Marked - Prophecy of Aries - Book 1 Read online

  She was not having a good day right now. Not at all. She was on edge, a nervousness that she rarely experienced.

  She found out one of her very capable subordinate vampire had been feeding on humans around Antarctica, against her order. She had to execute him. And loss of competent staff was significant. She set the rules, she had to follow through with them.

  That was what would happen to those who acted against her orders.

  Then Alex, her second in charge vampire, was nowhere to be found. He might have taken off on his private mission without telling her. Alex was a man of secrets.

  In seven days, the event was important not only for her and her lover; but for her city as well. She would transfer the management over to Alex. He wasn’t the best, but one of the older vampires who could handle this position.

  The final preparations for the transformation were underway, an enormous amount of work and pressure. No chances were to be taken. The eyes of the entire paranormal world would be watching. The empire she’d built for centuries was at stake.

  The consequences for failure — any failure, no matter how seemingly insignificant — was unacceptable.

  Isabel studied the pictures again. She searched her memories again for when and where she had seen this couple’s pictures.

  She had to figure this out for herself. She stood and crossed dimensions, standing next to the couple in a small reception room of the station. If they were genuinely human, they wouldn’t be able to see her unless she allowed them by crossing into their dimension.

  She could stand right next to them, in her dimension, and switch dimension in lightning speed to rip their throats out. Then she could cross back to her dimension.

  From a human’s perspective, all they’d be able to see was that the couple had just dropped dead with their throats hanging out without any explanation.

  If they were genuine humans, they would be oblivious to her being in the same room with them right now, and the possibility that she could kill them in a heartbeat. Well, heartbeat was what she didn’t have, but she could certainly use the analogy for measure.

  The man looked straight through her as if he didn’t see her. She turned around. His eyes must have landed on a shelf with a bottle of Scotch displayed in the cabinet. “I’m sure you can do better than that. I can supply the entire year of consumption of much better alcohol if you so desire.”

  Everyone laughed. A man standing at a corner said, “Alcohol consumption is restricted. No point bribing us with it, Ciaran. But we could do for better quality food and medicine for field trips.”

  Ciaran, how familiar! Isabel searched her memories again.

  Another man said, “I’ll hold LeBlanc Pharmaceuticals to that. Good medical supplies are very important to us. Not that we don’t have enough. But your products are the best and we don’t have access to your supplies.”

  Ciaran LeBlanc, now she got it. Isabel almost yelped out of joy. Rumor had it that he was the king of a universe, somewhere she had never been. So, the rumor was wrong. He was definitely a human in front of her now.

  She could kill him right now.

  She whirled around him to see if he reacted.

  Nothing.

  She brushed her finger tips on his throat.

  No reaction.

  No, she wouldn’t kill him. Creating more human deaths would cause unnecessary problems.

  Ciaran chuckled. “I still consider us newlyweds. So, yes, the only thing I’d like to do here is to fulfil a promise to my wife, take her to see the Antarctica penguins.”

  People laughed again.

  “Yes, you’d better. I married you because of this promise,” the woman said and smiled. It was so obvious that she was in love with her husband. So much that it seeped out of every pore in her body. Isabel could smell it.

  She wondered if she would be that happy after the seven days had passed.

  One of her assistants rushed into the room so fast that he almost created a blast of cold wind that blew into the dimension the humans were standing. She glared at the young vampire.

  “What?”

  “Breach at the South Gate. A creature passed our screen.”

  Her head wanted to explode right now. Could she last one day without having an incident? She whirled out of the human research station and back to her lavish office in the tower in her city.

  CHAPTER 8

  C iaran waited until he and Madeline were alone in their cabin to sit down on the tiny bed. He waited for the dizziness to pass. He was still quite weak. He had come very close to dying.

  He could switch his eudqi back on to heal faster, but he had to wear the human form for as long as he could when they were passing the vampire gate. They couldn’t be discovered.

  Madeline pulled the shirt down and examined a gigantic black and blue bruise on his left shoulder. Yes, he’d gotten hit, but he had been careful enough to wear the shield and it had protected him against the impact.

  He knew he scared her, but if he hadn’t left his silver blood on, they both would have been dead in Buenos Aires. As it was, the hit had dazed him for hours. His death would have been torturous for his wife.

  “Did you feel the presence of a creature in the reception room just now?” he asked to ease the awkwardness between them.

  “Yes,” she said and buttoned up his shirt.

  “A vampire to be precise. It brushed at my neck to see if I reacted,” he said and sank a bit deeper in the bed.

  They heard a faint snap in the air, like an electronic spark and a sensation they’d both developed since they were still human — they could tell when paranormal creatures were sharing the same space with them.

  Madeline hopped on the bed, pushing him down and kissed him. He enjoyed the look on her face. So human. Full of passion. Love. And lust.

  He knew she was still mad at him, and she would pound on any unfortunate creatures that were lurking around. So, he would cooperate with her just to ease the pressure off him.

  In a heartbeat, she switched on her eudqi. She pulled out a folded katana he had made her, and jumped across dimensions.

  Ciaran was right behind her. He was a lot faster and stronger than her, but he understood his wife’s competitive nature; he kept a few steps behind her.

  They were on the roof of the cabin. A shadow hopped down to the back of the building and darted toward the darkness. Madeline trailed right behind. She kicked a small ball of snow off from the ground and swung her sword at it — a comic move that always amused Ciaran. He didn’t think it would work, but it did.

  The snow rained on the vampire. He paused and turned around, angry.

  He was fast, lean, tall and appeared quite strong for Madeline. But Ciaran refrained from interfering with the fight. His wife didn’t look as if she needed a rescue.

  She tightened her grip on her katana, lifted her chin up in challenge, and took her combat stance. The vampire smirked.

  He whirled around, encircled Madeline in extreme speed and approached her from behind. He grabbed her from the back and bent forward. He was going to bite her. His fangs popped down and he looked as if he was drooling.

  Madeline hunched down, bending forward. One of her favorite Aikido moves she used when a stronger and taller opponent grabbed her from behind. The vampire’s hands were still on her shoulders and appeared to grip at them hard. When she bent forward, and turned her shoulders sideway in a swift motion, he had lost not only his grip, but his balance.

  Madeline turned around and swung her katana.

  The vampire jerked back, but the blade had cut into his shoulder.

  He hissed as his flesh burned and his blood sizzled.

  Ciaran had made the blade out of top graded silver. Precious metal was one of his expertise.

  Madeline followed with a kick to the abdomen, sending the vampire to the ground lying flat on his back. She pointed the blade to his throat. “Who sent you?” she asked.

  “Don’t kill me.”

  “Then tell
us who sent you?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a contract. I get paid. I kill those on the blood list. But I only kill humans. I didn’t know you were creatures. I’m sorry. Don’t kill me…”

  Ciaran cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t like the sound of him calling us creatures.”

  “Me neither,” Madeline muttered and pushed the sword harder, it cut into the vampire’s flesh. He screamed in agony.

  “All right. I’ll tell you how and where I got the contract. It will lead you to my client…”

  Ciaran nodded. Madeline eased off the sword.

  The vampire sat up, contemplative. He looked up at Ciaran and Madeline and opened his mouth. But before a word could come out, a shadow darted past. The head of the vampire they’d been speaking to dropped on the ground, rolling a short distance and stopped, creating a small blood pool in the snow.

  In front of them was a male vampire, looking to be in his thirties. By his composure, his formidability and his movements, Ciaran wagered this was a very old vampire who held significant rank in his world.

  The vampire cast a glance on Ciaran and Madeline, measured.

  Ciaran pushed Madeline behind him. “Who are you and why did you kill him?” Ciaran demanded.

  The vampire smirked. “He attempted to reveal his Master. Just for that, he deserves to die.”

  “Are you his Master?” Madeline asked.

  The vampire smiled, a curving of the lips that held no humor. “No. He’s a coward. There is no place for cowards in my city.”

  Ciaran pulled his folded sword, swung it so it stretched out to full length. Unlike Madeline’s, his was a King’s sword.

  He swung the sword toward the vampire. As Ciaran had anticipated, the vampire swung his sword to block. They both staggered back after the sword-clash, eyeing each other.

  “If you wanted to kill me, you should have pulled your silver bullet gun. But you didn’t. If you want to test how strong I am, you only have to ask… now you know. You’re quite strong yourself,” the vampire muttered.

  “You haven’t seen a fraction of my power.” As fast as lightning, Ciaran switched his eudqi on and charged at the vampire. Their swords clashed again. Ciaran attacked the vampire without holding back.

  The vampire withdrew.

  Ciaran liked it. He’d never fought a vampire before. He loved to put them on a lab table and examine their strength so that he could design special weapons against them.

  The vampire kept withdrawing; Ciaran kept advancing.

  When the vampire hit a snow cliff, he turned and looked at Ciaran. Ciaran had the sword pointing at his throat. “Take me to Vampire City and I’ll let you live for the rest of your unnatural life,” Ciaran snarled.

  “I don’t kill humans,” the vampire grunted. “Regardless of the form you’re wearing, you’re fundamentally human. And I won’t kill you.”

  Ciaran pressed his sword harder. “I don’t think you’re in the position to say that.”

  Ciaran’s king sword had power, but it wasn’t a silver sword. The vampire grabbed at the blade. Before Ciaran could react, he was on the ground, the vampire’s hand was around his throat and Madeline was screaming.

  The vampire reached his free hand out for Madeline. Ciaran swiveled out of the vampire’s grip and swung a round hound kick at his head. The vampire staggered back. His fangs popped down.

  Ciaran pulled his silver bullet gun and pointed it at the vampire. “This is not how I want to do it, but, we’ve got things to do. Can’t mess around with the sword forever. My offer stays. Take me to your city, and I will let you live.”

  The vampire swiveled. Ciaran shot, the bullet hit the vampire’s shoulder, but he managed to run past Ciaran and kicked Madeline. She flew away several feet and dropped over the edge of the cliff. Ciaran darted over, grabbing at Madeline’s hands.

  The vampire picked up his sword and pressed it against Ciaran’s neck from behind. “If you must know, let me tell you. I won’t kill you because you are Antonio’s friends. But I can’t guarantee others would be so kind. I know you’re strong. But a wise man wouldn’t mess around with a vampire in a vampire’s territory. Here is my offer to you. If you both leave here tomorrow, I will let you live for the rest of your natural lives.”

  He cut into Ciaran’s neck. A stream of blood came down. “Let this be a reminder,” he muttered and turned around, vanishing into the icy air.

  CHAPTER 9

  T he vampire’s dead body had turned into a lump of blood and gore, gradually absorbing into the white snow.

  “How are we going to hide this body or whatever’s left of it?” Madeline asked, glaring at the wound on Ciaran’s neck. He had his eudqi on, so it would heal quickly.

  Ciaran shook his head. “There is no point. We’re exposed. The vampire who just left, he’s high ranked. If he wanted to tell the vampire authorities or whatever equivalent, then there is nothing we can do about it.”

  “You really don’t know the way to go to Vampire City?”

  Ciaran shook his head. “We can see the city. But going in is a totally different matter. Let alone getting into the headquarters.”

  “Why did the vampire say he wouldn’t kill us because we are Antonio’s friends?” Madeline asked.

  “That’s the question I meant to ask you.”

  Madeline shook her head. “I don’t know more than what I have already told you. Antonio and I worked together for a year, we dated for about six months within that period. I had no idea he has anything to do with paranormal creatures.”

  “What about his sister, Emily? She works at a research station. Do you think this has anything to do with her?”

  “Emily and I only met once. I don’t know much about her.”

  “There is one easy way to find out.” Ciaran smiled. “We ask them.”

  “But first, we have our eudqi on, so, can we see the city from here?” Madeline asked.

  Ciaran nodded. He jumped a couple of steps and hopped on top of a cabin. He reached his hand out to take Madeline’s.

  In front of them, human eyes would only see the pitch black piece of icy continent, a no-man land. A mass of quietness, as if the air and life had been sucked out of the place. But their supernatural eyes enjoyed a different vision.

  A magnificent city of vampires.

  Roads, houses, buildings and light. It was another world within a world. It was a lightened world within the dead and dull world of the ice. It was a lively world of the undead.

  “Wow,” she said.

  Ciaran smiled. He anticipated her reaction. He knew about this city, but she didn’t. He needed to know his enemies to be able to defend his universe. Among his group of adversaries, this city of the undead in Antarctica was among the lowest ranks.

  But they were the starting point.

  The endless snowy landscape connected to the tree lined Grand Boulevard, leading to the main tower in the city, a monument to remind lower rank vampires and other creatures of the absolute power of the one in charge.

  Ciaran narrowed his eyes, looking at the tower in the middle of the city. He knew what was there. He knew how significant it was to get in there and complete his mission. But there were so many variables to speculate. And his wife need not worry about it.

  “The station with the Virgo key would be in the middle of that, don’t you think?” Madeline asked.

  “No. It would be in one of the ghost research stations, slightly at the outskirts of the city. We don’t have the exact location yet, because these stations aren’t on the record. We’ll soon find out.”

  “Is there a vampire research station too?” Madeline asked.

  Ciaran chuckled. “We call them ghost research stations because they aren’t on official record. They don’t belong to any government. They are in Antarctica illegally, mainly for the minerals.”

  “How can I not know this? I was a good journalist. Why can’t satellites pick them up?”

  Ciaran laughed. “They are all equipped with jammers, Ma
deline. In a word, they are invisible to technology on Earth… and journalists, even the best ones.”

  Madeline narrowed her eyes. “So, how do you know about this? Does your pharmaceutical empire have anything here?”

  Ciaran shook his head. “Not here.”

  “Jesus Christ. That means you have ghost stations elsewhere?”

  He rubbed his freezing hands together. “Of course, we do. For research purposes.” Ciaran winked at her and smiled.

  With the acute senses they possessed whenever their silver blood was on at full capacity, they heard the faint sound of an argument. From the top of the cabin, they peered down to a compartment opposite.

  “It looks like we don’t need to go to them. They are coming to us,” Ciaran muttered.

  Across the snow yard was a red oval cabin, looking like a gigantic helmet. Emily rushed over and pulled Antonio’s elbow, who was heading toward their cabin.

  “Don’t do that, Antonio,” they overheard Emily say to her brother. “I can take care of myself. They can’t help.” She sounded as if she was trying to keep her voice as low as possible and, although she was whispering, she also sounded panicked.

  “The only reason I brought them here is because they can help you,” Antonio growled. “Ciaran can arrange a private flight for you. I want you out of here and in a safe place.”

  “Where on Earth can you find such a place for me? And put it the other way around, big brother, what did you do that placed a prize on your head?”

  Ciaran and Madeline stepped out from the shadow.

  “Jesus Christ, make some noise when you move. I thought you were them!” Antonio exclaimed, raising a hand to his chest.

  “Them?” Madeline arched an eyebrow.

  Antonio lowered his voice and whispered. “Those blood suckers.”

  “Antonio!” Emily raised her voice.

  “She doesn’t believe me,” Antonio said to Madeline and Ciaran. “I told her about you wanting to visit a ghost station. She said there isn’t anything like that here. And she refused to believe that this place is full of those creatures.” Antonio waved his arms in the air in frustration.