Eternal Seduction (Darkness Within #1)

Trinity took a step back and grinned wide. “But here’s where Lev kind of edges his sister out, in my opinion. Instead of tossing back another curse at her followers, he gifts his own with fangs. Why, you ask?” She batted her long eyelashes. “So his children can drink the blood of the Innocents and his sister’s followers. Very smart, if you ask me…and such a vampire style maneuver. But anyway, Sem came back and cursed Lev’s children to live for eternity and be sterile. Then Lev gives his kids the ability to pass their magics onto others through rituals of blood, and also makes it so their blood and magics grow more powerful with age. I’m pretty sure that’s when the curses stopped and Semeliel finally gave her own kids a perk. She decided that her sun would be deadly to Levanael’s followers, and if the flow of energy between the brain and the body was interrupted on a Child of Shadow, she’d pull them from the immortal coil. So there you have it, vampires and werewolves.”

Logan stared between the wall and Trinity. “Wow. That’s a hell of a Cliff Note’s version.”

Trinity flashed another grin. “Yeah, but now we get to the good part.”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. By this point, the twins were so pissed off at each other and screaming so loud, they got their daddy’s attention. Aligon looked down at the world and was so disgusted by the position his brats had put the Innocents in, being caught between two damned races and all, that he pulled the twins out of the world and lectured them for literally eons. During which,” she brushed the backs of her fingers up her chest then rolled her hand forward, “he bestowed Paladins upon humanity.

“Once a generation, a human is born with the righteous fire burning inside them to defend the Innocents. They’re blessed with shreds of Aligon’s magic, and are the only true immortals because they don’t die unless Aligon says so. Trust me, we’ve tried to kill Zealot Paladins and they just don’t die. But luckily, most Paladins follow the way of Balance, which means instead of killing any supernatural creature they come across, they watch and judge each individual based on their actions. Just remember, Zealots are bad, Balance is good.”

Logan drew a deep breath. “Zealots bad, Balance good. I got it.”

Trinity inhaled an even larger breath than before. “So basically it ends like this: While Aligon had the twins out of the world, with the help of his Paladins humanity rose up and pushed vampires and werewolves to the fringes of society. And that mass destruction led to the inception of the Veil, which was roughly seven thousand years ago. Now we all hide from the humans, carrying out the twin’s rivalry every single night, and every single day. But remember the pregnant chick I pointed out?”

“Yeah.”

Trinity walked over to the last panel, which showed the form of a large man whose face was mostly covered by shadows, and gazed up at it. “I don’t know how long ago Aligon created the world. I don’t know for sure how old the Original six vampires are, or even who they are. But I know that no more than a few months passed between Semeliel adopting her followers and when the curses were levied, because he,” she reached out and traced a finger over the man’s darkened face, “was born as both a vampire and a werewolf. Legend states that Aligon named him the Equilibrium, and then gifted him the power to destroy both cursed races and the twins who damned him to his fate, with nothing more than a thought.” She finished the last sentence in a quiet voice, brimming with different emotions.

Logan joined Trinity and stared up at the rendering. The longer she studied his shadowed features, the more the man in the painting resembled the large beer lover who’d introduced himself as Drake.

She cast a sideways glance to Trinity. “Does this picture make you sad or something?”

She nodded. “Werewolves have a beast, too, which means this poor guy has two animals inside him. And since werewolves and vampires hate each other with an innate passion, I can only imagine no matter what he puts off, he’s constantly at war with himself.” She backed away from the wall. “He’s part of the reason why I hate this story so much. The vampire side of me hates knowing there’s someone out there who can end my life with such ease. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, to live as long as I have and adapt so well to the modern world.” She tipped her head to the side and gave a faint, sad smile. “But the woman in me still feels for the guy. He was born with a thirst for blood and the desire to kill anything that isn’t natural. Considering half of him is undead, and that ain’t natural…I think you see my point.”

“I understand.” She cocked her head. “He looks a little bit like Drake.”

Trinity whirled around and began winding back through the maze of shelves. “He does, doesn’t he. Are you coming?”

Don’t push. She nodded ascent to the voice in her mind then hurried to catch up with the moody Nelek Child. She followed her back to the middle of the room where Syn sat atop one of the large oak tables, happily panting away.

Logan walked over to him and ruffled the silky fur covering his head. “I have one last question, Trinity.”

Trinity crossed her arms over her chest and arched a tentative brow. “What’s that?”

“What happened to the twins? You said vampires and werewolves carry out their rivalry, but where are they? Are they still outside the world?”

Trinity puffed out a breath, looking more than a little relieved. “Once the Paladins cleaned house, Aligon put the twins back in the world and bound them to it. They don’t have near as much power anymore and can only use the little they do have when their ‘sphere’ is in the sky. They can’t talk to each other, they can’t see each other, and if you believe the stories, they can’t even talk to Aligon anymore. Nobody knows who they are, and if they do they aren’t talking…so life goes on.” She cast a glance to the door. “Are you ready for your life to go on?”

Logan eagerly nodded. “Let me go get my stuff.”

Trinity raised a hand as Logan started to turn towards the door. “You don’t need to. Odin moved your clothes this afternoon. All you have left to do,” she shifted her gaze to the lump of black fur on the table, “is say goodbye to your shadow.”

Logan smiled as Syn stood up, licked her cheek, and then rested his heavy head on her shoulder. Truthfully, she would miss the supersized fuzz ball. Even though he’d been given an assignment, and one he’d performed dutifully, he’d become more of a friend than a bodyguard. He listened intently anytime she needed to vent about how strange the beast made her feel, he nodded along as though he knew exactly how she felt, but was more than happy to bark or knock her off the bed when he disagreed.

She reached up and smoothed the fur down his back. “I’ll make Kerestyan come visit you more often, I promise.” She gently tapped her finger against his cold nose. “Don’t teach Odin any more bad habits, and don’t piss on anything in Stefan’s chamber.”

Syn nodded and licked her cheek again before he nosed her towards Trinity. He barked one last time then jumped off the table and trotted out the door.

Logan stared after him for a moment. Never, not even in her wildest dreams, did she ever think she’d be abducted by vampires and walk out in the end as an immortal whose best friend was a wolf.

But then, she supposed it was better than picking through trash and spending every single day alone.

“Come here,” Trinity said as she curled a finger at Logan then extended her hand. “I have to be touching you to take you on the windy rollercoaster ride. Fasten your seatbelt and hold on tight.”

Logan grimaced. “You people need to invest in cars.” She moved to stand next to Trinity and reluctantly took her hand. “This windy brand of teleportation makes me sick every time.”

Trinity made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort. “It shouldn’t bother you as much anymore. Your blood has a natural affinity for ‘windy teleportation’ now. Just think, in a few hundred years you’ll be able to concentrate on any place in the world and go there in record time. The only stipulation is that it has to be a place you’ve been before.”

Logan closed her eyes and groaned. “That’s all well and good, but this is the only place outside of New York I’ve ever been. It’s not like I’ll be teleporting myself to Tahiti.”

“You know, Logan, you should really get out more.”

When the wind picked up around them and the floor dropped out beneath her feet, Logan realized one very important truth about Trinity Nelek: She was only right half of the time.

The only feeling that wasn’t the same about the last the trip she’d made between Chicago and New York, aside from the fact she didn’t have two strong arms around her, was that the bile from her stomach stayed in her stomach.

She still felt nauseous. Her abdomen still cramped and twitched. And she still felt the same strange sensation of being sucked into icy oblivion.

She gulped a mouthful of lavender scented air when the hard texture of a floor rose up to meet her feet. She waved both hands at her face, promising with every frantic swish she would use the money Trinity paid her for her service to buy a damn car.