Page 5 of Fated In Blood (Nocturne Vampire Clan #1)

5

EVANGELINE

A fter a week at the Thorndale Historical Society scouring blueprints, I’d learned more than I ever wanted to know about Darkmore Castle.

Because the Gothic-inspired castle was built when New York was still New Amsterdam, the layout was also included in the state’s digital databank as one of New York’s registered historic houses, along with the secret passageways built into the walls. Of special note was the fact the private home was still occupied by the same family that built it—the Tyrells.

What the sweet little society ladies didn’t know were the depravities happening there on a regular basis, the scheduled feeding frenzies, both weekly and monthly. The orgies, the blood slaves, the thralls, the rumors of enormous, disfigured creatures prowling the castle grounds.

How humans who wandered through those front doors never emerged again.

Then there were the secret, quarterly auctions on the four solstices—where kidnapped humans were sold like cattle to the highest bidders and buyers flew in from all over the world to peruse the wares.

Blood slaves , they called them.

I shivered at the idea as I inspected myself in my tiny bathroom mirror, cataloging the weaknesses that could get me killed tonight.

Wide eyes, the color of a stormy sky, a freckled, innocent face that could easily pass as a teenager’s, matching my innocent—or so they told me—scent. I looked too young, too unprepared, too weak to go up against a castle full of monsters.

But looks could be deceiving.

Just ask Spencer and Ambrose.

I took a breath, closed my eyes, and counted to ten, marshaling my emotions the way I’d been trained. When I opened them, the fear was gone, replaced by sheer determination. I could do this. I had to do this. I’d been forced to wait a full week since killing Spencer, and every minute had felt like too long.

My delay was strategic, for two reasons.

One, to make sure my carefully planned rescue mission was as solid as possible, and two…because tonight was the spring solstice and I had a foolproof way inside, straight through Darkmore Castle’s front doors.

The vernal equinox marked the first blood slave auction of the year, a private, invitation-only event attended by vampire elite with enough money to be on the guest list and an appetite for depravity.

I’d checked the blueprints three more times to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, then jogged past the looming gates one final time this morning. The drive overflowed with vans and limousines, a long line of blacked-out vans out back.

I sucked in a deep breath and held it long enough for the fear to fade.

Tonight, I would see Angelique.

A year of searching would be over, and by the time the sun rose tomorrow, my sister and I would be two hundred miles from Thorndale. We’d start new lives, far away from this cesspool. I’d keep her safe and never, ever let her out of my sight again.

Spencer’s slimy taunt came back to me. You won’t like what’s become of your sister.

I had to stay focused. I wouldn’t allow Spencer Tyrell’s mind games to sabotage my most important mission.

Fucking refused.

I tucked a stray curl back up into my intricately braided bun and smoothed down my disgustingly expensive, blue silk dress one final time before shutting off the lights to my apartment, not knowing if I’d ever see this place again.

The flowing skirt wrapped around my ankles like smoke as I headed for my car, the layers of fabric hiding the leather sheaths strapped to both thighs, outfitted with a deadly array of poisoned silver knives, syringes filled with silver oxide, and slivers of carved white ash, sharpened to needle-fine points.

None of the weapons would inflict a fatal blow unless I got an incredibly lucky shot, but once I found my sister, my only goal was getting her out of that castle and this godforsaken city alive. An incapacitated vampire was as good as a dead one, but tonight, I didn’t much care how many bodies I left in my wake.

Angel was all I had left in this world.

She was good, and kind, and after Mom died, she was the glue that bound me to reality, gave me something to live for. And…the last time I’d spoken to my mother, I'd made her a promise to protect my sister, no matter the cost.

That failure had haunted me all these months, and tonight was my chance to make things right.

I’d obsessively planned my rescue mission for weeks, yet my hands shook when I locked up my car a quarter mile from the castle, the closest I dared get. The wooded city park was bordered by a shallow creek and a steep rocky bank that rose to meet the thick wall separating Darkmore Castle’s manicured grounds from the public.

Even down here, I saw flashlight beams cut through the gloaming darkness and from somewhere inside the walls, heard the low growling of dogs—or maybe something bigger—rumbling out of the darkness.

Given my previous training, it would be child’s play to scale the steep cliff rising above me, climb over the ten-foot stone wall, and drop into the wide, sloped front yard unseen.

But tonight was not about stealth.

Tonight was about making the monsters who’d taken my sister wish they’d never fucking met me.

I set the car key on my right front tire, then hiked barefoot to the park entrance, waiting until the beams of a car rounded the corner, slipping on my delicate, strappy sandals.

My Uber was right on time, stopping in front of the park’s welcome sign, and I slid into the backseat, my grizzled driver barely paying attention to my directions until we reached the line of cars inching through the castle gates. “What the…” The driver whipped around. “No way I’m going in there.” His hands clenched the steering wheel tight enough his palms squeaked against the leather.

“Keep your Uber light on. You’re going through those gates.”

“Fuck that. I’ve heard about this place.” His eyes shifted to mine in the rearview, sweat shining on his brow as he turned the wheel to the right, inching out of line. “I’ll drop you off for free, miss, but that’s the best I can do.” Up close, the gates were a tangled nest of wrought iron, the name Darkmore woven into the top of the ornamental arch.

“Get me through the gates and I’ll make it worth your while.” I held out three hundred-dollar bills and he snatched them out of my hand, muttering a curse. “Take me all the way to the front doors and you get another three hundred.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, trapped in this tiny car, rolling into enemy territory. This was the most unpredictable part of my plan—getting inside those gates—the step I had no control over. Once these vampires smelled me…they’d either welcome me with open arms or hunt me down like prey.

“Prove you have the money.” The driver wiped his face on his sleeve. I sighed, fanned out three more hundreds, and held them up. He went to grab them, but I pulled them away.

“Front doors, then the money is yours.”

We crept back into line, suddenly caught in a gridlock between obscenely expensive vehicles. These rich assholes couldn’t stop showing off, with their prissy old-fashioned manners and high-end imported cars, and…I dipped my head to watch the castle come into view as we inched beneath the iron gates.

The fortress was constructed from darkness itself, the highest turrets blending into the midnight sky flecked with a handful of stars. Torches burned along the front, bands of golden light slipping out from the arched windows, moonrise still an hour away.

According to my sources, that’s when the screaming would start.

Providing the perfect cover to get Angelique out.

“You’re going to get me killed.” My driver’s tone was just this side of hysterical. “Why the fuck”—his eyes scanned me via the mirror—“would you want to be anywhere near this place?” He anxiously adjusted the heat. Up. Down. Up. “They say vampires live here. People who go through those gates…never come back out.”

“They, who? Don’t you think if vampires did exist, they’d be inconspicuous? I highly doubt they’d live in Hotel Transylvania, up on a hill for everyone to see,” I told him breezily. “Keep your foot on the gas and let me do the talking.” I rolled my window down and damp spring air floated in, thick with exhaust fumes and smelling of a coming storm.

“Six hundred bucks isn’t worth this bullshit,” he muttered, but we were both committed now, trapped in a river of vehicles flowing steadily toward the castle, both sides of the drive lined with men—vampires—inspecting every car.

I shifted closer to the open window, praying my scent would work its magic.

A big, burly male stepped in front of us and my driver tromped on the brake so hard I lurched forward, squinting into the blinding beam of a flashlight. “Name?”

“Ophelia.” I gave him a wavering smile and fussed with my hair like I gave an actual shit what I looked like. “I was…invited.”

Someone rapped on the other window. “Fuck.” The hyperventilating driver lowered his head and the car lurched forward, almost taking out one of the guards. “Fuck, I need to get out of here.” He was on the verge of a breakdown, the sour smell of adrenaline and sweat choking the small vehicle.

“Roll all the windows down before this gets messy,” I hissed, wishing I wasn’t blinded and could read their expressions, not that it would do me a lot of good since vampires perfected the concept of poker face.

“Invited by whom?” The guard’s nostrils flared, eyes dilating when he caught my scent.

I gave him my best flirty smile. “I only know their first names. Spencer and Ambrose. They came into a club where I work, Valentine’s, and invited me to a party tonight.”

“ When did they invite you?” I wasn’t even a vampire, and I sensed the tension shift in the air. I had to play this carefully, or I wouldn’t make it past this point, and neither would my driver.

“God, let’s see…about a month ago? Told me to mark today on my calendar, said it’s the Crow Moon…the Worm Moon…some kind of moon.” I sighed and leaned closer to the rolled down window. “Look, all I know is there is supposed to be a party.” I stuck out my bottom lip.

I’d been blessed with a face that appeared far younger than my actual age, with plump cheeks and wide blue-gray eyes, and a dusting of freckles on my pale skin. With nothing but lip gloss, I didn’t look a day over seventeen. A young, spoiled brat, out to cause trouble, and I played up my innocence with everything I had.

“I like parties and they said there would be booze.” I fussed with my hair again, then looked quickly away. “And…other things .”

Two more guards appeared, hemming us in. I’d expected the line of questioning, expected the high security, not to be trapped in this line of cars.

On foot, I’d never beat these two.

“Drugs,” I whispered conspiratorially. “They said if I came, we’d have a good time. But maybe I have the wrong night.” The blinding flashlight disappeared and I got a good look at the guard as he turned away, raising his hand to his mouth. He was built like a wide receiver. Nope, definitely wasn’t outrunning him.

His shoulders curled down around the hushed static from the walkie talkie.

When he turned back, nostrils flaring, his closed mouth didn’t quite hide the unmistakable bulge of fangs. “Go on through, Ophelia . When you reach the front doors, tell the guards Spencer and Ambrose invited you.”

“Okay.” I smiled wide. “I sure will.”

“Fuck.” The driver moaned. “Fuck, you have a death wish, lady. A fucking death wish and you’re going to get me killed right along with you.”

“They won’t kill you. I’m a paid fare and there is an electronic trail showing this is where you dropped me off. Your light’s on, they know you’re on the clock. Trust me, you aren’t worth the trouble tonight.”

He sank into a broody silence, pissed he wasn’t important enough to kill. I could hardly blame him for being angry. I hadn’t wanted to pull anyone else into my scheme, but there was no other way inside that castle except straight through the front doors.

Admittedly, I’d put him in a shitty situation, but he’d have to man up.

It took forever for them to valet the Maybach in front of us away. Then three burly vampires in fitted tuxedos looked at the tiny Uber with complete bewilderment as I hopped out.

“Those other guys told me to tell you Spencer and Ambrose invited me,” I said brightly, handing the driver his money, which he snatched away with an even fouler curse. “Said this will be some party tonight.” I stared up and up and up at the castle, squaring my shoulders and shoving my fear down deep. I was here for a reason, and nothing would stand in my way, not even three hundred hungry vampires.

“Someone find Bosch. Let him know we have a human here, dropping Lord Spencer’s name.”

“Oh, good. Is Spencer here?” I craned my neck over the crowd to try and get a better look inside. “He didn’t say what time to come, only gave me the date, March twenty-first.”

My stomach lurched when an enormous, rough-looking guard—Bosch, I assumed—prowled forward. He had hair shorn nearly to his scalp, a face peppered with scars, a sheen of cruelty in his black eyes, and I despised him on sight when he put his hand in the center of my back and shoved me toward the entrance. “Walk.”

Tires squealed against the pavement, and everyone turned to watch the Uber driver fly down the drive like a bat out of hell and hang a hard right, disappearing through the gates.

I blew out a breath. Good. One problem out of the way, a thousand more ahead.

“Well, that’s kind of rude,” I whined. “What kind of party is this, anyway?”

“The kind where some of us have fun, and others do not,” Bosch hissed, herding me toward the imposing front doors bracketed by burning torches, gripping my shoulder hard enough he’d leave bruises.

I’d taken a calculated risk dropping Spencer’s and Ambrose’s names, but I wasn’t on a first-name basis with any other vampires, since I normally killed them on sight.

But the names of two dead men had gotten me through the doors tonight.

Now the rest was up to me.