The first part of this was in the sneak peek, so if you've read that you can just skip it. Or re-read it again. :D
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Chapter 14
We arrived fifteen minutes later in yet another small town. There was barely any lights in it, except for the stars above that were bright tonight. I got out of my Aston Martin and shut the door, earning gazes from the rest of the team.
A few of the guys looked at me for longer than necessary, and I winked at them just to give them some false hope.
As I approached the scene, my eyes abruptly went down to the body laying on the ground. It was another girl, but with brown hair. Her face was pale, and I couldn't hear a heartbeat coming from her chest.
I looked behind me at Braedon who was studying the scene also. A frown had taken over his lips as we got closer. I turned back to the body.
"Elizabeth Rose Parker. An eighteen year old student at the local high school." one of the voices said that was hovering over the body, reading the I.D.
I leaned down next to her and opened her eyes. The first thing I wanted to do was check to see if she was turning.
I opened her eyes and they were a brown. She was dead.
"She wasn't turned. She was murdered." I said and then took her almost translucent wrists into my hands and looked for any rope burns, like there was on the other girl. There wasn't any sign of struggle or bruises on them.
I checked her neck for any bite marks or any injury, but there was none. It didn't look like the murderer was the same one as last time, unless they had done different things than with Anna, the last one I had examined.
It didn't even look like she had wanted to fight.
Dark eyeliner covered the top and bottoms of her eyelashes and her hair was flowing down to her chest in waves. I looked closer at her wrists and noticed little cut marks, maybe from razor blades?
"Look here," I said to Braedon who had squatted next to me. "She was cutting herself, maybe she died willingly?" I murmured and he took hold of her wrist, wearing gloves that I had forgot to put on. Woops.
I lifted her shirt a little, examining her stomach, but nothing was there either. The killer didn't use force against her. Maybe they injected her with poison or another substance?
I abruptly took her wrist out of Braedon's hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked, a little agitated. I sighed.
"Being a genius. What else?" I said and looked at her arm. If she wanted to die, the killer probably injected her with a needle. That or she did it herself.
I looked at the pale white skin, I could see the hair follicles clearly because of my enhanced sight. I worked my way from her wrists up, looking closely for any sign of a needle that had broken the skin. There wasn't any sign on her right arm.
If she was right-handed, the needle mark would be on her left.
I quickly switched sides and grabbed her arm, pushing up the sleeve of her black blouse up a little so it showed her full arm. I examined it like I did the other one.
Bingo.
A small needle mark was right above her wrist, about 6 inches above it. A small hole that probably only humans could see if they looked really hard, was visible to me.
She had killed herself.
With the help of our killer, of course. She couldn't drag her dead body out here dead.
"She killed herself. See this needle mark right here?" I pointed to it and looked at Braedon who looked startled at what I had just said. "She injected herself, with the help of our killer." I continued to look at her body, wondering why she would want to end it so quickly. She was too young.
A white square caught my eye, a piece of paper was in her jeans pocket. I scrunched my eyes in confusion and pulled it out. It was folded into a square, and as I unfolded it, it made a loud noise compared to the silence I had created by my words.
ANNA LYNNE ROSE. ELIZABETH ROSE PARKER. ROSEMARY.
SEE A PATTERN HERE, ROSE?
I immediately shut the note and closed my eyes, my breathing had picked up a little. It was a hit list. I was next.
--
I never showed the note to anyone else. I thought it would be best if I kept it to myself. Besides, people had tried to kill me over the years. They never succeeded, why would this time be different?
I had gotten home about a half an hour ago, and the note was still tucked safely into my pocket. Braedon had tried to get me to show him what the piece of paper was, but I didn't let him see it.
I told him it was something that I had dropped out of my pockets, but I doubt he believed me. He was smarter than he looked.
Sunrise was in two hours, so I had time to kill. I thought about going to the gym again, but I decided not to. I didn't feel like acting like everything was normal. I wanted to find out who the killer was. Now.
I kind of felt responsible for the murders, because in their name they had Rose somewhere in there. I should have noticed it earlier.
But why had they turned Anna?
My mind was racing with unanswered questions. I needed answers. I may be eight-hundred, but I'm not that patient.
The doorbell made my head turn towards the door. Who would be at my house at this time of night? I tried to listen for a heartbeat, but found none. It must be another vampire.
Amarande?
I walked towards the door, not bothering to look out before I opened it. On my steps stood my creator, his bodyguards in tow. His leather jacket was the only visible thing due to the porch light which wasn't on. I could barely see him, but it was him.
"Amarande. What brings you back to the neighborhood? Did you catch the murderer?" I asked, making sure my voice didn't sound too anxious to know if he had.
"No, but I would like to talk to you." he said and I gestured for him to come inside. He stepped in, waving towards his guards to back off. They did.
"Come, sit wherever." I said and sat down on the living room couch. Amarande had just fed, I could tell by the rosy cheeks and the red lips.
A brief thought came to mind that maybe he could be the killer. But I erased it right away. There was no way.
"I need to talk to you about the murder tonight. The one a couple of days ago, also. You are aware that both of the girls had Rose in their names?" he asked. I swallowed dryly.
I could feel his eyes assessing me as I thought of a way to answer. The power in the room was obvious, and I was fairly certain that he would be able to detect a lie.
It felt like hours before I answered, but it was actually only about two seconds.
"Yes, I am. Coincidence?" I asked, and he thought about it, his perfect eyebrows lifting in confusion, his black eyes looking more shadowed than usual.
"I'm not sure. Could somebody be holding a grudge against you? Short term or long term?" He asked, and I automatically shook my head.
Everybody that had held one was dead.
"No, they're all dead." I said, and he leaned down, his elbows in his lap.
"I figured as much. You're smart enough to get through this." he said and then quickly stood up. He walked closer and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Just please, remember that this isn't over. They could be coming for you." he said seriously, his eyes burning into mine.
His warning gave me a chill, and I was old enough to know by now that whenever that happened, my instincts were telling me that it was true, I should be careful. The black eyes were still studying me, watching me. I was the first to look away.
"I know. I will." I said. Amarande nodded and then watched me a few more moments, although I didn't know if it was because he wanted to know what I was feeling, or because he might not see me again.
I had the feeling it was the latter.
He finally let his gaze go somewhere else, behind me towards the window. I knew his guards were probably telling him it was time to go, so I just started heading towards the door, still a little speechless.
He made my mind go crazier than it was before, and I had the urge to just yell out a 'thanks for making my night better.'
I could feel him following as I opened the door and made myself smile a little.
Amarande returned it and took a step out of the door, his guards dressed in black appearing next to him immediately. I forced myself to say something to lighten up the mood.
"You should get back to that ninety-sixth wife of yours. I'm sure she's missing you." I said and a smile appeared on his face, replacing the deep frown.
"That's where I'm heading," he said, and then he looked back up at me, those black eyes just haunting me. "Be careful." Amarande went down the steps, and I heard a heartbeat from behind the house. I didn't recognize who it was, but I let it pass. It was probably one of the new guards or something.
I watched him until he blended into the black.
I shut the door and leaned against it. I could finally let my mind free. This is what ran through my mind.
Why would Amarande suddenly appear just now after six-hundred years of being MIA?
Who could the killer be?
I took out the note and read it again, the words replaying in my mind. I should have noticed it earlier.
But why would the killer want someone who wanted to end their life? Were they not heartless enough to kill again?
I made my way upstairs, the note still in my hand. A human scent got more and more noticeable as I climbed each stair.
Had someone been up here?
I ran quicker up to my bedroom, and something red immediately caught my eye on my pillow.
A red Rose was laying there, looking like it was never touched by hands. I stopped in the doorway and listened in around me. There was nothing except the scent of a human being here. That would explain the heartbeat when Amarande was leaving. How could I had been so stupid?
The other part of my brain was wondering if Amarande was part of it. Could he have been just a distraction?
I got closer to the Rose. It's red petals the color of blood. A note was attached to it, and if I had a beating heart, it would have been jumping out of my chest.
I cautiously reached for the rose, picking it up gently. A little note card was on it, attached to it with a black ribbon. I pulled it off.
6.
All it said was 6. The number rang a bell in my head. Braedon had said that the deaths happen every six days.
I had six days.
--(I was going to stop here, it seemed like a good point! But I'm on fire right now. CAN'T STOPPPP. Lol :D)
I was dreaming again, I knew that somewhere in the back of my mind, but I couldn't get out of it.
I was back to the Philip and John dream. Except this time it the day I had met Philip.
The sun was high in the sky, I was walking on a dirt road. The corn on each side of me was tall, and about ready to be harvested.
My white dress went down to my ankles. I was sweating from walking so much, my skin had turned a pail pink, due to my sweat being a light blood mixed with some other things in a vampires body.
I hadn't fed in two weeks, and I was hungry. I heard a horse coming closer, it was about a mile off. I kept walking.
A few minutes went by, just me and my mind wandering. I glanced every now and then at the bugs that were on the corn stalks. It was the only thing reminding me that I wasn't alone in the world. I had about a day's more worth of a walk ahead of my.
I could run, but I kind of liked how quiet it was.
The horse suddenly came up behind me and I put a hand up to shade my eyes from the sun. They were already hurting.
"Excuse me, miss? Do you need a ride into town?" a man asked me. My eyes adjusted and I was surprised to find a handsome young man asking me the question.
I felt my throat burn because of a human being a few feet away.
I decided it couldn't hurt, I nodded and he helped me onto the horse, being careful not to touch me in the wrong places. I noticed he was a little too careful of that.
The man got in front of me on the horse and turned the horse started to trot.
"I'm Philip. You are?" he asked and I noticed his eyes were a brown. The burn in my throat was still there. I would need to feed soon. I smiled.
"Rosemary." I said and he looked shocked. My voice was strangely attractive to humans. We have the looks, the voice to lure them in.
I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as I smiled really sweet at him.
He watched me a few more moments before going back to watching ahead of us, making sure we didn't run into something.
"So what brings you out here? Surely you know we are getting prepared for a battle. A woman like you shouldn't be out near here." he said, and I felt a little anger bubble inside me.
I could easily fight and kill everyone of the men in the battle. I didn't like being basically called a baby, not being capable of taking care of myself.
"Yes, I know. I was going to be in town before it started." I said dryly.
"At this rate, we'll be in town in about an hour." he said and made the horse go a little faster.
At one point during the ride, he hinted at putting my arms around him to make sure I don't fall off, but I knew he was thinking of another reason why I should.
The sweat was slowly drying, returning my skin to it's normal color, thanks to the wind I got while on the horse.
Like Philip had said, we arrived in town almost an hour later. A few cottages were set up around market stands and a few trees were surrounding the little village. Off to the west I could see a clearing of trees, where the battle was taking place.
I felt a nudge on my side.
"The battle is taking place in six days. Where are you going to stay?" he asked and I shrugged. His brown eyes watched me, and I could already imagine what kind of question he was going to ask.
"You could always stay at my cottage." Philip suggested and I turned to look at him. His brown hair was frizzy from the day of riding. His brown eyes looked a little bit too excited. If I needed too, I would just feed off of him at night, without him waking up.
"Okay." I said. A smile took over his face and he led me to where his little cottage was.
The sunset was starting to take place as he led me there. I could hear another human heartbeat inside when he stopped at the door.
"Who else stays here with you?" I asked curiously, making sure I played the role of a normal girl, not the one I really was.
"My brother." he said and opened the door. The small living space was filled with candles, a man stood at the other end of the room, looking out the window.
I looked at him more closely. He looked exactly like his brother. But so much more handsome. I also noticed he had gorgeous blue eyes, his weren't normal like his brothers.
He turned at the sound of the door opening and his eyes widened when he saw me, a look of shock crossed his face. I smiled at him, making sure Philip didn't notice I did.
Philip put his arm around me and led me forward. I felt like I was being molested, just by the touch of his arm on mine. I held in my disgust and put a casual look on my face.
"John, this is Rosemary." he said and John stood there, watching me. A slow heat was starting to creep up inside me. I didn't know what it was.
"Pleased to meet you." I said, I couldn't help it. This guy was too handsome to be real.
And me being a vampire, that's a lot.
John nodded his head at me, looking a little stiff. But I could tell he liked what he saw.
His blue eyes followed me as Philip took me to another room, showing me around.
The dream flashed to a couple of days later. Philip had been trying to make me do things with him that I didn't want to do. I really needed to feed. I was running low on patience, wanting to get blood before I went mad.
"I can make you feel something you've never felt before." I said to Philip, already having a plan in my head. His brown eyes went wide as he nodded eagerly.
I smiled.
And went right for the good stuff.
He forgot about everything afterwards, not remembering what happened. But at the time I had a feeling he would remember it sooner or later.
The dream flashed to another image the next night.
John and I, in his room while Philip was out getting some weapons for the battle coming soon. The candles were the only light, as I spoke softly to him.
This human made me feel weird. I didn't know what it was. He made me want to get closer to him.
"Come here." I said to him. His blue eyes watched me a few seconds until he slowly came and sat on the low bed with me. I watched him the whole time, I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
A part of me wanted to feed off of him, while the other part wanted to just tackle him and lay close to him. It made me feel vulnerable.
His blue eyes never left my face, and eventually, we both leaned in.
The image flashed again. We were on the battlefield, about ready to fight.
You know the rest.
--
The only thought I woke up with was this.
I had given them six days to live.
And I was just given six days.