Chapter Ten
Something pulls me out of slumber in the middle of the night. I’m lying on top of the comforter where Amelie and I made love, yet she’s not there in bed with me. She isn’t lying on top of my chest or even curled against my side. No. She’s standing beside me, her eyes ink black and completely shrouded with evil. Her arms are raised above her head, her hands holding a twelve-inch blade.
I roll away just as the knife comes plunging down, sinking hilt-deep into the mattress. Amelie looks at me, her face contorted unnaturally. “You will burn, demon. Everything you love will burn. Heed this warning: Vengeance will be mine.”
She pulls the blade still speared in the mattress and raises it again. I know I can fight her off, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to hurt her. But right now, I’m not facing my Amelie, the girl that just gave me the most sacred part of her. The girl I have given the most sacred part of me. My Amelie is trapped somewhere inside herself, unable to break free. I have to save her. I will save her.
“Amelie, baby, wake up!” I shout. Only the width of the bed separates us, and I can see her – or it - trying to calculate a way around it. “I know you can hear me. Baby, you have to fight. You have to come back to me.”
An inhuman screech bubbles from her chest, and the sinister voice laughs. “Your girl is lost forever, demon. She is as dead as you are.”
Hearing those words awakens my own vicious beast, and cold sweeps over me, touching my fingertips and eyes. I can feel them transform as magic awakens inside me, and I tremble with the magnitude of its power.
“Leave her,” I spit back, my voice as cold as the blue flames licking my hands and arms.
The voice cackles again, and a shiver snakes up my spine. She grips the blade as if she is about to lunge, and I raise my hands in preparation. But instead, she holds out her arm and sinks the edge into her forearm, spilling Amelie’s dark red blood onto the floor and comforter.
Those black, desolate eyes find mine, and she smiles. “Everything you love will burn.”
The knife clatters to the floor, and Amelie crumples in a dead heap. But before her head can hit the ground, I catch her and cradle her to my chest.
“Amelie! Amelie, talk to me, baby! Talk to me!” I shout, shaking her lifeless frame. Finally, she jerks awake, gulping oxygen, her wide eyes horrified. I thank the Divine, God, and every deity known to man.
“Oh my God!” she cries. She looks down at her arm, still gushing blood, and the knife just inches away. “What happened? What happened, Niko? What did I do?”
“Amelie, listen to me. Do you remember anything? Did you dream of something? Of someone? I need to know how to help you.”
“No! I don’t know what’s happening to me! I don’t know anything!”
Amelie wails into my chest, as I grab my discarded shirt nearby to wrap her arm in. It’s still bleeding, and while I can numb some of the pain, I can’t heal her. I need to get her medical attention.
“Baby, we have to go. I need to get back to the city so we can prepare. And you need a doctor.”
I pick her up and carry her to the en suite bathroom. The faucet turns and fills the tub with warm, soapy water. I step inside with Amelie still in my arms.
“This is so not how I imagined our first bath together,” she mumbles, as I cup water and pour it over her chest.
“I know. Not how I imagined it either, but this won’t count. We’ll get a redo. We deserve it.”
I clean her tenderly, refusing to put her down. When my hand brushes her sex submerged in water, her breath catches and she groans. Gently, I part her folds, cleaning her carefully, however, I can’t deny my hardness pulsing against her ass. Amelie smirks and wiggles, but instantly winces, and I know she is in too much pain to even think about sex right now.
Minutes later, we’re dry, dressed, and headed back to New Orleans. This far from civilization, the road is pitch black but, of course, I see clear as day.
Amelie turns to me, sadness etched in those amber eyes. “I hate that this happened. I wanted it to be perfect. To be special. And now … now the dream is over.”
I grip her hand between us, interlacing our fingers. “It was perfect. Outside of what happened to you, it was the best night of my life.”
“Really?”
“Really. You are my dream, Amelie. It’s not over. It’s just the beginning.”
By the time we arrive back in town, the feeling of warmth and serenity has been rekindled, and we fall into our usual easy exchange. It’s not until I pull up to the house on Bourbon Street that a sense of sheer dread sweeps over me. Amelie looks over at me, her morbid expression telling me she feels it too.
“Something’s wrong,” she whispers.
“Yeah.” I get out of the car and listen for any sign of malice from inside, yet everything is quiet. Too quiet. It’s as if there is a spell around the house to contain noise. I try to communicate with someone – anyone – from inside, but there’s a block. No one is strong enough to do something like that. No one except me.
I go around to Amelie’s side of the car and open her door. “I want you to stay here. The key is in the ignition. If I’m not back in three minutes, I want you to drive. Drive as far as the car will take you. There’s cash in the glove compartment. Just drive and you’ll know when to stop. You’ll know when you’re safe.”
“No,” she cries, shaking her head. I’m not surprised; I knew she would object. “I’m not leaving you. Come with me. You don’t have to go inside.”
I stroke her hair before running a finger over her full bottom lip. “I do, baby. My people are in there. Those girls … I swore to protect them. It could be nothing, and I’ll probably be out here to get you in a few seconds. But I won’t risk it. Just promise me you’ll drive away, baby. I’ll find you, I promise.”
“You promise?” Tears streak down her cheeks, and I lean forward to kiss them away. Not for pleasure or to feed some sick, inner need, but to comfort her. To ease the trepidation that lies in her heart as well as mine.
“I promise.”
I walk into the house, not knowing what to expect. I’m unsure of what lies in wait for me, what could be lurking behind a dark corner. But I know one thing for certain: Death is thick and heavy in the air. It’s fresh, unforgiving and potent. I silently say goodbye to Amelie, knowing that in a few minutes, she will drive away from here. Away from the brutality that greets me in this place.
I scan the foyer, expecting to see bodies scattered about, but all is clear. Nothing is out of place. Not even a speck of blood. But, I know it’s an illusion. Carnage is close by, waiting to surprise me at any given moment.
I make my way into the living room and stop dead in my tracks. Bodies. Dozens of corpses, frozen in petrifying death. They’re all positioned throughout the room as if life still flows through their veins. Women fully dressed in ball gowns and cocktail dresses are propped in sitting positions on the couches. A man sits at the grand piano, outfitted in a crisp tuxedo, his pale fingers resting on the keys. People stationed at the bar, their cold, dead hands wrapped around crystal glasses.
The people that work for me, respect me, even care for me. The very ones that relied on me to protect them - all of them a part of a show set up just for me. All of them slaughtered, their eyes completely opaque, signifying their gruesome death.
Precious life was selfishly sucked out of them. They were probably awake for it all - felt as every one of their internal organs shut down one by one before liquefying. They felt their blood run cold, as their heartbeats stilled. They felt the fire in their lungs, as they took their last breath.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice says from behind me.
I turn around slowly, meeting the sparkling blue eyes of the one person who was supposed to stand by my side, no matter what. The one I thought shared my vision of what this life should be. The one I once called my brother.
“What the f*ck have you done?” I sneer.
Varshaun descends the staircase wearing his finest suit, his black hair meticulously slicked back. He’s dressed for the occasion as well. Hell, he’s made a f*cking meal out of this massacre.
“Isn’t it obvious, old friend? It’s a grand ball! In your honor, no less. Don’t tell me you’re surprised.”
“Surprised? Motherf*cker, you’re delusional. You’ve killed everyone - every employee. Every human…”
“Right!” he barks with a clap of his hands. “You’re absolutely right! Humans - weak, pathetic, sniveling. They’re no better than animals. And I killed them because…because I can. Because we can, Niko.”
He steps in front of me and grasps my shoulder, his eyes dancing with excitement. “We are gods, brother. F*cking gods. We can do whatever we want. And you know what? I felt like having a little fun. But don’t worry; it gets better. I didn’t stop there.”
I shrug out of his hold and narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean … I killed them. Not just the humans. I killed them all. The guards, your council, even precious Nadia.”
“You killed Nadia?” I hiss in disbelief. “You killed my people? Your people?”
“Eh,” he replies with a wave of his hand. “Collateral damage. I told them not to interfere, but somehow, they’ve all become just as self-righteous as you.”
“Varshaun, you do know the crime you have committed. You do realize I can’t, and won’t, protect you.”
“Protect me?” he laughs, slapping his thigh. “Now why would you need to protect me, when there’s no one here to protect you?”
I stare at him, speechless. What has happened to the man I considered my family? Have I been consorting with a deranged stranger this entire time?
“So it’s you? The soul-sucker? You’re the f*cking fiend.”
“Ding, ding, ding!” he jibes. “But I wouldn’t put a label on it. Let’s just say, I’ve got a hearty appetite, and lately, I’ve been craving something new. Something soft and sweet. But a little spicy. Maybe with a splash of Voodoo? And you know what would be extra tasty? Laveau blood. Oooh, I haven’t had that in decades.”
Writhing blue flames instantly snake up my arms at the mention of Amelie’s bloodline. I take a step back as a feeling of overwhelming fury washes over me. We, the Dark, may crave fear to get our rocks off, but what really gets us going? What kicks our power into overdrive, making us nearly unstoppable?
Rage. Wrath. It’s the ultimate deadly sin.
“Watch your tongue, motherf*cker, if you want to keep it,” I grit, my jaw tight. Burning frost collects behind my eyes, almost like a bullet in the chamber. I’m ready. If Varshaun thinks he can get to Amelie, he really is off his f*cking rocker.
He smiles, looking every bit as sinister as a snake in the Garden of Eden. Blue fire engulfs his own hands, and I notice it’s fuller. Denser. Even his eyes shine brighter than ever before. “Well, of course I want to keep it. I’ll need it to lick that pretty, pink cunt before I f*ck it until it bleeds. And where is our Amelie this evening? She’s missing her party.”
At the sound of her name on his lips, I growl, causing the ground to shake. Everything rattles around us, emitting a low roar. Crystal glasses and liquor bottles crash to the ground, and the carefully positioned corpses fall over in stiffened heaps. Wind billows the curtains and whips around us, spawning whirlwinds throughout the vast room.
Varshaun looks on in wonder, completely oblivious to his impending ass-kicking. “Bravo, Nikolai! Bravo! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you worked up. I must admit, I was afraid you were losing your edge. Growing soft, if you will. But now… now that the old you is back, how about we go fetch your little French maid and handle her together? We’ll f*ck her brains out. Fill that pretty little mouth with two cocks. Rip open every tight, little hole and watch her cry and bleed. Then, when we’ve used her all up, we’ll breathe in every drop of that Laveau blood. Send a message to those bottom-feeding vermin.”
“No,” I growl. My whole body quakes, intensifying the tremors under our feet.
“No? Fine. Suit yourself. I didn’t want to share anyway.”
He strikes first, launching a ball of white-hot flames at me that I block, but only just so. He’s stronger. Stronger as if he had been storing power for weeks. Stronger as if he had killed dozens of our kind.
I attack with my own current, chanting a spell in our native tongue to weaken him. It’s useless. My words don’t even penetrate him. He’s been protected, but I don’t even have time to execute a counter-attack before he’s rushing me, right through my stream of electric fire, as if it doesn’t even hurt him. As if he is impervious to my magic.
“F*ck you!” he grits, tackling me to the ground. He punches me in the face with enough force to decapitate a human. I throw my own powerful blows, aiming for every exposed vulnerable spot.
We roll on the ground, punching, kicking, scratching for survival. The gruesome sounds of ripping flesh and cracking bones are muted by the roar of deadly winds around us. Everything around us shakes, and the floor beneath us cracks open, creating a fissure that runs through the length of the house. A Category 5 hurricane is about to ensue, right here on Bourbon Street. Our blood is not the only that will spill tonight.
Pain and exhaustion seizes my body, and somehow, Varshaun overtakes me. He pins me down, and bares his blood-stained teeth. His hair is wild and matted with the thick, red substance, and he has a deep gash over his eye. I’ve injured him, but I know I don’t look much better.
“I’ve wanted to kill you for decades, you spoiled little f*ck! You don’t deserve this power. You don’t deserve the crown. You aren’t worthy to call yourself Dark!”
“At least I have the crown, you piece of shit. I should have left you in the streets where I found you!” I spit in his face, splattering it with my own blood.
He spreads his palm, and I go limp, my entire body seized with paralysis. How? How could he possibly…? No. No! This is impossible! No one has this power. No one except …
“You see, Little Skotos, I’ve picked up a few more tricks.”
Just like Malcolm when I stifled all function of his body before killing him, I can’t move. Shit, I can’t even blink. All I can manage is a strangled, unintelligible groan.
“What’s that, old friend? You’re going to kill me? Aw, how cute, Little Skotos. But I’m sorry to tell you, today is just not your day.”
As if right on cue, as if choreographed by the sick f*cker himself, Amelie runs into the room, fear and confusion painted on her face. At first, she doesn’t see me through the haze of wind and debris, but as soon as our eyes lock, she screams my name, racing to my aid. I try to struggle to get free of the invisible restraints, but I know it’s futile. There’s nothing I can do to save her. Shit, I can’t even save myself.
“Ah, ah, ah. Time for you to have a seat,” Varshaun admonishes, halting her advance. With his other hand, he guides her body to the nearest chair, giving her a front row view of the carnage. When he turns back to me, his eyes are nearly white with his lust for magic. “Now that the gang’s all here, let’s go through this step by step, shall we? First, I’m going to rip your heart out. Then I’m going to f*cking eat it.”
He whips his head back to Amelie who sits just feet away, trembling uncontrollably. “Then I’m going to take Miss Laveau upstairs to your bed, and stab her with my dick until she bleeds my cum.”
I hear his voice, but the words are muffled. I don’t give a damn about his threats. All I can see is Amelie. My eyes stay locked on hers and hers on mine. Anguished tears slide down her cheeks, and her teeth chatter in fright. I want to take it all away. I want to kiss away those tears, and make it so she never cries again. I want to hold her close, tuck her under my arm and lay her head on my chest while she dreams of me. I want to show her the world, and all the beauty in it, that would still pale in comparison to her.
I want to love her, even if for the rest of her human days. I never want her to hurt again. Never want her to struggle again. I just want to make her as happy as she has made me in just a matter of weeks.
I want to be better. Better for her. Better for both of us.
Varshaun, long-winded and theatrical as always, even as a demented killer, presses a hand to my chest. I feel the pressure, and I know the end is near. And I will die peacefully, honorably, with Amelie’s face the last thing I see.
So quick that I think I’m imagining it, her eyes flash with brilliant gold. I tell myself I am hallucinating with loss of blood, but something remarkable happens. Warmth. All over me. It starts as a slow burn before kindling into a raging fire, thawing my frozen senses.
I know this is no hallucination. This is real. It’s magic. It’s destiny. Her destiny. The reason my Amelie was sent to me.
Distracted with his tirade, Varshaun doesn’t even see my hand as it flies up to his throat, cutting off his next words. He still has me pinned, being that I don’t have full usage of my power, but now that I have a grip on him, nothing but death will make me let go.
“Your first mistake was thinking you could cheat your way into overpowering me,” I growl hoarsely. I squeeze harder, hard enough for his eyes to grow wide with panic. Hard enough to feel the tendons in his neck whine through the strain. “Your second was threatening the woman I love. Your crimes are great and punishable by death, and as your prince, the prince of the Dark, it is my duty to bring you to justice. Now, old friend … off with your head.”
I watch his terrified expression as my fingers dig into each side of his neck, cutting through muscle, ligaments and arteries. I feel his wet pulse at my palm, hot liquid spurting down my arm and splattering my face. And when my fingers meet my thumb, and Varshaun’s head hangs only by a thread of vertebrae, I snap it like a twig and throw the pieces of his carcass aside, not wanting his filth on me for another second.
Amelie runs to my side, free from the restraints upon his death. “Oh my God, baby. Niko, I’m sorry! I know you told me to drive, and I did, but I couldn’t! I couldn’t leave you. I had to come back!”
I look up at her and give her a smile, lifting a bloodied hand to cup her cheek. “It’s ok. It’s ok, baby. You don’t have to cry anymore,” I rasp, suddenly feeling lethargic and weak.
We both look down to assess my injuries, realizing that I have made no attempt to stand. Blood covers ever inch of my shirt, and I know that a good bit of it is mine. My face feels like it’s been filled with lead, growing heavier with every passing second. And inside … inside, I know that something isn’t right. Something that was momentarily overridden by adrenaline.
“Oh no,” she cries, gently touching my face. “You’re hurt. What can I do? You need help!” She looks around frantically, searching for some sign of life.
“There’s no one. Nothing we can do. I’ll heal,” I assure her. But I know it’s a lie. There’s no coming back from this. Not without something extra to aid in the process.
“Let me help you.” She pulls down the neckline of her sweater, ripping the fabric to fully expose her chest. “Breathe me. Let me help you heal.”
I shake my head, and instantly cringe. I know I’ve sustained a serious head injury. “No. No, I won’t do that.”
“Please! I’ll be fine, I promise. It will help you, won’t it? Won’t it?”
I know I should lie again, but for some reason, with Death looking me square in the face, I can’t even find the strength to speak anything but truth. “Yes. It will help.”
“Then do it. Please. I love you, Niko, and I’m not going to let you leave me. You promised! You promised you wouldn’t leave! Please, just do this for me.”
She brings her body down next to mine and positions her throat and chest right at my mouth. “Please,” she begs. A single tear slides off her chin and lands on my bloodied lips. And … my fate is sealed.
I cradle her in my arms, ignoring the excruciating pain shooting up and down my torso. It’s ok; it will all be gone soon. First I kiss her neck gently, barely brushing it with my swollen lips. Then my eyelids flutter closed, and I inhale.
I breathe paradise. Bliss. Life.
Golden light flows into my body. I can taste it. Smell it. Hear it. Hell, I become it. Weightless, I float on fluffy clouds to euphoria, where my senses erupt in ecstasy. I’m flying, kissing the sun, feeling warm wind glide over my body. And Amelie is with me. Laughing, smiling, kissing, loving, living, dying…
Dying.
I open my eyes, and grasp her body slumped against mine. She doesn’t make a sound, as I gently yet urgently ease her down onto her back. “Amelie! Amelie, baby, talk to me!”
But I know it’s too late. Every injury I sustained has been given to her. She took it, took away my pain. She received my death so she could give me life.
I shake her lifeless body, screaming her name over and over. And, by some miracle, she sucks in a shallow breath and barely opens her eyes.
“Amelie, what did you do, baby? What did you do?” Moisture falls from my eyes and runs into my mouth. It’s warm and salty. Tears. My tears.
“It’s ok. It’s what’s supposed to happen. It’s what I was sent for,” she whispers.
The tears fall faster and harder, clouding my vision. “No, no, no. But I was supposed to save you! If I loved you, I could save you. And I do, baby. So f*cking much. I love you. I’m so sorry. I went too far. Please. You have to live. You have to live for me!”
Amelie smiles, and even though her body is cold, it fills me with warmth. “I have, baby. I’ve lived for ten years with you.”
“No! I don’t accept that! That’s not enough! If I loved you, I could save you. That’s what you said. That’s what the f*cking Light said, dammit! I love you. So now, I can save you!”
Her frail, trembling hand reaches out to touch my face, and she looks into my eyes, those amber irises captivating me one last time. “It’s not me you need to save.”
The next moments whirl by like a dream. Colors too bright, distorted, muted. You see it happening, but you can’t stop it. You can’t jump in and intervene. You can’t keep her from taking her last breath. You can’t stop her eyelids from closing, sending her into eternal slumber. You can’t end the debilitating agony that wracks your entire frame, piercing straight down into your tattered soul, as you helplessly watch her slip away.
I could die a thousand deaths, yet I still would not find peace. It wouldn't make me loathe myself any less for killing her. For trading her warmth for cold stillness. For stealing her light and replacing it with darkness. It still wouldn't bring my Amelie back to me.
I am banished to roam the earth in perpetual night, cursed to lifetime upon lifetime of self-destruction and pain. And that still isn't penance for what I've done. I am a demon, and I have burned. I’ve watched everything I love crumple into dust and ash. And I'll spend eternity burning in my own personal hell without her here to save me. Just as I should have saved her.
Amelie was my dream. She was my life. My love.
My reason to breathe.
Epilogue
Wind billows in from the east, kissing the Aegean before filtering through the loose fabric of her flowing gown. The beautiful woman stands on her balcony, overlooking the sea, watching the waves crash against the jagged rocks. Sunlight glints off the crystal blue waters, making them sparkle. She loves this view. It has always been her favorite. So many fond memories are tied to that beach. Memories that conjure feelings of joy, happiness and love. Things she hasn’t felt in many moons.
“Your Highness, there is news from New Orleans. The task has been completed,” a voice says from behind her.
“Good,” she replies without turning. “The damage?”
“Moderate. They’re spinning it as a tropical storm.”
“And Nikolai?”
“He is fine. Distraught, but healthy. On his way home.”
“The girl?”
“Dead. All of them, dead. No witnesses, as you requested.”
“Good.” She fingers a dark, spiraled curl, before tucking it neatly behind her ear. “My sweet, sweet son. One day, he’ll see it was for his own good. That it was to protect him. He’s too young, too weak to understand that now. Which is why he can never know about this. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. Also…there is one other thing.”
“Go on,” the stunning woman sighs with boredom.
“Your son … he’s been found.”
Delia Skotos spins, a confused scowl marring her perfect features. “What are you talking about, girl? You just said he was coming home, did you not?”
Aurora trembles at the queen’s bitter tone. She knows Delia despises her, yet tolerates her out of sheer necessity. If it weren’t for her namesake, Delia would’ve slaughtered Aurora ages ago.
“Not Nikolai, your highness,” she squeaks. “Dorian. They’ve found him. The Dark prince is back.”
ERMAGHERD!!!!
What a sad, horrible ending!
I know you want to throw your e-reader, cry, curse the day I was born or a combination of the three, but please put down the Voodoo doll (that looks nothing like me, by the way) and take a deep breath.
Better?
Ok.
If you've read Dark Light & The Dark Prince, then you will know that Nikolai is a prequel to Gabriella and Dorian's story. We got to meet Niko in TDP and he made quite the impression. I wanted to write Nikolai because I wanted you all to know him better. To understand where that compassion and underlying pain stems from. Niko suffered greatly at the end of his story, but I assure you, it was absolutely necessary. I'm not a COMPLETE sadist.
No worries, folks. You'll get it in Light Shadows. Or you may hate me even more. Guess we'll just have to wait & see...
In the meantime, please feel sated by excerpts of new novels coming soon from Best Selling Authors Karina Halle and Madeline Sheehan…boy do they have some treats in store for you!