THE ABRAXAS SERIES SNEAK PEEKS
THE ABRAXAS SERIES: Books 1-3
ISBN: 978-1-4357-2847-9
OUT NOW (in E-book & Print)
www.lulu.com/gratistavampires
© 2008 by Cinsearae Santiago
Cover Art and Design by C.R. Santiago
All rights reserved.
Published by Lulu Press Printed in the USA
I also wish to thank Mr. Jeff Mullen for helping me with the editing process and offering suggestions for Books 1 and 2.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in articles or reviews.
(To the publishers knowledge, the border, skull, rose, vampire bite, vampire face and Philadelphia skyline images used on the cover are copyright free and are being used in compliance with Fair Use Copyright Law 107.)
PRAISE FOR THE ABRAXAS SERIES…
“Ms. Santiago adds a few new twists to the ever popular vampire genre and gives it a unique spin all its own. The way the story ends is a total surprise and very creative if not macabre.” --BittenByBooks.com
"The Abraxas Series is, to me, a fresh new spin on the Vampire Legends; it is a humorous, fast paced collection of stories that far surpasses some of the Vampiric novels I've read in recent times." --Carrie White, Writer and Reviewer for FourStarRating
“An engaging supernatural tale. Exotic and erotic.”
--Mario Acevedo, Author of THE UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA
“Each book builds in intensity until the story explodes off the page and makes you eager for more. Sinister and attention-grabbing, The Abraxas Series will definitely keep you entertained." --Nights and Weekends
"My first thoughts of this book; absolutely, freaking amazing. This is definitely a book for someone who is in touch with their bad side, and can appreciate the sexy, gothic side to life. I absolutely loved the characters. If you are someone who is not afraid to read spicy material and allow your blood to heat up, then get cozy and read
this book!" --FrontStreetReviews.com
“I found myself drawn into Ms. Santiago’s dark tale. The Abraxas Series offers a different slant on the paranormal; it hits the ground running and keeps the reader enthralled. The characters are well rounded; the story telling will keep you in suspended anticipation. It leaves you wanting more. Highly recommended!” --Corvis Nocturnum, Author of EMBRACING THE DARKNESS; UNDERSTANDING DARK SUBCULTURES
“Christine is a refreshing no-nonsense character, afraid of neither the living nor the undead, and full of down-to-earth integrity. If you love your vampire fiction full of conflict and romance, I recommend that you give the ABRAXAS books a read." --Nancy Kilpatrick, Author of "The Power of the Blood" series and "The Goth Bible"
"The fight scenes are unbelievable and not for one with a weak stomach..."--DarkNovels.today.com/
"Ms. Santiago created a world more interesting than just a typical vampire story that we have all come to know and love…“
--RuthiesBookReviews.blogspot.com
“A unique story based on the vampire legend.”
--Night Owl Romance
Christine Vargas is an independent, young, working class girl, violently swept into another world--a world deemed unrealistic and impossible by many, a world under the mundane one she is so used to. During her physical transition, she has to come to grips with new powers she has been bestowed, and join up with her new ‘Lord', Ryan Price, a gentleman of high social status--and twice her age. Her 'new family' is a motley crew of young vampires, and among the family are two rebellious twins trying to dethrone Ryan and take over the clan with their own legion of bloodthirsty (and drug-hungry) vamps. Only Christine can determine the outcome of the oncoming battle and must chose quickly before the unthinkable happens. This is only the start of the strange, twisted, and mystical life Christine is now a part of, as more scarier situations present themselves to her, Ryan, and their delicate ABRAXAS clan---and sometimes, the 'monsters' aren't quite what you'd expect...
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FROM CHRISTINE’S JOURNAL…
Ryan and I are not your typical vampires. I wouldn't even go as far as to say 'vampire' either, more like 'advanced' humans with vampiric qualities. We drain energies. The 'essence' of human beings. Nothing that could be discerned with your eyes, unless one of our kind hadn't fed for days. To be blunt, if you ever run into a mummified person in a strange or awkward place, you'll have an EXACT idea of how it happened and why.
To make this even more interesting, he and I are from two completely different worlds. Ryan is a fifty-something year old, upstanding gentleman of what I love to call 'fru-fru society'. In one word, rich. Someone my common, working-class, thirty-three year old self would never, EVER meet in her lifetime. How I was thrust into his life was maddening enough---it was how he had quickly taken to me that was so creepy.
Ryan and I are bonded by these mystical forces, my half of the force 'awakened' when I was nearly killed by one of his clan members. After my staggering awakening to new senses, new abilities, and new powers, it's needless to say I went haywire for a tiny bit until I was brought to him. When he saw me for the first time, it was like your typical overused (and overrated) love-at-first-sight ordeal, at least on his end.
Don't get me wrong, I mean, Ryan is very handsome, with warm, entrancing, amber-green colored eyes, kissable lips, tall with a commanding presence, and an absolute gentleman. It was just upon seeing his hair that I knew he was well over
twenty years my senior. If he didn't have that salt-and-pepper colored hair, I'd have pegged him to be in his mid-forties instead.
The first time we met, he treated me like a queen, literally. Those ancient, mystical forces in both of us had preordained it, as they didn't care what vessels their powers were in. The powers would find each other, no matter what.
I had never dated someone so much older than me, nor would I have ever considered it---it seemed like such a recipe for disaster. But our circumstances definitely put a huge dent in my preferences. I was taken out of my automatic,
mundane existence and placed in a very dark, Cinderella tale, the 'evil witch' of the story none other than the one who sired Ryan; her and her twin brother planning to overthrow Ryan and take over his small clan. Why? Well, it gets better. Diana, our evil witch-bitch, wasn't like Ryan and me. Diana, her brother and a select few in the clan actually were blood drinkers. Their problem was that they suffered the typical 'vampire weaknesses'. Ryan cared for her kind because of those weaknesses, and she didn't like that. She believed 'the blood' was more powerful than 'the essence', that it was the primitive and base nature of their kind that would rule---once she took over, naturally. Diana became extra-pissed when I was found and brought to Ryan. Our joining would make Ryan equally powerful as me, making us twice as strong. The only thing was, in order for me to fully awaken his powers as well, we had to be physically joined.
Yes, you guessed it, that kind of joined.
I wouldn't have cared if our union was done through osmosis or any other means of non-sexual transference. I just met the man, for God's sake! Why did it always seem to come down to good, old-fashioned sex in the end?
Again, don't get me wrong, Ryan was a definite catch---for someone more his age. I'll admit that I was pretty smitten by him, but the age-factor kept putting thoughts in my head. Ryan made it clear that he did not care about such things. He was a love-conquers-all kinda guy. So why should I complain? I was so alone in my old life. With one parent deceased and the other somewhat estranged, and no best friend to fall back on, as she had moved completely out of state, I had nothing to lose... right?
Once Diana's plans to thwart Ryan started coming to a head, I made up my mind to offer myself to him. We needed to be a team in order to stop her. In the last hours of that night, we came together in a blinding glow of physical and spiritual energies that felt like a sexual and mental high. A metaphysical change happened between the two if us. What
began as something basic and instinctive ended in something that transpired into an otherworldly experience.
We were able to overthrow that psycho-bitch and her little army of zombie-ish, druggie vampires, which was a nightmare all its own. But during the battle, Ryan was injured to the point of near-death, which caused the powers to put him in some sort of mystical stasis. And so, I was left to pick up the pieces of what was left of the clan and continue on until he woke up. Luckily for me, I had made two new friends, Kiera and Edward, during these rushed events. I think if I went through the post-battle without some kind of sounding-board, I'd have cracked.
I know there's still more to Ryan and I that I need to understand, and the 'learn as you go' process in this kind of situation is not always a good thing. Unfortunately, things like this don't come with instruction manuals, damn it all to hell.
There were too many 'how' and 'why' questions that needed answering. Until then, I guessed I'd have to wing it through this special but strange relationship.
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MEET THE ABRAXAS CHARACTERS AT THE AUTHOR’S WEBSITE!
(View Character Pics and Profiles!)
http://Bloodtouch.webs.com/abraxas.htm
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CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM
ABRAXAS: THE BEGINNING, Book 1
I didn’t ask for any of that crap. I mean, who in hell did they think they were?! Did they think they could have their way with me because they assumed I was like the human sheep?!
This was a situation where being a ‘good, little worker-ant’ didn’t work in my favor. Completely oblivious to my surroundings--which one shouldn’t be when walking around downtown--I was snatched into an alley after a late night at my office job by two vampires; one held me while the other fed from me. They left me near death, and I could hear the scornful laughter of the one who bit me as he dropped me beside a dumpster against a cold, dank wall belonging to a riverside restaurant. Before I passed out, I saw the shadowed form of the one who held me stop at the entrance to the alley, looking back at me before reluctantly leaving. They never knew I survived. I kept a low profile afterwards. I did not need them discovering they had a maverick in their clan.
After I was bitten, I awoke, still in the alley, my mind foggy. I was trying to register in my brain exactly what the hell happened to me. I could hear hundreds of voices from mere yards close to miles away. Streets, houses, cars, neon lights---everything was distorted, appearing warped and overly-bright. I had a splitting headache and squinted at every
nightlight. People’s faces melted and shifted as they stared at me strangely, passing me by. I must have looked like a drug addict that had gotten a hold of tainted drugs, as I remember reacting to them like some hysterical nut case, screaming at them, hiding my face from them. As this vampire’s version of a bad acid trip slowly wore off, I managed to reach my home and get inside. I slammed the door, leaned my back against it, and let myself slide to the floor. After a few minutes, I crawled up my stairs; reeking of garbage and rot, my keen senses unable to take the stench anymore. It was just a few feet from the stairs to the bathroom.
Still on my hands and knees, I made it to the bathtub, reached over, grabbed the knob, and turned on the water. I hauled myself over into the tub, clothes and all. Then I passed out again.
I awoke under the water, startling myself. I thrashed and sat up, choking, sputtering, coughing my lungs out as the water cascaded over the rim of the tub. The water was still running, God knows for how long. I turned the water off, then jumped out of the tub, slipping in my so-called, skid-less shoes. I viciously kicked them off, and stood still in the silence, looking around. The floor and the hallway were a mess, and I knew downstairs would have water everywhere. Great. More crap to deal with later.
I was hearing voices. So many conversations. I was better with my head underwater. I tried focusing on one conversation, and that immediately shut out the rest of them. Ah, good. That wasn’t so hard.
Now to figure out what else the hell I could do.
***
True, I abused my powers at first. I continued going to work for the next few days, acting as if nothing happened, but wore turtleneck sweaters a lot. The first incident happened because of my asshole of a boss. This bitch had tried one too many times to make me look bad in front upper-management.
For the life of me, I don’t know why. It’s not like I was vying for her position. I could have cared less. I
was content with my lowly position at the bottom of the corporate totem pole as a file clerk. I kept to myself, and liked it that way. Maybe it was some sort of innate jealousy on her part? Probably just didn’t like me for whatever trite, petty reason she had? There’s always some cow that has to fuck with me in one way or another. But the cubicle lifestyle was grating on me anyway, especially now. On my last evening at the job, I slapped a neon pink, sticky-note on my computer screen addressed to no one.
Send my last paycheck in the mail. I quit.
I had never did anything so brash and completely insane in my life. This might have looked like a cop-out to a lot of people, but right then, I didn’t give a rat’s ass. I had something bigger to deal with, plus… I had… plans.
That night, I sat in my bedroom in complete
darkness. My eyes wide open, I could see my now ex-boss sitting in a chair in her fancy little apartment. I had made her get two butcher knives from out of her kitchen, then calmly sit down in her dining room in that same chair… as if she were directly facing me. Without warning, I forced her to stab herself, a blade in each thigh. She screamed, tears of pain rolling down her face. I remained emotionless. I was damn sick and tired of her conceited, pompous, power-tripping ass.
I forced her to gouge herself deep with those knives, wringing and twisting them so the wounds wouldn’t be able to close, making sure her femoral artery was good and shredded. Her perfect white carpet was a nice shade of red in matter of seconds.
Still screaming and crying, I then forced her to slice her wrists--vertically--not straight across like so many suicides did. Vertical cuts guaranteed a more successful wound. I sat there with a shit-eating grin on my face as I continued to watch her dig and twist the blades in her skin per my request. Her blood shot from one wrist like a bad, B-movie special effect while I watched her complexion turn an ashen gray.
Then came the pièce de résistance. I made her take one of the butcher knives and stab herself in her right eye. She did a pretty good job fighting my mind control at first; her arms trembled with such resistive force as the blade point was a mere centimeter away from her pupil---but my crazed determination won over as her arms weakened and the blade slid into her eye as easily as a spoon into jello.
She would be alone tonight. There was no way she’d survive until morning.
My job was done. I blinked, and thought no more of her. I didn’t even bother checking the news for the next few days on her death.
I felt no remorse. No regret. No guilt. She was a waste of life and a human soul.
I did however, feel quite content at a justified job well done.
***
I was seriously praying these skull-splitting headaches of mine would not be some sort of permanent aftereffect of using my mind for controlling purposes. For two whole days and nights I stayed in complete darkness, o.d.ing on useless Tylenol pills like there was no tomorrow, my shades drawn and the bedcovers over my head. I felt like I was in my own crypt. After sleeping so long however, I felt extremely weak, and the myriad of voices were coming back.
I managed to drag myself out of bed, fill my tub again, and dunk myself in it to shut out the voices. I fully awoke on the third evening to hunger pangs that felt like someone took a sickle and sliced my stomach wide open. That same feeling also made my headache come back.
“AW, C’MON!” I angrily said out loud. All these little annoyances were making me cranky as shit. I still felt like I didn’t have time to process everything that had happened to me these past few days, and the nuisances kept piling up.
I made myself sit up in my watery bed after focusing on shutting out all the voices again. The only thing I heard was the water dripping off of me. Good. I felt extra heavy as I gripped the side of the tub and pulled myself out. I wrapped a towel around my body and lumbered down the hallway to my room. After drying off and putting on warm clothes, my stomach violently reminded me of my hunger. I doubled over in pain for a minute before it subsided. I made my way downstairs in total darkness, not needing any kind of lighting. I went into the kitchen and opened my refrigerator, but nothing appealed to my appetite. And despite knowing what I was, I had no desire for blood either.
Then what did I want?
I drank some water and waited to see if I’d vomit it back up. Nothing. I continued drinking for a few minutes. I was parched.
It didn’t sate the hunger however, and I needed to figure out what I needed to sustain myself. I left my house and wandered the streets for a while. It gave me a chance to finally focus on what happened to me.
One, I was attacked by vampires. Vampires. Something deemed fiction by practically everyone. Two, they turned me into something like them. I had some of their traits, good and bad, but lacked the need for blood, thank God. However, I still needed some kind of sustenance. What, I still had yet to know.
I started in with the self-pity. Why me? Why now? Then I shut myself up. It happened, so I had to deal with it accordingly. Whining was a waste of time. My next thought was to find those bastards who did this to me and hand their shit right back to them on a silver platter.
That was actually a very good idea. I hopped on the next train that would take me downtown.
***
Taking public transportation was the bad idea. Especially at night. I had morons left and right staring at me like they had no damn sense. What the fuck was their problem? I didn’t look weird. I dressed as normal as anyone else there!
I found a single chair that faced away from the passengers and sat down, then I happened to catch my reflection in the glass.
Holy shit. No wonder they were staring. My eyes were white. Plain white. I could still see my pupils, but the rest…forget it.
I pulled my hood over my head and continued facing the window.
Wow, this was going to be a bit of an
inconvenience… but then again, maybe not. Lots of Goths and club ravers wore contacts, and since I was wearing black, I’d blend in pretty good downtown. It was just being the only one like that on a train with a bunch of mainstreamers that got them staring. I couldn’t wait to get off and rush up the stairs into the busyness of the city at night.
All the putrid smells of the people on the train… I guessed most of them didn’t believe in bathing much. Disguising it with cologne and perfume only made it worse. I watched as two young girls sitting together were obviously talking about the woman standing right next to them. They kept eyeing her and giggling. One of them discreetly sprayed the woman’s ass with perfume. Had I cared, I might have found that a bit amusing. Everyone else was either reading, talking, listening to music, or staring blankly into the empty spaces before them. Had mankind become so uncaring and automatic in their zombified lives? Were their minds so numbingly dull and weak that they just let any and everything happen to them without taking a stand?
Apparently, yes.
Wastes. All wastes of life! What was the point in them existing if they were going to whittle their mediocre lives away?
I was still feeling shitty, and wished I could sap their energy and use it for my own, if they were gong to be so unappreciative of their precious gift.
Almost instinctively, I envisioned a thin, blue, ethereal stream of dull light being pulled from their bodies and sucked into mine.
I must have dozed off for a while. The next thing I heard when the doors opened were screams. I jumped up, startled at the noises.
The sight on the train car was beyond grisly. The passengers were dead. Dried up, like human husks. Brown, shriveled, and skeletal. Eyeless mummies with thinned-out hair, in clothes that were now four sizes too big on their emaciated forms. It almost looked comical in a sick way. Younger mummies wearing baseball caps, shirts and jeans with headphones still on their leathery-looking heads, women with purses slung over their bony shoulders and shopping bags still in their hands, little girls with ponytails hanging off their dried scalps by mere strands, their stockings drooping halfway down their legs…
I pretended to be just as horrified as the waiting passengers and made a beeline for the exit stairs, keeping my head down and hood over my head.
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CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM
ABRAXAS: DEFINITIONS, Book 2
The saga continues as Christine and Ryan continue to develop their relationship, sharing intimacies and special moments like love-struck teenagers. Things take a more serious turn when an invitation to an elite Christmas charity ball halts their happiness, Christine now worried that her and Ryan's contrasting social status will be painfully recognized at the gala. Even worse, an old flame is at the Ball, with quite a few surprises that will force Christine to rethink the reasons why she should stay in Ryan's life. To complicate matters more, Edward is developing a crush on Christine, and she also discovers that Ryan's old flame is actually a witch, intending on removing Christine from Ryan's life permanently.
Even with just the nine of us in the house, the place was buzzing with excitement, Kiera’s energy the loudest of everyone’s.
I had slipped my dress and shoes on, and was doing my hair when she came bursting into the room. She looked like a Victorian porcelain doll.
She squealed and turned around, letting her dress spin out.
“You look beautiful,” I said, chuckling at her reflection in the mirror as I took a rhinestone-studded hairclip and held my hair up in the back with it.
“Ohh, that dress looks gorgeous on you! Stand up so I can see, Miss C!” she exclaimed.
Grinning, I stood while still trying to work on my hair. I spun around for her, and sat back down.
“I feel like I’m going on a prom,” she said. “Don’t you?”
“I don’t care to remember my prom,” I said dryly. “That was much too long ago. Early nineties.”
She let out a small puff of air. “Wow, really? So you’re like, thirty-something?”
“Thirty-three.”
“Oh geez, you’re still young; you talk like you’re an old maid!”
“Sometimes, I feel like it,” I said as I put on my earrings. Kiera walked over to my dresser and got my necklace, putting it on for me.
“Wow, you look really pretty, Miss C.” She grinned, her cheeks pink with blush. “Our Lord will faint when he sees you.”
“Guys don’t faint.” I grinned, rolling my eyes.
“He might,” she said and giggled. “What happened with you two the other night?” she whispered. “I never had such a rush of energy like that in my life! It felt like it went on for hours!”
I felt my cheeks get warm. “We didn’t bother shielding you guys again, did we?”
She shook her head, still grinning. “And… this is just my theory… but I think that’s another reason why Edward was acting so jumpy around you. He was afraid of touching the alpha’s mate.”
“Are you kidding me? Are those two actually getting all… primitive?” I hated using that terminology now, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Well, that’s how Edward was thinking at least. Like me, he felt the energies you two were giving off. Luckily, you didn’t hear him. I did though.” Her grin grew even wider.
“Hear him? Was he in pain?”
“Not pain, that’s for sure. If he wasn’t by himself, I’d have sworn he had a girl in the room with him.” She raised an eyebrow, hoping I’d get the picture. I gave her a look of realization.
“Oh…” I said in a tiny voice.
“Still working on my theory… I think he felt guilty for… riding the energy.”
“Riding the---in other words, getting off right along with Ryan and me?”
She giggled. “You said it, not me.”
“Oh my God… no wonder he’s so mixed up in the head!”
“Just act like you don’t suspect a thing,” she said. “Do you have gloves to go with this? No, you didn’t get gloves, did you?”
“Nope.” I loved how she could change the conversation so smoothly.
Suddenly, she gasped. “Miss C!” she said, grabbing my left hand, staring at the engagement ring. “When?!”
“Last night. I didn’t even realize when Ryan slipped it on my finger.”
“Oh my God!” She flung her arms around me and jumped up and down, which felt funny, since I wasn’t jumping with her. “I’m so happy for you! Both of you! Now we’ll be like a real family!”
I patted her back. “Thank you,” I said and smiled. She stopped jumping and took a step back, exhaled, and quickly wiped away a tear.
“You need a stole to go with that dress. It’ll
complete your outfit perfectly! I have a black one in my room. I’ll be back.” She rushed out of the room, and I blinked at her. I wished I had as much enthusiasm as she did.
I thought about Edward for a moment. Not only was he all screwed up about the whole father/ Lord thing, he had some sort of ethereal, second-hand sex with me and Ryan. Ew. I shook the thought off. It sounded incestuous, even though were weren’t related.
Kiera returned with the stole, long and midnight black in color. I ran my hand over the fur. It was beyond feathery soft.
“Wait. Is this… real?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Please tell me you have a fake one.”
“Um… I might. Why?”
“I refuse to wear a dead animal on my back.”
She snorted, stifling a laugh. “I’m so sorry, Miss C., I just love your blunt sarcasm, is all. I’ll go check again.” She left and returned with another black stole, a little shorter than the previous one. I could tell the fur was definitely fake, but checked the label just to be sure. I draped it over my shoulders and looked at myself one last time.
“Perfect,” Kiera said, draping her white stole over her own shoulders. I dreaded to know what animal that was, and prayed that one was fake, too. “The guys are waiting for us downstairs.”
“All of them?”
“Of course!” She smiled, linking her arm with mine.
I took a deep breath and we walked down the hall. Everyone’s eyes were on us as we made our way down the steps. I felt Ryan’s heart skip a beat as his eyes looked like they would fall out of his head. I could feel him drowning in his own desire and adoration of me. I glanced at Edward, and he too was trying to hold back his emotions, more so for the sake of Ryan. He took his focus off of me and looked at Kiera and smiled. “Wow,” he said to her, and she blushed.
We got to the bottom of the stairs, Ryan still lost in my eyes. He looked very stylish in his black tux and royal blue silk shirt. He took my hands in his.
“I am the absolute luckiest man on this earth,” he said proudly. “To be graced with your very presence this night…” he trailed off. “You radiate elegance and regality, my love. To speak otherwise would be a crime.”
“You’re so poetic,” I said, grinning, linking my arm with his. He put his hand over mine, but not before Edward noticed the engagement ring. His eyes widened just slightly as Kiera pulled him out the door. I glanced at the rest of the guys, noticing Jonathan merely put a black blazer over his Marilyn Manson t-shirt, and wore black jeans and chucks. Kim wore a red silk shirt with a mandarin collar, imprinted with gold Chinese dragons. Each guy wore something unique to their personality, and I grinned at them, loving the individuality. We let the rest of the clan go before us, Ryan and I the last to leave the house.
We stood at the door, him looking at me one more
time.
“Nothing in this world will take away what I feel for you at this moment.” He touched my cheek, his eyes a glittering amber. “My love… my bride-to-be… My Lady.”
My heart felt like it opened up, and I held him to me tight.
“I love you,” I whispered, and I felt his hand stroke my hair.
“I love you…beyond all measure,” he whispered, then took a deep breath and sighed. “Come, my love. Let’s get this Ball done and over with.”
OTHER CHAPTER EXCERPTS AVAILABLE AT THE AUTHOR’S WEBSITE…
Download a different, free book excerpt from Abraxas: Definitions at www.lulu.com/gratistavampires !
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CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM
ABRAXAS: AFFAIRES DE COEUR,
Book 3
Still incensed over the allegations Natasha made of her and Ryan conceiving a child, Christine's dark, vengeful energies continue to increase, but not without Ryan suffering the consequences as well. Christine sets out with Edward to prove the woman is a fraud. They get to know more about each other while sharing a few awkward moments together, which in turn causes Ryan to turn into a 'green eyed monster' in more ways than one. Meanwhile, Natasha is on to Christine and Edward's game of exposing her, and refuses to back down without a fight, using some very deadly and frightening necromantic magic that might put and end to both Christine and Edward's meddling in her schemes.
“CHRISTINE!” Ryan bellowed in my mind. “Christine, for God’s sake, COME BACK! You’re being rash!”
“You call this rash? You haven’t seen anything yet,” I answered icily.
I looked out of my dirty, little cab window; the night clear, crisp, and cold. The moon wasn’t quite full yet, but I tilted my head up to it, closing my eyes, feeling its energy bathe me in its silvery glow.
“Christine, whatever Natasha said, do not believe it. The woman’s a witch, for crying out loud!”
A witch. HA! Witch was an understatement! Even when upset, he still refused to use swear words. I think I only heard him use a cuss word once since I knew him. Despite me being pissed off, I couldn’t deny he had class.
“I need to be alone, Ryan.”
“No, you don’t. The powers in you are too much. You need to release some of it before it consumes you completely!”
“Maybe I should let it,” I replied, sneering, although he couldn’t see me.
“Christine, you don’t understand. Our powers require a balance. Abraxas is like yin and yang, light and dark, life and death, positive and negative! It’s feeding from the energies you gave off last, and you’re allowing it to. If you continue to let it, your very soul will become unbalanced; much, much worse than when you first acquired your abilities.”
“Then perfect,” I snapped. “I don’t need to feel anymore. I don’t need to love. Every little wish, hope and dream I’ve ever had has ALWAYS been shattered. Why continue to hold onto such silly notions?”
He paused. “Where would we be without them?”
I didn’t answer him.
“Christine, our powers are a big responsibility for us. We may not know why they were given to us, but we must use them wisely. If you willingly strip yourself of all that you are… where will the ‘real’ you go? Where will my love… my Christine… go?!” I felt Ryan’s heart squeezing with hurt.
Good. Maybe he’d get a heart attack.
Oh my God, did I just think such a horrible thing about him?
I tried psyching myself out. “C’mon Christine, you are being a bit rash. You ran off without getting any explanations from him.”
So what? It didn’t matter now.
“Christine? Christine?!” came Ryan again. “Please, don’t do this. Don’t do this to us. We must sit down and talk about what just happened!”
I laughed out loud. The cab driver looked at me through his rearview mirror.
“Don’t pay me any mind. I just had a really, really funny thought.”
“Christine, please, come back.” This time, it was Edward.
“I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“My Lady, forgive me, please! I…I just saw you there…and you were so distraught…”
“So you wanted to kiss my pain away, is that it?”
There was a pause. “Actually…yes. I know it was wrong of me, but right then…it just felt like the right thing to do…” A Jim Morrison song suddenly began playing in my head, compliments of Edward. I shut it out. Crazy kid.
“Christine.” It was Ryan again. “Don’t let her win. You can’t. You’ll make it too easy for her.”
“Too easy for her to get back with you? C’mon Ryan, it’s what she wants, and you know what? It might be for the better. I mean, you have an eight year old child to deal with, now.”
“That can’t be, Christine.” He sighed. “Trust me, it… it just can’t!”
“Obviously, it is. Now go away.”
“You’d give up what we have? Throw away every precious moment we’ve shared from the beginning on something untrue?”
I abruptly changed the topic. “What am I to you? A trinket? A toy? A fad? A little curio that piques your interest? Then when you’re bored of me, I’ll be discarded?!” The powers in me felt like hot, hot waves, and I held a hand to my head.
“Christine, stop it. Just stop it! Come back to me now, if only to be rid of that excess energy,” he said coldly. I stung him pretty good with my words. Yay for me. I rarely could do that.
“One more cheap roll in the hay for old times sake? No thanks,” I spat, looking out my window, watching the Art Museum and Boat House Row along the Schuylkill river whiz by.
“That’s not what I meant! How dare you say such a thing to me Christine. Both of your statements are evil, evil falsities. I wanted to marry you!”
“You wanted to marry Natasha, too.”
“Those were under very bad circumstances, and I wasn’t doing it out of love…plus, that was eight years ago!”
“You’d better go back and find her. She’s waiting around, I’m sure.”
“Christine--”
Just to spite him, I thought of a Jim Morrison song so he’d hear it, and laughed. Again, the cabbie looked at me.
“You ok?” he asked warily.
“I’m fine. I’m just having a moment back here, that’s all.” I continued laughing for a few seconds, wondering if Ryan actually did go to find Natasha.
Suddenly, I gripped my seat and stared into space. I was seeing pretty little streaks of color in my head, accompanied by some dizziness. The colors formed into blurry shapes, becoming crystal clear as if they were right in front of me.
I was looking through Edward’s eyes. I saw strands of blond hair that obstructed my view for a moment before a slender hand brushed them away. I could see Ryan in the foyer, trying to catch up to Natasha. When he did, he grabbed her arm and slammed her back against a wall. Ouch.
She gasped as he held his hands to her neck, threatening to squeeze it.
“What did you say to my fiancée?!” he growled in a low tone. “What is the meaning of telling her we have a son together?”
“How soon we forget,” she answered, and laughed. I could have sworn I saw her eyes flicker an odd, rosy-lavender color for a moment. Interesting. Upon first seeing her, I knew she wasn’t a vamp, but… what gives?
“How dare you tell her some child is my son! I swear, if you come near me with this nonsense again, I’ll squeeze every little bit of evil poison out of you, do you understand?!” He shoved her away.
“You know this isn’t over, Ryan,” she said calmly, her eyes flickering that odd color again. She straightened her clothes, giving Ryan a mischievous glint as she left the foyer in a hurry.
He turned to Edward, Ryan’s eyes still that cold, steely-gray color. I felt Edward’s heart skip a beat in fear.
“And as for you---” he started to say, then tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, as if he noticed something.
“My Lord,” Edward said quickly, and suddenly, I saw the floor up close. He must have bowed down on one knee.
“Get up,” Ryan snapped, grabbing Edward’s shirt collar and pulling him to his feet. They were almost nose to nose, and I saw myself looking deep in those emotionless eyes. For a moment, I missed seeing their warm, amber-green glow.
“Find Christine. Bring her home to us. I’ll deal with you later.” He let Edward go, and he stumbled backward. “And if you even think of trying to pull something funny with her… I’ll destroy you. Understand?”
“Yes, My Lord,” Edward quickly whispered, and took off back outside. He peeked through the Bellevue’s doors, watching Ryan. He stood there for a moment, put his hand in his pocket, and took out something small.
Whatever it was, it caught the light of one of the chandeliers overhead and sparkled for a second.
The engagement ring.
Ryan’s heart felt heavy as he put the ring back in his pocket.
“My Christine…” I heard him whisper, and then I felt cold all over.
2
The cab ride cost me thirty bucks to get from downtown Philadelphia to my home.
Home sweet home.
I stood in front of it, looking up at the front bedroom windows. That used to be my mom’s room. I choked up for a moment, wishing she was still around. I pushed the thought away, looked at the front door, and sighed. Seeing it gave me a lift. Here was solitude. Here was peace, here was my personal fortress. I went up the steps…
And realized I didn’t have my house key.
I stared at the lock, looking into it… through it, moving and shifting the pins in the tumbler until I heard the soft click that let me know I could turn the knob and walk in.
I was aware that the house was cold--after all, I had everything turned off for the duration of my stay at Ryan’s-- but the coldness wasn’t bothering me, as my powers were keeping me extremely warm. Although the house was dark, I could clearly see the shapes of objects in my living room, and weaved through them easily.
There were two tapered candles sitting in the center of my dining room table. I lackadaisically waved my hand at them, the wicks igniting immediately. A dull yellow glow was cast in the room. I made my way to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass from the cabinet above the sink, popped the cork, and poured myself a Merlot. I walked back to the living room, plopped myself on the couch, and took a sip from my glass as I stared into space.
Boy, did everything seem to go so fast that night. I was just at a Ball full of conceited airheads. I danced with Ryan, met a friend of his, met the elder clan…
I closed my eyes, trying to focus.
We had dinner. Then… I met Natasha in the bathroom, and she told me a bunch of crap that was the be-all and end-all of my world.
She and Ryan had a son.
I felt my gag reflex wanting to work again, and I stifled it.
Her eyes gave that tell-tale sign that she wasn’t one hundred percent normal. What the hell was she, then?
I sighed. I loved Ryan. I really did. I finally opened myself up just enough to let him in… and this shit happens. I sniffed. So typical. Damn Murphy and his ‘laws’. I swear, I must have been his personal cosmic joke, or his whipping boy, because he sure as hell liked keeping that boot of his up my ass.
I was sick and tired of getting hurt. Three relationships was enough. The third breakup I had deemed my strike-out when it came to finding love in this transparent, self-serving world. But when I got thrown into Ryan’s realm… despite what was going on around us, I decided to try one more time.
Stupid me.
The powers in me began to rise again, and I mentally tried to quell them. Damn, what did I allow to happen to myself in the bathroom? I let my guard down just once, and everything that woman said to me had such an impact on my emotions!
Maintain the balance, Christine. Maintain the balance….
Something in me really didn’t want to.
As much as I hated to admit it, Ryan was right. The power in me was too intense, too dangerous.
I had to get rid of the excess.
“Miss C!!” Kiera’s voice in my head was shrill. “What the hell happened with you and Our Lord?!”
“Not now, Kiera.” I held a hand to my head, pressing my thumb and middle finger against my temples. My skull felt like it wanted to pop open.
I could hear her sobbing. “Is it true? You can’t leave us!”
“I had to go. I need to think.”
“Edward’s told me a little of what happened. I don’t believe that kid is Our Lord’s son, and by the way Edward described her to me, she sounds like she might be a witch.”
I paused. Wait. Ryan called her a witch. I didn’t know he meant that figuratively….did he?
“An honest-to-God witch? You can’t be serious.”
“I am! I’ve heard of witches having a distinct, purple hue to their eyes. It’s rare, but some do. It’s not just an old wives tale.”
I sighed. “Okay, I’ll bite. She’s a witch. Now what?”
“We kick her ass, of course!”
I snickered. All of a sudden, I was really sorry I ran off the way I did. How could I leave Kiera behind? She was just like a sister to me.
“We have no idea where to start, if we decide to go all the way with this.”
“Of course we know where to start! Talk to Our Lord!”
I stiffened. “No.”
“You’re his Lady! He loves you… you’ve got to know that much!”
“Oh, come off it, Kiera. He shouldn’t have hidden something that big from me.”
“You two are mystically bound by powers and feelings for each other that the rest of us WISH we could have just a taste of! You two share something greater than what most couples in this world will never experience in their lifetime! You two are married by the powers of Abraxas!”
I sniffed again. “Married by the powers of Abraxas,” I mocked. “In the mainstream world, that kind of stuff doesn’t count.”
“Why do you think he wanted to make it more symbolic by marrying you?!” She gave a frustrated sigh. “Really, Miss C. Besides… our world beats this totally fucked up world we live in any day.”
"You don't get it, Kiera. I absolutely do not fit into Ryan's world. You saw plenty proof of that tonight!"
She sighed again. "Miss C, do you really think any of us fit into his world? Besides, you did want to go..."
"I just feel like there's still so much to Ryan that I'll never really know."
"And that’s why you two need to keep the lines of communication open. That's how you get to know someone."
"If things could just slow down for a moment! I feel like I'm still on a roller coaster!"
She paused. “I hope this makes you feel better, but…I truly feel in my heart that kid is not Our Lord’s. If he were, I can bet you he’d have been living at the mansion ages ago, with Our Lord having full custody of him. That woman is dirty in more ways than one.”
“How can you tell?”
“Edward could feel it. He dragged me to the bathroom and to the spot where Our Lord confronted her in the foyer of the Bellevue, just so I could confirm his own hunches about her. I felt her lingering energy. It’s wild, dark. Evil.”
I sat there in silence.
“So will you pleeeease talk to Our Lord? He’s more than bent out of shape about tonight. He’s been pacing in the tea room for about an hour now. He’s trying to respect your wish to leave you alone, but he’s having a hell of a time fighting it. He knows where you are.”
“I heard him tell Edward to find me.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Are you going to let him bring you back here?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Please… let him. Our Lord is very… different…since what went down tonight.”
“Different how?”
“I feel no warmth, no joy, no emotion coming from him whatsoever. What else happened between you two?”
“It might be my fault. I… lost the balance of power when Natasha talked to me in the bathroom about the child, and I went emotionally haywire for a moment. Some of Abraxas’ energies consumed me while I kept myself in that vulnerable state. I don’t quite feel the same myself. It must have rubbed off on him somehow.”
Kiera gasped.
“And… when Edward found me on the floor a
crying, blubbering mess… he kissed me… and Ryan saw it.”
“He what!?” She gave a noise of frustration, trying to figure Edward out for the umpteenth time. “I swear… between those private things he’s discussed with Our Lord, and how he’s acted towards both of you lately… and now this? God, he’s really getting himself into a heap of horse crap now.”
“I think Ryan’s very upset with me about that, too.”
“Why? I’m sure he knew you didn’t expect that, or wanted it for that matter.”
“I know, but men will be men, and Ryan doesn’t take affairs of the heart lightly.” I remembered how my hurtful words had devastated him, and how he felt afterwards. I knew he was still angry at me.
But that wasn’t really me talking, it was those negative energies still rolling around in me.
“If Edward shows up, we’ll have a talk. I might come back to the mansion, maybe not. I’ll see how I’m feeling when he arrives.”
“Okay, but…” Kiera sounded unsure. “I hope you hurry back. Our Lord is getting… edgy.”
I sighed. I didn’t want to see Ryan’s bad side, not now, not ever. But I could hear it in his voice when he reprimanded me, and saw it through Edward’s own eyes when he confronted Natasha, and Edward as well.
I was creating a monster. Two monsters, if I included myself.
*****************************
And now for a sneak peek into
Abraxas: Seeing Green, Book 4
Release date: June 2009 ISBN: 978-0-557-07369-6
Edward lies in a coma in the hospital, with Christine having a sneaking suspicion Ryan has something to do with Edward's current condition. Ryan continues to act strangely possessive of Christine to the point where it becomes too scary for her. Edward's spectral form constantly cries to Christine for help, leaving her with many sleepless nights... and to make matters more trying for her, Christine's best friend stops by for a visit, unknowing of her situation.
I got to the foyer and raced up the staircase. Dumb move! I should have ran out of the mansion! I felt as stupid as those girlie victims in horror movies who always ran up instead of out whenever they were trapped in a building or house, all the while being chased by some undead, crazy, serial killer. Common sense would have told anyone to leave. I guess it has a tendency to allude you when you’re in a panic.
From a short distance away, I heard Ryan growl again, making the hairs on my neck rise. I didn’t know what his problem was--aside from me smacking him with my energy--but I didn’t want to use my more forceful powers on him either. Who knew what would happen to him, or what affect it would have on me.
He bounded up the stairs by twos, grabbed my ankle, and I fell on the steps with a thump. He clambered over me, and flipped me over so I would be facing him. He held my wrists down. That solid, gross, zombie-like color was gone from his eyes, but his irises remained bright green. He wore his usual suspicious look and smirked, raising an eyebrow at me, giving a slight sniff of arrogance.
“Going somewhere…my dear?” We were nose to nose.
“I--I--” I stammered. The hard edges of the steps were really biting hard into my back and arms.
“Did you honestly think these little games you and Kiera were playing around the house would work? Did you really think you had me fooled?” His grin grew wider.
How long did he know? “So…we were both trying to play each other for fools. Whoop-de-fucking-do,” I replied in a snide tone.
“A sad and pathetic raggedy bunch of so-called vampires can’t stop me,” he hissed. “You, who’s too afraid to use the powers you’ve been given, and your ‘mate’ being just as bad, while being absolutely sick in love with you. You both couldn’t have been an easier target.”
“Target?” I echoed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Demon Ryan's eyes flickered an even brighter shade of green. Any more and they’d look neon.
“That stupid witch had abilities I already possess. Hanging around her was starting to prove useless, until I found out she knew your mate, Ryan Price, who has powers I’ve always dreamed of possessing. The powers of Abraxas.” He took a deep breath, calming down. “Then I discovered you share the same power!” His grin widened. “One of man’s biggest sins is jealousy, and once I realized how much he covets you, it was all too easy to invade him.” He ran his cheek against mine, and I heard him inhale deeply. God, nothing could describe how badly this was freaking me the hell out. I wished I had something nearby to knock him unconscious with.
But then he distracted himself. “I love the scent of your skin. Like cherries and blackberry wine…” He ran the tip of his tongue around the edge of my ear, making me shiver. But it wasn’t Ryan’s tongue; it was too slender, too snakelike. Good thing I couldn’t see it---I might have screamed.
“I can see why he’s so passionate about you,” he continued, pulling back slowly. He looked into my eyes, then, very predator-like, he covered my throat with his hand. I gasped, the knot in my stomach tightening more. He tilted my head to the side slowly, exposing my neck.
“I could kill you right now with a flick of my wrist,” he whispered. “But it would be such a waste…”
The look on Demon Ryan’s face was very calm and almost seductive. Now holding my shoulders down, he leaned forward, licking me from the base of my ear, then down my carotid artery, and around to the hollow of my throat. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it would explode.
Slowly, his tongue slid up the middle of neck. I grimaced. He continued going under my chin, following the curve of it, then brushed my bottom lip. I closed my eyes, too afraid to---
Don’t look Christine, don’t look!
Sometimes I wished I listened to my inner-self.
It took all the strength and will I had in my bones not to shriek, as I caught a glimpse of that forked, blood-red, snakelike tongue retracting itself back into Ryan’s mouth.
“I want to taste you, Christine,” he whispered softly, his breathing quickening, the look in his eyes deadly as he tightened the grip he had on my shoulders.
I panicked, fearing the worst. Snakes could smell with their tongues, and I half-wondered if he was smelling my blood under the surface of my skin.
I swallowed, then bravely gave a half-hearted laugh.
“You’ve done that---quite a few times now.”
“I want...to taste...a different essence,” he replied, and before I realized it, he flashed a pair of fangs and dove for my jugular.
FREE 18 page chapter download for ABRAXAS: SEEING GREEN available at www.lulu.com/gratistavampires!
*******************
ALSO COMING SOON
ABRAXAS: Judgment, Book 5 in the series
The waters are getting testier when Christine and Ryan have to face the remaining Elders of their House to assess the progress of their Abraxas Clan, which someone has purported to be too chaotic and disorganized since Christine’s arrival.
Magdalene, Kain’s mate, passes a special bit of judgment all her own when she offers Christine a ‘present’ that will test her faith, love and devotion to the Abraxas Clan, as Christine is sent back in time---before she became a vampire.
********
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A digital artist and still-photographer, Ms. Santiago is also Editor/Publisher of Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine--a 2nd place finalist in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for 2008--having created this publication to give new and unpublished writers and artists of the aforementioned genres a chance to shine and see their names in print, preferring unique, edgy stories that are out-of-the-box. She also received the Author's Site of Excellence Award in December 2007 from P & E, and is a Cover Artist for Damnation Books.
Her Yahoo writers group, (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gratista_Vampires) is an extension of DGR Magazine, where other talents of the genre can join, share interests, network, and have the opportunity to be published in her group's bi-annual anthologies.
An avid fan of 'old school' horror movies (Freddy, Jason, Michael, Pinhead, etc.), Halloween is her favorite time of the year. She attended Community College of Philadelphia, majoring in English, with interests in creative writing and Theater. Ms. Santiago enjoys the Vampire/Goth scene and can be found haunting Philadelphia's "Dracula's Ball" from time to time, or roaming cemeteries and state parks. She has always been drawn to the flipside of life--the supernatural, odd, bizarre, Gothic and 'darkly beautiful' always being an inspiration to her.
She can be reached at GratistaVampires@yahoo.com, or http://bloodtouch.webs.com