 24 hours to die, maybe less if I was lucky. I had hatched my death plan after I ended the call with Nathan. He forgot I could still read his thoughts, even over telephone lines. I knew he wanted to sell me off to the Stephanie chic for a meager five thousand dollars. Was that all I was worth? If I died in the bar and others saw me there lifeless, unconscious in front of these two jerks surely they’d call the police, surely someone would stop Nathan at some point. Hell, they could arrest him for carrying pot if nothing else. Wasn’t that illegal in the state of California?
Granted I realized after I had shoved the knife into my stomach the fifth time, it was a stupid idea. I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. I probably was distraught, or I just panicked. That’s the appropriate word. I panicked. It was Nathan’s knife, the one he had used on me that night when he had sliced me up in front of his friends. I didn’t think to bring it with me. I could have planted it on him. Well like I said, I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.
“Hey friend, did I just see you punch that lady in the stomach? What’s wrong with you?”
I didn’t recognize the man’s voice. Then I heard T reply, “Keep walking, GQ. This doesn’t concern you.”
Suddenly the tall man yanked a chair from the adjoining table and plopped down next to T. Sitting across from him, I admired the view. This stranger was the man I had seen pass by the window a few moments ago. He took my breath away. Casually I took inventory of his assets: dark blue jeans, light gray leather jacket, dark t-shirt, light blonde highlights scattered through his dark blonde hair, chiseled face, strong jaw, and amazing blue eyes, the color of sapphires. His clothes appeared to have been tailor-made to fit his exquisite physique. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Now that’s what a knight in shining armor should look like, I decided.
As if he could hear my declaration, he gave me a devastating smile. My heart sank. Before I could stop myself, a stupid notion flew into my head. I wanted to live. I wanted to grab this stranger’s hand and run away with him. I didn’t care anymore. Where was he from? He had to be some actor from Los Angeles, visiting San Francisco for the weekend. He looked like he had walked off a movie set.
I recognized that all three guys were staring at me. A smirk settled on the stranger’s face while Nathan and T both glared at me. It was then I realized I had been panting while I gazed at the stranger, panting like a dog. Oh how embarrassing!
“A woman who knows what she wants when she sees it.” The stranger lifted a cigarette to his lips and lit it.
“There’s no smoking in here,” Nathan whined.
The stranger glanced at Nathan and then returned his attention to me. He inhaled deeply and blew cigarette smoke in both guys’ direction.
The smoke sent Nathan into a coughing fit.
Slightly I smiled.
“You don’t remember sending for me?” the stranger asked me.
Nathan and T both stopped what they were doing and turned around to stare at me. “What?!” Nathan bellowed. “What is he talking about Grace? I told you...”
“I didn’t send for anyone!” I corrected the stranger, knowing Nathan’s threat from earlier could become a reality. I didn’t want this guy to die as a result of a misunderstanding.
“Then why did you hurt yourself?” the stranger retaliated as he extinguished his smoke in Nathan’s remaining beer.
“I’ll kill this son-of-a-bitch,” Nathan started.
“No, no! We don’t have to do anything like that. Nathan, this guy is confused.” I pushed myself to a standing position. A sharp cramp hit me and I froze. “Clearly, clearly confused,” I added weakly. I fell into my chair. Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I rocked my body. If I could calm myself, I would forget the pain. Don’t focus on it, I thought. Forget it. Forget the pain. Forget it, I repeated over and over to myself. I chewed on my lip, hoping to hide my discomfort.
“Grace, I don’t have a lot of time. We need to get going.” The stranger’s voice was music to my ears. He studied me, waiting for a sign of objection.
“Who are you?” I whispered.
From out of nowhere, a jolt of energy hit me. The man’s eyes were as dark and powerful as he was. I probably lost all memory of my relationship with Nathan at that exact moment. I forgot the wounds pulsating in my stomach. Without warning, I felt nothing. I was weightless, free, drifting away. Was the stranger my way out? As I stared at him, I placed my hand over my mouth to close it shut, or to think, or just to buy time. Who are you? I thought.
Nathan erupted, “Grace, what have you done? You idiot! You’re bleeding!”
Startled by his yell, I removed my hand from my face and let it fall. I jerked involuntarily at the thud as it hit the table. The palm of my hand was covered in blood, my blood. Fear seized me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t exhale. I couldn’t do anything. Nathan would surely kill this man. I had to do something! But I couldn’t. I stared blankly at my hand. Either I was having a panic attack or I was truly dying. Gazing at the dark reddish color of my blood, I lost all rational thought. What have I done?
Chapter 4 – Grace Meets the Angel of Death
Author’s Note: This chapter is told from Grace, the heroine’s point of view.
A few minutes passed. Maybe more. My eyes flew open. Nathan and T sat, hunched over each other at the table. They look like they were lovers, having just fallen asleep in each other arms. The stranger sat by them finishing a cigarette.
“What did you do to them?” I asked.
His very tan and well-manicured hand reached out and grabbed mine. He placed a white linen handkerchief in my hand and proceeded to wipe away the blood on my hand. He dabbed it a few times in T’s beer and gently cleaned the blood from my face. The cold liquid instantly revived me. Or was it his touch? A fleeting thought flew through my mind.
“Always worried about others? It’s a fine trait to have if it doesn’t get you in trouble,” he said.
“Are they dead?”
“No, they’re just sleeping. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t believe you. You killed them!”
“No, no, of course not. Here.” The stranger grabbed Nathan’s limp arm and flopped it on the table. “Feel his pulse. It’s still there.”
Pausing for a moment, I did feel a rapid heartbeat pulsing under Nathan’s clammy skin.
“You, on the other hand, you’re dying. You realize that, don’t you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. Giving up was my best option, I thought. “So,” I said decisively.
He smiled at me again. A low chuckle rumbled in his throat.
Quickly I glanced away, hoping to not get distracted again by his beauty. But if this was the last thing I saw on Earth, this gorgeous man, what was wrong with that?
“I like your optimism,” the stranger spoke up.
“Did I say that aloud?”
“No, I can hear your thoughts. As an Angel of Death, I can hear mortals’ thoughts.” His dark blue eyes fixed on me, intensely, almost seductively.
I gasped. The room started to spin.
“You sent for me, Grace,” Death replied. “It’s time we get going. Okay? We’re not safe here.”
I gripped the sides of the table to steady myself and muttered something about not wanting to leave Nathan, that I wasn’t ready, that I didn’t fully understand his request, that I was too young to die, and that I was fine to stay here. I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t process what this man was saying to me. Was he really who he said he was?
He leaned in closer and whispered to me, “Don’t faint, Grace. Don’t. It’s best if we don’t make a scene here in the bar. However…” His hand delicately rubbed the inside of my throat. “I can carry you if it comes to that. Is that fine?”
I nodded without knowing what it meant. I just nodded. If he truly was the Angel of Death, why not go with him?
“Let me make a quick call and we’ll go, okay?”
Again I simply nodded. I was unable to form any words of objection.
“Ra, it looks like we may have a sighting at a bar called the Golden Skull in California. You know the place? Okay, good deal. I’ve got some errands to run, so call me if you or the others find her. Okay?” He paused for a moment, listening to the other person on the line. Then he continued. “Okay. Got it. Oh, and if you see Gab, tell him I’ve got two guys for containment. I’ll drop them off at the police station. By the way they smell, I’m guessing they’re big time potheads.”
***
As I walked behind Death along the sidewalk toward his compact sports car parked in front of the bar, I realized I was extremely weak. My legs wobbled.
His quiet confidence was a breath of fresh air compared to Nathan’s barking orders as he griped my elbows. “We’re almost there. Hold on.”
I felt like I was walking my last mile with a glorious champion. Then a strange thought surfaced in my head. What is your name? I’m about to die and I don’t know your name, my knight. If he could read my thoughts, surely he’d hear that. How many people had called the Angel of Death a knight, a knight in shining armor or a shiny car as it seemed it was. Glancing at the dashboard of the vehicle as I settled in the comfortable passenger seat, I noticed his car of choice was German made.
I leaned my head against the cool leather headrest, folding my arms around me and studied him. Knowing I was beyond hope, I wanted to look at him. I felt peace doing just that. This handsome man was a vision, an angel of death taking me away in a chariot, a German made chariot I corrected myself, but a means of escape no less. I felt like cherubs from the heavens should be trumpeting in the background, ushering me off into an external bliss with this man. I felt safe with this stranger for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It was deliciously insane, and despite my predicament, it gave me hope.
Before he turned over the ignition, he gasped and yanked his hand from the keys. He focused on the steering wheel, his dark eyes darting from side to side. Finally he asked me, “Was that you? Did I just hear you speak to me?”
I smiled faintly. “It worked,” I whispered. I pressed my head into the seat so I wouldn’t pass out. I fought to keep my eyes open. Your name, I asked him again telepathically.
He laughed out loud and raked his fingers through sun-kissed locks. “Wouldn’t you know it? Of all the people!”
I bit the inside of my lip, drinking in his appearance. Had you been my first and not Nathan, I’d never let you leave the bedroom.
Lightly the stranger chuckled and blushed slightly as he glanced over to look at me, shoving the keys into the ignition again. “I heard that. You have to be careful. Remember I don’t know you, Grace.”
“I’d like to know you.”
“Oh lordy.” He sighed again, fumbling for the keys. “You’re not shy, are you? Look, I’m not your friend. I have a job to do. That’s it. I have to get you healed or it’s my ass, so that’s what we are going to do.”
His words instantly sobered me, but his frown and sharp tone told me otherwise. By the expression on his face, I knew he realized he had been too harsh with me.
Roughly he patted me on the knee and started the car. “I’m sorry. My name is Demetri. Okay? But everyone calls me Death. You can too.”
Slowly I nodded.
The engine roared and the car jerked into traffic. I heard a few honks of horns blaring at us as the stranger whose name I now knew drove us away along the streets of San Francisco. I didn’t know where we were going and I didn’t care. I had been saved, and I didn’t care what happened to me next. This devastatingly attractive man had saved me and now I could die in peace. Demetri. Demetri. Demetri. I repeated his name over and over in my head, knowing likely he could hear my thoughts. I liked the way his name sounded. It sounded old, but very modern. It reminded me of white-sand beaches, tall swaying trees, calm waters, and sunshine so bright on your face you couldn’t see anything before you and you didn’t care. Spending eternity like that with him would be heaven. Hoping to dream of us together on that beach, I closed my eyes. I’d finally die happy.
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I may be adding more on this story and post it here before the book's released. Be sure to follow me on Wattpad if you'd like to read those sample chapters featuring Grace and Demetri.
Thanks for reading this excerpt! Please comment and vote :D Thank you!
BOOKS BY ALLY THOMAS - www.allythomas.com
The Vampire from Hell
According to Rayea, the oldest daughter of Satan, the origin of vampires started in Hell, and it started with her. Rayea isn't daddy's little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she's not interested in his schemes for world domination.
When Rayea is turned into a vampire, her adventure begins. Blick, her best friend rescues her from a horrible eternity with her father and evil sister, Stephanie. They escape to the House of G where Rayea hopes to find peace among Blick's angelic friends until her father comes for her. After Rayea kills her father, everyone believes the worst is over. A relieved Rayea travels to Earth and finally meets her fantasy heartthrob, the actor Ashton Taylor. Rayea is preoccupied with her vacation, her friends, and her new romance until she learns that Blick is deathly ill. Will she be able to save him in time?
The first 3 installments of the Vampire from Hell series are included here.
They are as follows:
- - - (Part 1) The Beginning
- - - (Part 2) A Vampire Among Angels
- - - (Part 3) A Vampire On Vacation
The Vampire from Hell Returns – The Vampire from Hell Part 4
Blood of the gods has brought a new dimension to Rayea’s life as the vampire from Hell. In the fourth installment of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea juggles her new responsibilities and starting a relationship with her best friend, Blick. Additionally, Rayea realizes her sordid past with her family is catching up with her, and she’s going to have to deal with it once and for all. When two of her friends go missing, she knows she must begin a search to find them. And the first place she has to look? Hell.
Blood of the Gods (The Vampire from Hell – Part 5) - SPRING 2014
In the fifth installment of the Vampire from Hell series, it’s open season on the Ancient Council. Angels and gods alike are being systematically wiped out. Only one person can save them, a vampire from Hell.
Love Begins in Hell (The Moon Journals: Part 1) - Free ebook
When twenty-one-year-old Elana is kidnapped and finds herself in Hell of all places, she discovers something unique in her ancestry, and unbelievable about her destiny. She's a werewolf and she's fallen in love with someone - Dante, the young demon who agrees to help her escape. (A Young Adult Paranormal Romance.)
Fanged Love: The Prequel (Free ebook)
Grace is led astray by her sinister boyfriend, Nathan into a world of bloodletting and vampirism. When she awakes realizing he has harmed her, she understands her lover is destined to ultimately be her greatest enemy, and she must find a way out. (A Dark Fantasy Romance.)
ANTHOLOGIES FEATURING ALLY THOMAS
In 2013, I was invited to be in three different anthologies featuring my stories, or stories. These are all FREE ebooks. You can go to my Amazon Author page
http://amazon.com/author/allythomas and find the links. You can also check here on Wattpad. The author Chrissy Peebles usually shares the Darling anthologies she is in here on Wattpad.
http://www.wattpad.com/user/ChrissyPeebles
Darlings of Decay (Free)
Zombie stories from thirty-two of your favorite female authors are featured in this Bestselling Zombie Anthology. With over 325,000 words and featuring some of Amazon's Best Selling Female Authors of Horror, this is certainly not your typical anthology book!
Sit back as your favorite authors of zombie lit take you on a wild, horrifying ride that will leave you breathless. Come and meet the women who love to entertain you with their own unique versions of the zombie apocalypse.
I wrote a short story called "Zombie Wolf: The Next Generation #1" that is included in this installment. IT IS HERE ON MY WATTPAD PROFILE TOO.
Darlings of Darkness (Free)
This vampire anthology includes Parts 1 and 2 from my series, The Vampire from Hell. You can also download this anthology to discover other awesome vampire authors such as Trina M. Lee, Suzy Turner, Chrissy Peebles, and Kristen Middleton.
Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Free)
This anthology about paranormal romance features sizzling romance stories by Catherine Wolffe, Chrissy Peebles, C.L. Pardington, Dale Mayer, Alexandra Anthony and more. My adult story, Virgin Moon is available to read in this anthology. You can read sample chapters of it HERE ON MY WATTPAD PROFILE.