The Blood King (Wattpad Exclusive Version)

WAR!

 

June 16, 2006 - 5:22 a.m. Miami

Julia was late, but I understood. It was June, and I was in the sun capital of the modern world. Most people don’t take special notice of it, but for a vampire, there’s no place worse than Miami or anywhere near the southern tropical area between the months of July and September. The nights are considerably shorter, and the sun reigns over everything. It was almost 5:30 a.m., and I could feel the star’s rays creeping up in the distant horizon. I had left JFK International shortly after 12:00 a.m. I had to take care of the bodies I discovered in my NY apartment before arranging my trip back to Vampire City. I closed my eyes, trying to feel some kind of remorse, but there was none. There was just the question: “What is happening to me?”

Julia had been living in Vegas for the most part of the decade. She had found a nice playing ground in the sin capital of the world, and I couldn’t imagine a better place for her beauty and sexuality. It was the perfect arrangement. She was supposed to arrive at any moment. Traveling from the West Coast gave her an extra four hours of nighttime. Her plane had left Nevada at 9:15 p.m., Pacific time, which meant 5:45 p.m. my time, but it had been almost twelve hours ago.

My eyes surveyed the street below the Freedom Tower as I counted the minutes, and then suddenly, I felt her. My former protégé had arrived.

“Я был бой, чтобы оставить,” I said in perfect Russian. --I was about to leave.

“Нет, вы не были,” she replied. --No, you were not.

I turned and saw her standing in front of me. I felt the scent of blood on her and realized she had just fed. I took in her perfect snow-white skin, so fresh without makeup; her amazing blue eyes; her pink lips, and her long golden hair. Her expression was ever serious, almost angry, which was a nice contrast to her eternally youthful appearance. She was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a Dolce & Gabbana shirt. She didn’t look a year older than twenty-two.

“Я за номер Clairon. Там до восхода солнца,” I proposed. --I have a room at the Clarion. Let’s go there before sunrise.

She nodded, and without delay, we took off in silence.

*******

 

June 16, 2006, 6:41 a.m. Miami

It was almost sunrise when we got inside the small hotel room of the old Clarion hotel. We stayed silent, preferring to read each other’s thoughts instead. I let her take the bed while I lay on the room floor with just one pillow under my head.

Julia had become the vampire I knew she was meant to be. She had grown stronger, colder, and merciless. I felt her inner strength and respected it, and she took notice of that. Her abilities were almost complete. She could read my thoughts as easily I did hers, and her dominion over matter and energy was about to peak. It had been over a decade since the last time we saw each other. I remembered our falling-out. It wasn’t pretty. There was still a lot of resentment between us, but all of that had to wait. Our reunion was for Jason. My stepson was dead, and that was the only thing that mattered.

Dead? I thought.

As Julia rested on the bed, she picked up my thoughts. Our tiredness was overwhelming, but we were resilient to sleep.

“Кто были те люди, Gitano?” she mentally asked me. --Who were those men, Gitano?

For the better part of the morning, I showed her my memories and what had happened months ago with Lucy, Erika, Frank, the voice, and Hunter, until finally, my body gave in to a deathlike slumber.