Enslaved Read online

  Vince took off, feet barely touching the rocky ground as he looked for the dump heap that was placed far away from the Hotel....He hoped Viktoria wasn't lying in that pile with all the other dead human bodies...he just hoped.

  Viktoria dragged the heavy black garbage bag across the terrain of a patch of fall-painted trees. The crisp air pushed the scent of the blood in the bag away from Tori's nose as she lugged the body bag closer to the pile of eroding, smelling heap of bodies, garbage, and wasted blood.

  She heaved the bag over her shoulder and mustering as much of the vampire strength the vamp blood gave her, she threw the bag onto the waste.

  Sighing, Tori looked at her hands- they were bleeding. She had sliced them on a rock when she tumbled off the side of a cliff on her way to the dump heap. Tori had been urging the bag containing Maria's body across this one part of the mountain where there was a sheer drop-off into pure air and gray cloud. She tripped on something, possibly a rock, for a blast of pain to her head had distracted her. Tori let go of the bag instantly so she could grab onto a nearby shard of stone jutting out of the face of another cliff that towered above her threateningly. Tori remembered feeling the sharp slice of pain in her palm, remembered the scent of her own blood, saw the crimson on the grayish-white surface of the bluff...

  A hard and heavy headache forced those mesmerizing thoughts away. It started at the space between Tori's shoulder blades, traveled up her neck, throughout her skull, and seemed to force itself into her brain. The pangs of horrid energy was so intense that it caused Tori to scream aloud and fall to the floor, clutching at her head with both hands, tears streaking down her face as if they could some how release the agony.

  She was drowning in her own torture, but when cool hands seized her by the tops of her arms and picked her up, molding her body to his own, the pains seemed to ease...It was like the blood that ran through Vince's veins calmed the blood that he had put into Viktoria's system.

  "The change is almost over, Viktoria, darling. Rest and when you wake up, we'll be together for all of eternity." Vince whispered in her ear, lips brushing soothing against her tender skin.

  "Yes," she whispered back.

  She slipped into the cold, numbing world where the vampire blood took over, where it shut the human in her out, meaning Viktoria Cabot was slowly disappearing into herself, dematerializing slowly. Soon, all that will be left is the faint memory of the human she had been...releasing the vampire within her that had been locked away in some deep part of her soul....within a few days, the mortal Viktoria will be gone and the vampire she was meant to be will no longer be enslaved.

  Chapter 18

  "Have the Guardians arrived?" Vince asked Jon once he had gotten Viktoria into his room unseen.

  Jon scanned the room with his black eyes and said tiredly, "Not yet, brother, but beware, they come at the worst of times. It seems to be one of their things."

  Vince sighed, running a hand through his black mane of hair as he smiled charmingly at a vampiress that bowed to him formally. She was an ambassador from France, Vince could tell by her thick accent and clothing. There were a lot of ambassadors in his Hotel from all over the world that come from different vampire territories.

  Some of them were more dangerous than him, though, and he needed to be careful about how he talked to vampires and who he conversed with. Some had extra abilities....psychics, telepaths, mediums who talked to the dead. Vince didn't have a power and he didn't really care much for the people who did, they were very cocky...

  The room seemed to go cold and silent out of nowhere. The doors were pulled open swiftly by two servants who were posted there. The atmosphere changed from light and thirsty to tense, thirsty, and...scared.

  Vince glanced at Jon and, despite the fact that they were enemies, they moved together towards the four vampires that had just entered the Hotel. They walked gracefully and passively, all differences aside for the movement.

  At the door were the Guardians of Death. There was one woman and three men.

  The woman was lean and curvy with long, blond hair the color of gold and eyes such a rich crimson that it looked like blood had pooled in her irises. Her skin was pale like milk, but smooth and unblemished, stretching over aristocratic cheekbones and a slim nose. Her lips were a naturally rosy hue as if she had been kissed all night without a break and in the center of her forehead, not looking out of place on her exotically beautiful face, was a silver diamond directly between her eyes. Vince recognized this deadly woman as Carmina WhiteHell.

  The men were all handsome, tall, muscled, whipcord-tough and slim. One had long, waist-length raven-black hair and strange silver-red eyes- Carmine Dread. Another had fire-red hair that fell around his face like a devilish halo, his eyes were narrowed and the same color as his mane, but contrasted strangely with the three sterling slashes on each side of his face starting at his high cheekbones and ending at his jaw line- Everit Young. The last male vampire was the tallest and more muscled than the others. He had white hair the color of- well the color of moonlight like Viktoria's, his eyes were a light crimson laced with silver like Carmine's, and on his masculine face ringing the bottom of his eyes were silver crescents that seemed to drip down his cheeks in strange symbols- the leader of the Guardians of Death, Savant Zero.

  They had all fed....broke tradition.

  "Welcome," Vince murmured to Savant, his voice steady and contained an edge of challenge as if to dare them to enter his territory.

  "Ah, Vincent DeChorello." Savant purred, looking down his nose at Vince as if the vampire were a human child. "What a surprise that YOU of the two DeChorello siblings would host this Gathering."

  Jon scowled slightly to have the attention all trained on Vince, but he knew that it would be on him soon enough.

  "Ah yes, seeing as my brother here doesn't like to take care of the big events," Vince shot Jon a look before continuing, "I had to take them into my own hands while he was off doing Lord only knows what."

  Savant laughed deeply, the sound resonating throughout the Hotel. "Young Vince, you have such a humor. Not to mention a reputation among the vampires of the States, for a twenty-year-old you have made yourself known."

  Vince smirked, "I have my ways, Savant. Have connections, too..."

  "That reminds me," a high-pitched voice murmured.

  Vince glanced over at Carmina. "Yes, Carmina?"

  "Where's your cousin...Splice is it?"

  "Yes, well he couldn't make it to this Gathering, he had...business to tend to across the country." Vince lied, he knew his favorites cousin was off searching for his illegal human mate somewhere in Europe.

  "Ah, I see. He was a rather...interesting vampire by my standards," Carmina mused thoughtfully.

  "Yes, he is a very SPECIAL vampire." Vince said just as wonderingly.

  Splice was a young vampire, maybe eighteen. He was a copy-cat, literally. He could steal and change peoples' shapes...he had displayed it one time to Carmina, seems he had unintentionally caught her attention.

  "Well, let us feast, for we have a night of debate ahead of us," Jon interrupted the eerie silence that seemed like an infectious virus that had spread throughout the building.

  "Yes, let us." Savant announced and let Vince and his brother lead the way to the monstrous dinning room.

  Vince didn't feel comfortable any longer, Jon had sounded TOO excited about getting to the debates. The crescendo was coming, Vince could practically SMELL Jon's glee at getting back at his hated brother...This Gathering wasn't going to end without a death in the DeChorello family, both brothers anticipated the possible outcome....it wasn't all that pretty.

  Chapter 19

  Vince didn't enjoy the feast as much as he had in the past, his mind was on Viktoria and he hoped that the mind readers in the dinning room didn't try to find out more about the mysterious distraction drawing Vince's attention from the blood.

  He downed a whole goblet of blood as he eyed Jon skeptically. Jon was squirming in his
seat like he knew something was coming and he couldn't wait until it arrived, sort of like a child awaiting a birthday present.

  "Well," Carmine said suddenly his deep bass, catching everyone's attention as he rose from his seat, goblet in hand. "Let us get to the reason of this Gathering this year. Danger is afoot for our kind," He said bluntly, "the Oracle Heather has told us of disaster, Heather, why don't you explain?"

  A small, petite vampire stood up, she was very beautiful, her looks even more exotic than Carmina. Heather had long, glossy umber waves that fell to her ankles and framed her heart-shaped face. She had naturally smooth bronze skin that was on the verge of looking like a dark brown, her lips were full and no matter the situation they always uttered the most wisest words one has ever heard while her dark blue eyes said nothing. She couldn't have been taller than five-foot-one or any older than seventeen, but looks for a vampire were deceiving and Vince knew that Oracle Heather was nearly one-hundred-and-twenty years old.

  "I don't mind in the slightest," Heather's voice sounded faint and musical, she sounded aged like she had seen too many years of time to be phased by the problems that the vampire world was faced with. "I have had a vision that the world we know will end, not only for vampires, but for humans, too. Both species will succumb to the Siren and her mate. The Siren will be able to wield any vampiric power that is imaginable, she will either enslave all races or she will rule them with peace, guide them to their potential.

  "The only problem is, the Siren is not human or vampire, she is a mix a- a hybrid. She can blend in with humans and mingle with vampires, she has both the races' instincts and she cannot be killed, for she is truly immortal. She is a goddess sent to Earth and her council is spread all over the world...there are ten council members and they are far more powerful than the Guardians. And her mate is the only one who can sway her judgment, for his input will decide the fate of every human and vampire." Heather murmured and suddenly her expression went blank, her body shivered and collapsed to the floor.

  A vampire was up and moving before anyone else could slide their seat back, his name was Tole and he was the Oracle's mate.

  "She is seeing the future, hush for noise will disturb her sight," Tole cautioned quietly, cradling his mate in his arms.

  After a few moments Heather awoke and was helped to her feet by her mate. Her eyes were dull and tired-seeming as they swung around the table, searching...they finally rested on Vince with a quizzical look to her dark blue irises.

  "You, your name." She ordered, pointing a slightly shaking finger in Vince's direction.

  "Vincent Gabe DeChorello, Oracle." Vince answered impassively.

  She then spoke to the whole dinning room, "The Siren is in this very building and her mate is in this very room." She met Vince's cold gaze and sized him up. "He is a tall man with black hair as dark as midnight, his eyes are scarlet but used to be the most captivating green in the world. He had a childhood lover, still is the love of his life, and he'd do anything for her....for Vince's mate is the Siren."

  The room fell silent, all eyes skidded to Vince, for his forever changing life had been sealed, his destiny decided in one evening....

  Chapter 20

  Jon shot out of his seat while Vince sat back, appearing unconcerned and lazy as he took hold of a goblet of blood and swallowed the contents thirstily.

  "I know who his mate is!" Jon declared loudly and Vince froze, cup a few inches from his mouth while Vince's eyes widened slightly. Jon wouldn't, he thought...

  But Jon did.

  "Speak up, Jonathan!" Savant ordered briskly as everyone's ears perked up to hear the news.

  Vince worked without thinking, if the the vampires found out that VIKTORIA was the Siren, they'd tear her to pieces without hesitation. So, without a thought, Vince stood up in a blur, taking hold of a steak knife and flinging it with precision at his brother's arm.

  It hit its target, the top of Jon's shoulder.

  He yelped in pain, eyes bugging out in shock as they sliced over to Vince's enraged gaze.

  "Shut your mouth, brother or I'll kill you in front of everyone. No force will be able to save you if you leak an ounce of information." Vince said in a deathly cold voice, his face darkening with pure rage. The candles that helped light the dinning room dimmed as a cold gust of wind laced the air, causing the flames' tips to sway erratically. The crimson walls seemed to bleed its red color out as shadows crept up every inch of the pain, causing them to turn as black as the nighttime sky. The pale faces of the vampires were thrown into shadow as the candlelight danced upon their features like a hand aglow as it stroked the contours of each person's intrigued facial mask.

  Jon grinned and yanked the knife out of his flesh, "Oh, but don't you want to save the vampire race, brother? Or will you let everyone of your kin die in order to save a HUMAN?" Jon demanded, throwing the weapon down onto the table, the blade of the knife striking the wood and embedding itself in the surface of the table.

  Vince had no comment for his brother's query, for he himself did not know the answer to the question.

  "Well, Vincent? Would you betray us all for a pathetic human whom you've LOVED and taken to on an intimate level for the past year?" Jon spoke to Vince, but looked at Savant expectantly.

  "Is that true, Vince?" Savant asked softly.

  Vince remained silent, sightlessly groping for a weapon on the table to use to sever his brother's traitorous head.

  "Well, Vince? Is it?" Savant demanded more harshly.

  Sighing and lifting his head with dignity, Vince answered in a arctic-cold, ice-smooth, unwavering voice, "Yes, Savant, it IS true. It's true that I've been taking advantage of the girl to have PLEASURE and that Jon has not have enough of it, for if he has than he'd surely know the difference between the lust for a body and the simple obsessiveness a lover would show its mate. Isn't that right, brother?" Vince spat the last word like a curse that should never be uttered by even the foulest of mouths.

  Jon fell silent, grimacing because he had no retort to sling back at his sibling.

  "I thought so, Jon. You should think about what you are to say before you speak, Mother taught us that one, especially YOU. But her years of encouragement to think seem to have gone in one ear and out the other." Vince sat back down, finished taunting.

  The room was once again filled with an awkward silence while Vince's words hung in the air like the Grim Reaper's scythe as it hovers above its victims throat while the Reaper savors every moment of fear and regret the prey could muster.

  "Vincent," the Oracle broke the silence first.

  "Yes?"

  "Bring down the servant girl. I will make sure she will not be torn to pieces by these people." Heather murmured solemnly.

  Vince searched her dark blue eyes for a moment, finding nothing but a promise for protection of the one thing he could not bare to lose again. He nodded with a sigh before standing up.

  "I know she is in a state of change, Vincent. But the only way to find out if she's the true Siren is to see if she has the markings that the Guardians bare." Heather said softly.

  Vince slashed his gaze towards the four Guardians staring darkly at him. He saw the silver streaks and designs on their faces, knew that they possessed powers that are unknown to anyone other than themselves.

  He forced his feet to move, to carry him out of the dinning room, up the stairs to the second floor, to his room and to the bed where his Viktoria lay. She was still, her body working hard to breathe as the venom in the vampire blood ate away the last cells of humanity within her...Vince's eyes fell upon Viktoria's right arm where silver designs were beginning to appear and suddenly, the truth hit him with full force.

  His Viktoria was no longer the innocent girl she had been. She was changing into a vampire, into something deadly that held not a pound of compassion, into a being with unimaginable power and beauty, strength and senses, charm and thirst....

  Life was never going to be the same for anyone, for Death and Destiny
where locked in battle with each other, both fighting to guide and take away lives that could change the worlds' futures.

  Vince's Viktoria could either Liberate the vampires and humans or have them all Enslaved.

  Chapter 21

  Vince couldn't disobey orders from the Oracle, no matter how much it put both him and Viktoria in danger. Though, he thought as he picked Viktoria up into his arms, the Oracle did say she would grant us protection from the vampires...but you can never protect someone when a vampire wants something done.

  Biting nervously on his bottom lip, Vince brushed snow-white hair from Viktoria's paling face, watching as her eyelids didn't even flutter at the contact. Vince cursed Jon as he walked slowly out of his room and down the corridor.

  If Jon hadn't brought up the whole "I know who Vince's mate is" thing than nothing as bad as this would've happened. When this was all over, Vince vowed, I'll make sure I give him a slow, painful death, you could only kill a vampire by beheading it and burning the head. As Vince moved through the Hotel he made plans...He'd slice off all Jon's toes and fingers first, then brake every bone in his body, sear his skin off, and decapitate with the dullest of blades, make him FEEL the pain....