Seduction in Blood

The warm pink glow of the morning sun slowly pushed the dark twilight away for another day. His hands tightly held to the smooth stone railing of the patio that overlooked the small garden below. The dew glistened in the light as it came over the hilly peaks. Rich green leaves dripped with water onto the perfectly mowed lawns below. Everything was lined and trimmed to perfection, it was a garden that any artist would have loved to paint for hours. Japanese cherry blossoms littered the ground with pink soft petals and the wildflowers opened their bulbs, feasting on the sunlight.

“You honestly believe that she’s the one?” Nikolas asked, sipping on some coffee at the black wicker table with matching chairs decorated in bright red cushions. He placed his white coffee cup down and leaned back into the chair, lacing his fingers together in front of his face. The sun beamed on them and the gentle breeze tickled their skin. “What if she isn’t? You just ruined her life.”

“Look at the resemblance!” Darrien hissed, whirling around to face his friend. They had been partners in crime for over two centuries, they knew everything about each other. Nikolas huffed and shook his head, reaching for his coffee cup once again. When the hot liquid poured into his mouth and down his throat, he pulled it away and let out a refreshed breath. “It’s her Nikolas, why else would a demon have been following her?” Darrien asked, being a bit more calm and levelheaded. The shaggy haired vampire sighed and shook his head, turning back around to face the garden. He admired the lovely flowers as the bloomed to absorb the suns bright rays. It was such a colorful sight filled with strips of yellow roses, pink roses, daisies, and birds of paradise.

“Darrien you know that she will never be Clara,” Nikolas replied softly. Darrien took in a sharp breath and closed his rich amber eyes. He knew that she would never be Clara, but she looked like her and even sounded like her. That girl he saved from the demon that night was a dead ringer for her. “It was over the day she turned her back on the council.” Darrien let his head fall between his shoulders and tightly gripped the railing. Standing up, Nikolas fixed his black vest and red tie. He quietly walked up beside Darrien and looked out to the garden, saying how beautiful it looked in the morning light.

“She may not be Clara, but she is the reincarnation of her,” Darrien stated simply, glancing over at Nikolas. “They will come after her and make her right the wrongs she had done in another life.” Pushing away from the railing, Darrien began walking to the glass doors that lead back into the library. Nikolas sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck, for a while he thought they would have been lucky to never see Clara again, but that was just wishful thinking.

It had been almost 118 years since the night that Clara had been murdered by the council. He remembered that night perfectly, Clara had accepted her fate the moment they captured her. Darrien was heartbroken and never came to the meeting, they had given him a chance to speak. He refused to speak though, saying she had betrayed not only the council, but his love to her. Nikolas had one chance to speak with her the night she was to be executed. She told him only one thing and that was that she would return.

Nikolas closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, how could this have happened? He turned around and looked into the threshold of the doors. His eyes fell upon young Leila, who bowed instantly. As she straightened up her hands went behind her back and she looked to Nikolas.

“Has she woken up?” Nikolas asked, walking over to the wicker chair. He took a seat and poured himself some more coffee. He grabbed a small silver spoon and stirred in a little bit of milk and sugar to sweeten the bitter taste.

“No sir, but this letter came for you.” Leila pulled a parchment paper with a wax seal out of her apron pocket. Nikolas quirked an eyebrow and took the letter from her as she handed it to him. Pulling the letter open, he carefully unfolded the smooth paper. Inside was nicely written script that addressed him. As he skimmed through the letter his eyes widened, the council was going to be sending two members to see Darrien. Sighing, Nikolas shook his head they had the worst luck. At the very bottom it was signed by ‘anonymous’, which Nikolas found strange.

“Where did you find this?” Nikolas asked, holding the letter up.

“On the front door step,” Leila replied. “Someone knocked and when I went to answer this was all that was there.”

“You didn’t see anyone?” Nikolas pressed, placing the letter on the table to take another sip of his coffee. Leila shook her head and stared at the letter. “Take this to the kitchen for me, I have to make a phone call.” Nikolas gestured to the silver tray that had the coffee pot and cups on it. Leila nodded and quickly gathered up the messy dishes as Nikolas vacated the area.


Samantha stood on the sidelines of the crime scene, her eyes watered with tears as she saw the various news reporters explaining the supposed events. Looking over to the red car that was currently being towed away, her heart sank as she saw the crushed passenger side. Across the way on the opposite side of the red car, Aria’s parents were talking with two police officers. Aria’s mother, Haley Thorne, collapsed to the ground. Her husband and the two officers quickly came to her side and helped her up, but she just crouched over and hugged her body. Samantha shook her head and felt her tears fall as she heard Mrs. Thorne crying out for Aria. Wiping away her tears, Samantha walked around to go and try to comfort Mrs. Thorne.

Pushing through the crowd of people, Samantha looked at Mrs. Thorne. She was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Her husband, Sean Thorne, looked up at Samantha while trying to console his wife. The two officers excused themselves, so that Mrs. Thorne could have a moment to regain herself. As they walked away, Samantha came forward and knelt down on the ground. Her red hair fell around her face as she let her head sink low.

“Johnny would never hurt her,” Samantha assured them. The Thorne’s looked to her and nodded once, both of them were completely drained from being up all night worrying about their daughter. Samantha could only imagine how horrifying it had to have been to see Johnny’s car smashed in on one side, Aria’s truck door open, and her purse on the floor with everything still inside. “They’ll find her.”

“Did she call you at all last night, Sam?” Mrs. Thorne asked, hoping Aria had. Closing her eyes, Samantha shook her head and apologized. The brunette woman frowned and began to sob into her hands again. Biting her lip, Samantha turned away and looked to Aria’s truck. Nothing ever happened in this town, nothing like this. There were no bodies and the way Johnny’s car had been smashed up was odd since Aria’s truck was perfectly intact. Unfortunately the parking lot had no surveillance, so there was no way to tell what happened to either of them.

“I’m so sorry,” Samantha whispered, feeling like she should have been there to save Aria. There may have been nothing she could do, but at least Aria wouldn’t have been alone. “I wish I knew more.”

“It’s not your fault, Samantha, it was just bad luck.” Mr. Thorne had a strong front on the outside, but Samantha knew that inside he was breaking down. This family had been through so much in the last two years, they didn’t need this.

Standing far off near the thicket of trees that backed up to a subdivision, Ethan Delacroix watched the police and investigators study the area surrounding the vehicles. He snorted a bit and leaned back against a tree, crossing his muscled arms over his chest. His blonde hair fell into his eyes as he looked down and stared at the dirt ground. Darrien was standing here when the demon attacked Aria. He could still smell his presence lingering in the area.

Pushing away from the tree, Ethan decided it was time he took his leave. Just as he turned around and started walking down the little trail, he stopped and sniffed the air. His eyes scanned the area; he wasn’t alone. Ethan looked straight ahead and sure enough there he was, Virgil Woodridge, the vampire that turned Ethan and Darrien.

Virgil smirked at Ethan, his dark eyes watchful, and his skin blotched with the sunlight burning through the shade trees. He wore dark washed jeans and a plain white t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it. It was strange to Ethan because he was normally so old fashioned, but it had been nearly twenty years since they last crossed paths. He had a slight mustache above his lips and his hair was cut shorter than the last time they saw each other.

“Virgil,” Ethan greeted with a nod. “You look...normal.”

“This was Darrien’s doing?” Virgil asked in his English accent.

“Still very British,” Ethan commented with a chuckle. “And yes, it was him. He believes he has found Clara again.”

“The council is going to be paying him a visit, I suggest you attend.”

“Ah a family reunion.” Ethan smiled. “I always was the party crasher.”