Page 16 of The Haunting
“This is a very old relic,” Lucian said, and Jacques glared at him. Of course it was, it was his!
“You’ll return to your women and tell them you found nothing unusual. The noise you heard was the wind blowing through the building. It blew in through the windows,” Jacques ordered.
Interested, I watched as Jacques repeated his words. Drake hesitated and shook his head, but Jacques recited them a third time.
Drake spun on his heel and began walking off. Lucian seemed more resistant, forcing Jacques to enforce his order for a fourthtime. Lucian turned away with a blank expression and followed Drake.
Jacques held my gaze. “Compulsion won’t work on you.”
“No. Let me guess, you’re a Kaltonian.”
Jacques cocked his head and didn’t say a word.
“Or do you prefer Atlantean?” Today, the word Kaltos, where Jacques had originated from, meant Atlantis. As in the lost city of Atlantis.
Jacques responded, “Try Vam’pir.”
“Indeed, well, Vam’pir, you can’t compel me,” I stated, relaxing.
Undeniably, I was more than a match for the creature in front of me, especially since I was older, stronger, and faster.
“No, apparently not, which is unfortunate,” Jacques murmured as Eden pressed in against his back.
“I’ve heard of you,” I said, keeping an outward appearance of being at ease, but deep down I was ready to pounce. The three Sins I carried inside of me rose and warred with each other. Bloodlust demanded I rip his throat out. Self-Doubt sought to undermine my confidence, and Destruction tried to get me to destroy them both.
“Are you in control?” Jacques asked, and I knew he meant the Sins.
“Of course. Always am. Are you, Atlantean?”
Jacques smirked. “Naturally. I must say, how strange it is to meet the other person who birthed the Vampire race.”
“Yes, that’s a pickle. Both of us created offspring that became the Vampire race.”
“Well, Vladimir, your descendants are likely to be stronger than mine, but somehow I doubt it,” Jacques quipped as I nodded an agreement.
“Who is the original?” Eden asked, looking confused.
“Me,” Jacques and I spoke together, and I laughed.
“Both of us. I was the first to walk this earth, and my first children were alive before Jacques was even born. There is a difference. Mine all contain the essence of Bloodlust and therefore have a demon inside. They must feed nightly. Those from your line, Eden, can control their hunger and bloodlust, whereas mine can’t. Mine are usually senseless creatures with just one goal in mind. Feeding. Those from Atlantean lines can think and rationalise, and they retain their soul, however dark it might be,” I explained.
“That means they are a different race,” Eden said, considering my words.
“No. They, sadly, are the same. They have to feed to live, and they require blood to survive. Why are you here? I’m sure it’s not so we can compare notes,” I asked.
“An evil created by my people seeks to rise again. I’ve tracked it across the world before cornering it here. I will end what we failed to do before,” Jacques said.
I wondered whether to offer assistance and then shook my head. The Legendary Shifters understood we weren’t the only supernaturals around. The Vam’pirs hadn’t crossed our paths before, but we knew of them. Jacques didn’t need my help.
Content with my decision, I turned and began to walk away.
“Is that it? Commander Mir’ald Ula, leader of the Protectors of the Jar, Beloved of God?” Jacques called out, and Eden hissed.
“Attempting to provoke me is a mistake you’d not return from Jacques. I could easily destroy you both. But I’ve no wish to. Stay in your lane, Vam’pir, and vanquish the evil you seek,” I replied and kept walking.
I had no interest in taking out Jacques, and I had left Emmaline alone long enough.
Phoe
