The Darkest Night

Chapter 11

""The Sollars have reached and taken over the northern territories in Canada. They have infiltrated the East Coast as well. It is in my opinion that they are trying to surround and attack from all sides. Has your position been compromised? Our spies have successfully infiltrated the cell in Seattle. That ring of yours would sure come in handy if we could get more of our people then. Negotiations with the Flame Spirit clan have been successful so far. One of their elders is proving a bit difficult to win over, but the rest have already swayed to our side. Signed Lieutenant General Violet Eland.""

It was definitely some sort of report. Who or what the Sollars, or the Flame Spirit clan was, I couldn't guess. I continued reading through all the papers, only taking breaks to get drinks of water from the faucet in the bathroom. Maybe I'll ask them for a reusable water bottle too, I pondered while shifting through the reports. Reading through the older reports I figured that whatever was going on had been happening for a long while now. Judging by the age of the papers, some of these missives must have been at least a few decades old. Some were from Violet Eland before she was made Lieutenant General, some were from other sergeants and generals.

I heard the lock click open and my first instinct was to hide the papers I had found. Thinking about it, I decided not to hide anything. They knew these papers were in here, and they knew I was bored. If they didn't want me looking at them, they would have taken them out. I tried to relax as I saw the door open and Darius walking in with my lunch. His amber eyes glanced down at the desk and then up to my face. I tried to keep all the guilt I felt from snooping from showing. I wasn't sure how successful I was.

"Oh ho looks like we got a little snoop on our hands." He placed the tray down and slid a cloth bag off his shoulders and placed it gently on the couch. I looked curiously at the bag, wondering what it was. "It's your books. Or rather random books I found. I wasn't sure what you liked to read, so I grabbed a couple of everything from the library."

"Oh, thank you." His consideration was extremely touching. He had changed out of his earlier attire, I noticed, and was now wearing jeans and a simple black t-shirt. The shirt was well-fitted to his physique. He caught me staring and chuckled darkly. His eyes darkened with a wicked gleam as he flopped down into a chair.

"So read anything interesting?" His brow lifted with a pointed expression. "You could at least look embarrassed about being caught snooping." He said, leaning back in the chair, making himself comfortable.

"I don't really see the need to be embarrassed. You knew these missives were here. You also knew I was bored and would explore the room." I pulled the lid off the tray to reveal what was for today's lunch. It looked like a cold cut sandwich with Swiss cheese, salami, pickles and baby spinach on some sort of herb-baked bread. A small vial with red liquid was off to the side and another teapot and mug were there as well. I looked quizzically at the vial until it dawned on me that it was Victor's blood. My widening eyes glanced up at Darius, who was observing me. Was he seeing what I would do? Uncapping the vial, I tipped it into my mouth, drinking the blood straight. A strong metallic flavor hit my taste buds first. It tasted ancient and full of mysteries. Closing my eyes, I repressed a shudder that was trying desperately to rip through me.

"Little rabbit, you surprise me. I wasn't expecting you to drink it straight like that." His eyes were appraising and full of approval it seemed. Feeling proud of myself for at least changing his opinion of me slightly, I returned his gaze with a smile. "As for the papers," he waved vaguely at the pile I had made to make room for the tray. "Those are all old, so even if you were a spy the information is outdated and wouldn't hurt us." Oh. That made sense. They didn't care if I read them or not because they were to old to matter.

"So is this war still going on then?" I asked cautiously before beginning to eat.

'Yes it is." His answer was stiff. I got the sense that I shouldn't pry, but honestly, what did I have to lose at this point?

"Can you tell me about it?" Filling the mug with the steaming tea from the tea pot and wrapping my hands around the cup, I settled in for his answer. I watched him ponder my question. His dark hair was pushed back from his face, revealing his near perfect features. Crap I had it bad. It seems like the more blood I consume the worse my attraction to the two men becomes. Great. Just great.

"Now what has you so flustered little rabbit?" Darius' eyes flashed, the lights catching them as he angled his head slightly.

"You know damn well what I'm feeling, so just let me be about it." Biting into the sandwich angrily, I chewed without looking at him. I refused to let him tease me further.

"You know, little rabbit, I don't share my father's conviction about not consorting with humans. In fact," he leaned closer, holding my gaze. "I find that humans make for very interesting lovers." His gaze darkened with lust as he raked his eyes over me. My mouth hung open in shock. Snapping it shut, I stared, not believing what I had just heard. "So what do you say, little rabbit want to pass the time in a more interesting way?"

"Ummm," Oh just kill me now. I cringed internally at my less than eloquent response. "I uhh…" My mouth felt dryer than the Sahara and I desperately gulped down some tea. Coughing, I doubled over trying to clear my airway. Of course, only I would choke on tea in front of a hot as-sin vampire that had just propositioned me. His laughter broke through my confused thoughts.

"Maybe another time." He managed to say between bouts of laughter. Clearly, he was a sadist that took great pleasure in embarrassing me. "As for what I can tell you about the war, well, father did say to answer all your questions so sure I can tell you."

Starting at the beginning of what seemed to be a very long story, he told me more about the different vampire clans and their long-standing feud with each other. The Jameson's and the Sollars were the two main clans, and they were fighting over the vampire throne. I silently ate my food as he talked. The Sollars wanted not only to rule all the vampires but also to subjugate the humans. Basically, to farm us for food. I shuddered at the thought but, stayed silent as Darius continued. His father, however, wanted to let the humans be as they currently were. Only to be hunted as needed or by the young. Darius said that last bit with a feral smile. Gulping, I couldn't even begin to guess how many people he had killed. Taking a sip of tea, I avoided his gaze as he continued. The war between the two clans has been going on for the last 700 years. When Victor's maker was killed 300 years ago he took up the mantel and continued the fight. He explained that although Victor was not his or Liliana's true father he was their maker, and they looked up to him as their father. Darius was 250 years old whereas Liliana was 175.

"So do you still require a lot of blood?" My voice sounded braver than I felt at the moment. This was a lot to take in, and I was still trying to wrap my head around everything.

"I need to feed every couple of days or so. Today, actually." he got a thoughtful look on his face.

"What? Why are you staring at me?"

"I was just thinking, little rabbit, about what your blood must taste like." His eyes darkened, changing from cinnamon brown to almost jet black. I flinched back as he leaned across the desk and lightly took my hand. He tugged gently till I was now stretching my arm across the desk. Gently flipping my hand over, he started to lightly trace the veins in my wrist. Blue eyes met black, and I was caught, mesmerized, unable to resist. He leaned over and gently kissed my pulsing veins, never once breaking eye contact with me. My breath hitched in my throat as I felt his soft lips caress my skin. Slowly lifting my head, he tugged my arm gently once more. Caught in his captivating eyes, I felt myself standing up and moving around the desk till I was standing in front of him. Never once did our eyes break contact.

The dark void of his eyes seemed to swallow me whole. I was no longer aware of my surroundings and all thoughts of fear were gone. Another gentle tug had me sitting in his lap now. I braced myself by putting a hand on his chest gently, not wanting to fall onto him. My lips parted slightly as I gasped at the feel of him under my hand. "Do you wish to feed me little rabbit?" His voice was husky and dark. Nodding before I could stop myself, I tilted my neck ever so slightly to the side. My thick braid from the night before slid off my shoulder, exposing my neck to the vampire even more. His eyes flickered to my throat, and he groaned with need. Ever so slowly, he pulled me to him until his breath played on my exposed skin. I closed my eyes in anticipation. I felt his tongue gently lick my neck and I shivered. "My, don't you taste good," I could feel him smiling against my skin as he inhaled my scent. "My what a delectable scent you have, little rabbit." His lips pressed against my neck once more in some sort of kiss. All my senses were focused on the one spot on my body. Slight pricks of something sharp pressed into my neck. His fangs. He pressed down slowly until his fangs pierced through the delicate skin of my neck. I gasped at the pain. That gasp quickly turned to pleasure as I felt him gently sucking the blood from my body. One of his hands cradled my neck while the other wrapped around my body, pulling me tightly to him. I squeezed my eyes shut as several sensations assaulted my senses. Knowing I should be scared but unable to feel any fear was a small worry that was quickly dismissed. A small moan slipped through my lips and I felt Darius' arm tighten around me even more. His hand buried itself at the base of my hair, tightening his grip.

"What is going on here?" A deep voice boomed, echoing in the small room, causing Darius to pull back from me instantly. Dazed, I glanced to the door and blinked. Victor stood there, arms crossed, glaring at Darius. Blood trickled down my neck and over my collar bone. I felt light-headed and out of place. Blinking, I watched Darius turn his head to meet his father's gaze.

"You should try her father. She tastes delicious." His fangs gleamed red in the light as he smiled.

"Release her now, Darius. She is not here to be your food."

"Oh come on. What else is she here for?" His grip tightened on my waist. It was taking all my concentration to just make out the words between the two.

"Can't you see she's at her limit, Darius? Any longer and she would be passed out." I could feel myself swaying a little bit. Wait? That can't be right. Darius' arm was holding me in place, so why was the room spinning? "I will reiterate once more she is not here to be food." He took a step forward into the room, he seemed to be slightly blurry around the edges as I tried to focus on him. Victor closed the door behind him and walked over to where we were. He grabbed my limp arm that was hanging by my side and tugged me gently out of Darius' lap. I swayed where I stood feeling so very dizzy. Blood continued to seep from the marks on my neck and down my collar bone. Victor tsked while looking down at me before carefully bringing his thumb up to his fangs piercing the skin. Red swelled up around his fang as it pressed down into his own thumb. Reaching out to my neck, I could feel him rub his now bloody thumb onto my neck. The feeling of my skin knitting together was a very peculiar sensation.

The last thing I remember before fainting was seeing green eyes stare down at me in concern.