Vampire Princess Rising by Jami Brumfield
“I’m afraid you must. There’s a high price to pay for making humans suspicious. The three week break was up last week and we can no longer use the vacation as an excuse to keep you out of school. People are getting suspicious.” Celestia sat on Savannah’s pink bed.
Pink used to be her favorite color. Now it only made her sad. It reminded her of her old life and everything she lost.
“But I really don’t need school anymore.” She tried a different direction.
“My heir will be educated! In fact, you will go to college and become a lawyer, I think. Yes, that would suit you very well.”
Lawyer! Like hell! Savannah thought coldly.
‘Don’t use that tone with me, daughter!’ Celestia scolded Savannah in her mind.
“I wasn’t…I’m sorry.” She knew better than to think thoughts when Celestia was around. She would pick them up with little effort. “Celestia, what if I don’t want to be a vampire princess?” Savannah pouted. What if I want my old life back?
“Being princess was part of my deal with your sister. I won’t go back on my promises,” Celestia answered her with a sharp tone. ‘And you cannot have your old life back, you have responsibilities now.’
“Fine. But what if I get hungry and hurt someone? I’m not sure I’m ready for this.” She tried again.
“Danny will be at your side. If you get hungry feed off of him,” Celestia answered her argument with simple logic. It reminded her of the way Rebecca dealt with issues. Always practical. Always logical. They deserved each other.
Despite her irritation Savannah had to chuckle at the idea of Danny helping her. He was afraid of her now. “I don’t think Danny will do anything but run from me if he gets the chance.”
“He will be the perfect boyfriend. Just like before. I will compel him to do so.”
“Like you did before?”
“Yes.” Celestia seemed more interested in her blood red fingernails than the conversation they were having. “And I think you need a total new remodel of this bedroom. It is far too pink.” Celestia shuddered. “You are a princess of the dark, my child.”
Savannah crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”
Celestia turned cold eyes on her. “Don’t defy me, daughter.” Her voice sent a shiver down Savannah’s spine.
“Or what, you’ll kill me?”
Celestia tilted her head to the side and smiled coldly. “Darling daughter, I would never hurt you. But I would easily hurt those you care about, starting with Hunter.”
Savannah dropped her arms. She felt like a stake grazed her heart. Someone walked over her grave and she knew she was defeated. “And if I do as you say?”
“I will protect those you care about.” She headed toward the door. “The council meeting went well. That means you’ll be a part of my campaign. I think I’ll hire an image consultant to help you get situated in this new world. She will be here tomorrow after school.” She turned back toward Savannah. “And your fiancé will be here too, so try and look your best.”
Savannah offered a weak smile and a nod. Celestia left without another word and she threw a perfume bottle at the door. She found satisfaction watching it shatter into a million pieces, just like her life had. She just wished that bottle was Celestia’s head.
Chapter Thirteen
Hunter
Hunter woke up just like Sundae promised, but she was not in the room with him. He needed to make sure to thank her next time he saw her. Thank her for helping him find the key and giving him space to talk to his great-great-grandmother. Bethany shared many secrets and renewed his belief in magic. She also gave him the most precious gift of all—she brought a piece of their mother back to life. She was so much like he remembered his mother, it was almost uncanny.
He jumped off the couch, grabbed a decorative dagger from the bookshelf and ran back to his book. It was his book by blood and that knowledge made him even more excited about cracking the code.
He read every third line on the key page out loud and when he was done he cut the palm of his hand open. Pain shot through his hand for a moment, but was quickly forgotten as he started feeling the magical energy from the book, from him, from the world around him sizzle. He began to feel swept up in a tidal wave of energy and when he placed his cut hand, open faced against the page of the book, a blue wave of energy shot outward, sending him flying back into the wall behind him.
Rebecca and Gabriel burst into the room only moments after the magical explosion. They were both holding weapons, Gabriel a sword and Rebecca a couple of nasty looking daggers. “Hunter, are you okay?”
Hunter rubbed his head and neck. He gave Rebecca and Gabriel a guilty look, which turned into a brilliant smile when he saw the words on the spell book change before his eyes. They went from an unknown language to English. “Wow, now that was awesome!” He jumped up, holding the book in his hands. “It worked, Becks! It worked. The book is unlocked.”
“So you’re okay?” Gabriel asked, still ready to fight off any unseen intruder.
“Yes. Yes, I’m good. Thank you!” He looked around the room, which looked like a bomb had exploded. A small bomb, but still a bomb. “Sorry for the mess. I’ll clean it up.”
“I should hope so.” Rebecca chuckled softly as she put her staff down. “I’m glad to hear you broke the code. If you need me I’ll be in my room getting a few hours of sleep before school. It was a long night.” Rebecca yawned and smiled as she left the room.
Hunter picked up a few items that fell off the desk in the blast. Gabriel sheathed his sword and began to help straighten things up as well. ”You don’t have to do that.” Hunter offered a grateful smile.
“No, I don’t. But I want to. Unless you have a spell in there to clean up the mess?”
“Even if I did I wouldn’t be able to use it. Still spellbound.” The book flipped its pages and stopped somewhere in the middle. ‘The book will help you with what you desire the most.’ Bethany’s voice echoed in Hunter’s mind.
Hunter pulled the book close and skimmed over the page titled Break that which is Bound. “Gabriel, I think we may have the answer to the binding spell our mother put on us!” Hunter could hardly contain his excitement.
Gabriel stopped picking items up and turned his attention to Hunter. “Are you sure?”
Hunter laughed. “One thing I can promise you, Gabe, is I’m not sure of anything anymore, but this spell gives me hope.” He ran his fingers over the ingredient list as Gabriel came behind him to check out what had him so excited.
“What language is that?” Gabriel asked, curious. He knew English, Spanish, and French and didn’t see any correlation to the words on the page and the languages he knew.
Hunter looked at him with confusion in his sapphire blue eyes. “English.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I know English, my friend, and that most assuredly isn’t it.”
“Maybe the unlocking spell made it so only I understand the words, not change them. It is actually an ingenious way to keep the family secrets safe.” Hunter felt excitement ignite inside him. It was fascinating the deeper he fell into this strange magical world. So many unexpected twists and turns, nothing was predictable anymore.
“As long as you can read it. That’s what really matters right?” Gabe clapped Hunter on his back, pulled out a rag from a drawer and handed it to Hunter. “You may want to wrap that hand before you bleed out.” He went back cleaning up the room. Gabriel picked up a picture of Rebecca, Savannah, and Hunter and ran his finger gently over Rebecca’s face as he righted it.
Hunter placed the book on the desk while he wrapped his hand. It was difficult to wrap his hand in his peripheral vision. He didn’t want to take his eyes off the book. He didn’t have super healing powers like Rebecca. But the excitement over the book and the spell made him forget about his hand. Hunter pulled his eyes away from the spell book long enough to look toward Gabriel and smile his thanks. He caught Gabe admiring the photos. “You love my sister, don’t you?”<
It was a question that took Gabriel by surprise. Gabe snatched his hand from the photo and went back to picking up things awkwardly. Hunter could tell by his staggered reaction that he was right. The question surprised him when it escaped his lips. but he felt in that moment that he needed to say it.
“I see you’re empathic now?” Gabe asked as he stood another photo back up on the mantel place. “I guess there’s no point in hiding it. I have strong feelings for Rebecca, yes.”
“I approve.” Hunter grinned. “Not that she needs my permission, but I approve.”
Gabriel cracked a smile. “Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same way. She’s sworn both Lucky and I off until we find a way to fix Savvy.”
“We’ll do what we can, but you have to understand...just because she’s turned away from you doesn’t mean she can turn off those feelings. I’ve felt them from both of you.”
Gabriel nodded. “Thank you.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is if you push her a little you might find she’ll fall right into your arms.” Hunter grabbed the book and headed for the door. “I need to make some notes. Hopefully tomorrow we can cast this spell and get our powers back.”
Chapter Fourteen
Savannah
Danny pulled his pickup into a parking spot at the high school. Savannah offered him a tight smile as she held her breath and watched the wave of students heading into the front doors. She wasn’t thrilled about going back to school. It wasn’t because she disliked it. In truth, as Savvy she excelled in school. She was popular, she was head cheerleader, on student government, on the volleyball team, worked on the school newspaper, and maintained a 4.0 GPA. A month ago she was nominated homecoming queen. Her high school life was everything she’d dreamed of, but now everything was different. The life she dreamed of having as a pediatrician was never going to happen, especially since her new mother had decided she wanted Savannah to be a lawyer. Please! She would make a horrible lawyer.
“Are you ready?” Danny asked, his eyes full of excitement. He thrived in the high school landscape. And after Celestia compelled him to be the “perfect” boyfriend once again, he was back to the jovial good-natured Danny she began to fall for before her death. He totally forgot the endless days she drank his blood and tortured him to an inch of his life. He had no idea he spent the last month in an alternate dimension captive in a glass box. He would never remember and the thought of that made Savannah sad. She wanted him to remember. He was partially the reason she was a vampire.
“Savvy?” His voice was gentle and shy. Celestia really did pick the right guy for the job.
“Savannah. I think Savvy is a little outdated, don’t you?”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart. As long as you don’t find me outdated, all is good.” He leaned over and kissed her lips gently.
She wanted to shove him away, but Celestia made it clear that she would keep Danny at her side at all times. Apparently, he was her bodyguard, pretend boyfriend, and emergency blood bag. “Ready.” She practically jumped out of the vehicle and started walking toward the school entrance.
He ran up behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. “The king and queen should walk in together, don’t you think?”
“Sure.” They made it to homeroom with very little interaction with other students. Everyone stared at them, but no one really said anything. She knew it would be difficult returning to school after a month of being gone. Everyone was watching them, looking for weaknesses. They were the “super” couple. After they won the homecoming crowns no one had seen either of them for a month. The cover was that they both went on separate vacations, which from the looks from everyone in school gave them, it was assumed they vacationed together. The fact they came back looking stronger than ever before only reinforced the assumption of their peers. Granted there was no vacation, it was simply a cover story. The supernatural world was good at fabricating cover stories. And Celestia had centuries to hone her skill in this area.
Savannah was thankful she hadn’t returned sooner. Her concentration was pulled in multiple directions. All she could hear were heartbeats, a sign of the blood circulating in warm bodies. Thump, thump, thump. Even now, a month later she was finding it difficult to control her urges and hunger. It was only Celestia’s run for office that had her returning to school so quickly. Everything was happening too fast.
It was Rebecca’s inquisitive sapphire eyes that pulled Savannah out of her hungry state. Their eyes locked and Savannah was flooded with anger, which pushed out the hunger. Danny laced his fingers with hers when he sensed her apprehension and pulled Savannah to the only two open desks in the room.
Rebecca was surrounded by her two guard dogs—Lucky and Gabriel. She was always protected by the enforcer wolf and the golden boy angel hybrid. One time Savannah thought she saw a halo on Lucky’s head and now she understood why. Savannah moved her eyes to Lucky’s golden amber ones. His face and eyes were warm and inviting and his smile was kind. She moved her eyes to Gabriel, who connected briefly with her, a tight smile, more like warning her to avoid causing trouble. If she concentrated hard she would guess he was growling low in his throat, but she didn’t feel like wasting her energy to focus on his temperamental moods. Rebecca’s reaction to Gabriel’s stare confirmed Savannah was right.
It took everything she had not to hiss back at him. But that would do little good for her mother and Savannah wanted to keep Celestia happy. At least until she found a way to escape the crazy harpy.
Mr. Jacobs looked rushed as he entered the classroom. His thinning brown hair was messier than usual, his wire rimmed glasses were falling down his nose, and the loose papers he grasped on the outside of his brown briefcase were torn and crumbled. He stank of fear. Savannah briefly wondered what he was afraid of, but that only lasted a moment as he began his lesson on political history and the role arranged marriages played in making or breaking families. Savannah itched to tell him that wasn’t necessarily just ancient history. Apparently, arranged marriages were common place in the vampire community in the twenty-first century.
Chapter Fifteen
Rebecca
Rebecca eyed Savannah carefully. She had no idea her twin would be back to school this early. It would’ve helped to have a heads up. She looked healthy, strong, and sad. It broke Rebecca’s heart to see her sister so close, yet so far away from her. There was little she could do until Hunter found some sort of cure or some ancient answer revealed a way to bring her back from the undead. She had spoken to the guardian council, worked with Sundae, her dream weaver friend, had grandmother and Hunter looking for clues, had Jackson reaching out to people he thought could help. She even assigned a small group of wolves to search for clues. No one had any answers, no one turned up anything after a month of exhaustive searching. It appeared vampirism was as permanent as becoming a werewolf.
‘I don’t know why you bother. I have already told you there’s no cure,’ Siren snarled in her mind. Always alert, but more so now that a vampire was in close vicinity.
Her biggest irritation was her reaction to Savannah now. She watched her like a hawk, distrusted her every move because of instinct. The mere smell of her twin made her insides revolt and her wolf want to attack. But the worst part of the whole situation was the urge to rip her heart out every time she saw Savannah. She knew this reaction was not her. It was the wolf DNA that ran through her body, but that didn’t change her response. Being around her twin, the girl who had been her best friend since birth was exhausting.
‘You have far more important issues to deal with at the moment. I think it’s time to cut your family ties,’ the wolf stated.
‘Like hell! That, I promise you, will never, ever happen, wolf! If you know what’s good for you you’ll never make that statement again.’
Siren laughed. Rebecca’s useless threats did little to intimidate her. She was thousands of years old. ‘Don’t threaten me, little girl. You can’t get r
Rebecca snorted. ‘Try me.’
Rebecca felt the wolf shrug in her mind. ‘Fine. Let’s see how you do a week without my help.’
‘Fine!’
Rebecca felt Siren retreat and regretted her reaction immediately afterward. She didn’t need the wolf, but it was definitely helpful. ‘I’m sorry.’ But there was no response. Only silence. Blissful, peaceful, dangerous silence.
Gabriel tossed Rebecca a worried look, but said nothing in her mind or with his mouth.
After class Rebecca tried to catch Savvy, but she and Danny slipped out faster than was humanly possible. Just as she was about to attempt to pick up her sister’s trail Jackson stepped in front of her with a worried look on his face.
Jackson had been her best friend since she was ten years old. He was practically a member of her family. The look on his face in that moment chilled her to the bone. One thing she loved about Jackson was he was always laid back, easy going and happy.
The tension in his shoulders, his blood shot eyes, the worried frown on his face were exactly the opposite of what she had come to expect from Jacks.
“What’s wrong, Jackson?” Rebecca grabbed his elbow and led him over to a more private corner of the room. Lucky and Gabriel stood by, blocking and protecting.
“It’s bad, Becks. Really bad!” His eyes looked almost crazed with concern in that moment.
Rebecca felt dread fill her. She knew what he was going to say next.
“I had a premonition. A terrible one, Becks. There’s a war coming and you need to get ready because the wolves and vampires are at the core of it.”
Chapter Sixteen