Chapter One

Celina grabbed her aching head. Another headache, just like the day before, but perhaps it was more violent. Her stomach lurched uncertainly and she rubbed her belly while it heaved and roiled. It was only four in the afternoon, too early to head home, but she glanced around the office, looking vainly for an escape.

“Hey, Celina? Can you cover for me tomorrow? I’m going to call in sick ‘cause I’ve got a hot date tomorrow night,” Sylvia, her cubicle mate, whispered to her excitedly.

Celina closed her eyes. Great. Just what I need. “Honestly? Syl, I don’t know. I’m not feeling so great.” She mumbled a little, knowing what Sylvia’s reaction would be.

“Have you been to see the doctor yet?”

Celina swiveled in her seat and cast a dark glance at her workmate. “I’m going to call—” Her words ended abruptly as the lights dimmed and went out. “Damn… This is like the third time this month. What the hell is going on?” The heat of the office space swelled as the air conditioning failed. The cloying scents of a multitude of perfumes and hot sweaty bodies in the summer wave closed in on her.

Celina’s tummy jostled once more, demanding her attention. She rose, racing unerringly to the bathroom, making it just in time to empty the contents violently into the toilet. The clunk of the door somewhere behind alerted her to the fact that she was no longer alone. She sighed loudly. Sylvia had followed her, she knew. The sound of wood banging closed reverberated off the walls. The ensuing echo splintered her thoughts.

“Celina, you have to see the doctor.” There was concern in Sylvia’s voice and Celina shied away from it.

Celina leaned limply against the wall of the stall, the dim security lighting flickering in and out. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” She didn’t want to face it, but the headaches had become an almost everyday occurrence in the past few months. One she’d tried to ignore, but with little success. But something had to be wrong. Her stomach quivered at the possible reasons.

She pushed away from the wall and headed for the sink, turned the tap and was rewarded by the sound of running water. Celina scooped the liquid up, washed her face and swilled some around in her mouth, trying to banish the sour taste. Her knees shook like wet noodles beneath her.

“Okay, I’ll ring in the morning and see how soon I can get in for an appointment.” A sound from outside caught her hearing, a thudding noise, as if someone was testing the door. She wouldn’t be able to hide from the problems for much longer and right now, she really needed some air. “We’d better get out there.”

“Yeah. Okay.” She heard the concern in Sylvia’s voice. “Will you be okay to get home?”

They slowly made their way through the door and back into the office, where the blast of heat and the waft of body essences made her want to gag again. She struggled through one shallow breath then another.

“I’m planning on going straight home anyway.” Celina shuffled toward her desk and groped around in the dark, hunting for her phone. She grasped it in her damp hand and pressed the screen, waiting for it to lighten sufficiently to see her desk. She spied her bag and opened the desk to find her keys. “It looks like these are going to be out for a while. Can you…?” She indicated the light fittings, then toward the office at the end of the row, hoping Sylvia would understand.

“I’ll go tell the supervisor. You go on. Head home and take some painkillers.”

With a small nod, which she quickly regretted as a pulse wavered through her throbbing skull, Celina headed to the emergency stairs. As she passed desks she saw others grabbing up their items, including laptops. No doubt they obviously thought the same thing.

Finally she made her way down the fourteen flights of stairs. On the way she heard many voices, some shrill and others filled with laughter in the darkness. Here and there she caught glimpses of light, probably from mobiles, illuminating the gloom.

One foot after another she plodded down the steps, her head aching viciously and finally, light glowed ahead and a breeze started to clear the stuffy wooliness from her head.

* * * *

Javed shook his head. The missive he held in his hands filled him with emotions he hadn’t experienced in hundreds of years. He knew what it was. It was confusion. The sense of having the carpet jerked out from beneath him. His hands felt clammy.

“So… That’s your destiny, there in your hands.”

His hand shook and the sound of parchment moving back and forth filled the air. He held not just his destiny, but also that of so many others.

He glanced at Xavier, his master, and Hope. They were two very powerful vampires as well as his friends. “I don’t know what to say.”

Hope rose and glided toward him. “You don’t have to say anything. We will say it all. Your leaving us on one level makes us sad, but you will be a master in your own right. You’ve earned this.”

Javed wanted to sputter and stop her words, but he couldn’t. The intent of the letter was clear. On the night of the next full moon, Cressida would grant him his own nest. He would be elevated to the position of master.

If that wasn’t enough to accept, there was the knowledge that there hadn’t been a new house in over a century.

There was so much to do. So many decisions to make and all of them would fall on him. He would need to choose a Yeux Secondes, the human who would oversee the financial and day-to-day aspects of the nest. He would also require a second, a guardian who would stand at his side. A fellow warrior, in whom he could place his trust, one who would help him build a safe haven in their house. He would need witches to help protect the vampires and followers… Where the hell do I even start with that?

“You’ll need a house. Somewhere for your people to call home.” Hope grinned and he saw the lurking humor she couldn’t quell. “I know of an interior designer, if you want their details?”

He rolled his eyes, remembering the problems she’d had with her parents before she had been turned and the way she’d arranged for the entire block of units to be furnished. It had taken her one night to order and arrange for the delivery of all the furniture. Unlike the immense task her mother had proposed.

But her smile died away as her own memories must have surfaced.

“I don’t know about that, but if you’re offering help, then I’ll accept it. I don’t have a clue where to start.” He moved back to the armchair and slumped into it. “I don’t usually concern myself with those types of problem.” He allowed his head to drop into his hands and muttered. “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

A soft touch on his shoulder captured his attention. “Cressida thinks you are. Otherwise she would not have petitioned the Councilors. Now come on. You need to start planning. We have one month to arrange your investiture…”

“Cressida will arrange that,” Xavier helpfully called out.

“Excellent. That’s one less thing to sort out. And I don’t have a clue how to arrange one of those anyway!” Hope’s voice quietened and Javed knew she was trying to cajole him into a more positive frame of mind. “But you do need to pull together at least the semblance of a nest. So, what do you want to start on?”

“A house. It’s no good having all those nestlings without somewhere for them to live.” He lifted his head and swiped his unsteady hand over his forehead. Twenty-eight days wasn’t a long time and he needed everything completed and ready. “Uh, but how am I supposed to fund…?”

“Read the rest of the letter, my friend. All that is in there.” He heard the humor in Xavier’s voice and glanced at the paper.

The Council has allocated a funding grant to ensure the adequate start-up of the new nest. Included is the purchase of appropriate housing, consisting of one main residence and appropriate housing for between fifty and eighty nestlings. Seed funding for the start-up of appropriate businesses to ensure the stability of the nest and additional funding as required to furnish, employ and run the nest for a period of up to five years, or until financial viability is attained.

Once that has been attained, the nest will be required to make an annual payment to the Council for funding future requirements of not less than ten percent of annual gross profits of the nest.

“They have been…more than generous.” He glanced at Xavier who had raised his blood wine, saluting him.

“They are. But you deserve it, my friend.”

“Xavier, I don’t know how—?”

“You don’t know how to repay the debt? Javed, my friend, it’s not a debt. They believe you are able to bring a new nest into existence.”

Pressure built up inside him, blooming deep inside his chest. He shoved away from the table.

The broad grin on his friend’s face died away. “If you really don’t feel comfortable…”

Javed shook his head, trying to throw off the disoriented state that shrouded him. “Honestly? I just don’t know.” He ran his hand through short dark hair, felt how untidy it was. “I certainly didn’t expect this.” He waved toward the parchment.

“You can deny the request, if you don’t…” Hope’s voice behind him made him grimace. She was so young, still so new to their life and ways. She obviously didn’t yet realize it wasn’t so simple to brush the will of the Council aside.

“I could, but I also don’t know that I want to.” The words were grudging. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the position and responsibility. No. It was more concern that he wouldn’t make it work. Couldn’t carry out the role effectively and protect those whose futures he would be overseeing. He stared at the ornate Persian carpet. It reminded him of his past. The one he had shied away from.

“You can do it. You’re ready.” Xavier’s words hung in the air and he bowed.

“As you wish, my master.”

* * * *

Home was still some blocks away as she plodded along the sidewalk. Right now, Celina was regretting the decision to go to the doctor’s office. “But you couldn’t even see straight.” Yet that was a cold comfort. If she’d driven, she could have been home by now.

Her stomach had settled slightly as she reached the doorway to one of the most imposing buildings in the block and she craned her head to look up. The last rays of sunlight had died away and she noted how the glass didn’t glow in the muted reflection of the moon as it did during the day. She shivered slightly. Instead of the stifling heat, there was a crispness in the night air that only seemed to arrive in summer.

Darkness had settled during her unsuccessful wait to gain an appointment with her physician. She’d sat in the corner of the waiting room, sweltering in the oppressive atmosphere while the air conditioner buzzed and hummed ineffectually, and a vast number of hot bodies had come and gone while she’d waited, hoping for a canceled slot.

In the end, the receptionist had announced that the doctor would be unable to see her. She had been shown the door with a “Come tomorrow morning. He’ll see you before his first scheduled appointment.”

Now making her way slowly home, Celina took a swipe from the drink she’d bought from the corner stall. She gratefully let the cool water trickle down the back of her parched throat as she closed her eyes, seeking a break from the ongoing ache that pulsed behind her eyes.

“Watch out below!” The call echoed through the night and she scanned the night sky to see a small vehicle swooping down between the towering buildings, the glare of headlights cutting through the gloom of the concrete jungle. The heels of her shoes clicked on the hard ground as the small car landed quietly where she had stood mere seconds before.

This must be someone important to be able to afford one of the air-capable vehicles. She’d seen them a couple of times and could only guess at their price tag.

The registration plates on the rear of the vehicle declared it was a vampire transport. In the last few years, more of them had populated the roads and skies as the nests had become accepted by society. Every now and again a petition would circulate via email and mailbox drop, arguing that they, the vampires, were accorded greater privileges than most of the populace.

“Utterly pointless,” she muttered as the passengers climbed out. A tall man, striking to gaze upon with dark skin, hair and piercing eyes, glanced around before ushering the willowy dark-haired beauty before him. His Middle Eastern origins had her gaping at him.

She heard, “Thank you, Javed,” and saw the smile he gave the woman. Deep inside, she yearned for someone to care for her like that. As if she was special to them. Then Celina brushed the thought away. She had been alone long enough to know that wishes often didn’t come true.

On more than one occasion she had considered applying to one of the nests, yet they took so few and her life had been such a struggle that she had shied away every time the thought had struck. After all, she didn’t need to be rejected again. Once more the notion bloomed, as the hunger she kept carefully banked bit at her. To belong somewhere, to be a part of a family… She’d always dreamed of that.

The couple gracefully headed toward the door of the chrome and glass shrouded building before her. One of the heavily guarded nest buildings, she noted.

“Bloody vampires.” A voice echoed behind her and even as she turned, someone roughly pushed past her. She shrugged then immediately regretted her action as her head ached again. A wave of dizziness passed over her and she couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped. Celina stumbled heavily and would have fallen but for a gentle touch on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Her stomach lurched again. The ground shimmered below her. “I’m… Ah…”

Then the gray she’d been fighting all day overwhelmed her.

* * * *

He’d been aware of the red-haired woman from the moment he’d stepped out of the vehicle, his eyes catching the jerky movements she’d made and the way she’d watched Hope and him. But he was used to being observed by humans. Vampires still made enough of a splash that people gaped at them wherever they were. It was one of the reasons they lived in nests. The humans employed within the nests didn’t treat them like freaks.

Her lush frame, vibrant hair and subtle scent had captured his senses.

She’d made a sound, little more than a groan, and he’d turned away from the door. His senses were on high alert, expecting trouble. The air was full of fraught expectation.

Her face was bloodless. In the moonlight she had seemed far too pale and fragile, while the distinct red hue of her hair glowed with warmth. He’d noted the way her eyes dilated and the sluggish way she responded to the question. Then she’d slumped.

Javed caught the woman as she fell toward the hard concrete, her head mere inches from the ground.

“Is she all right?”

He turned at the question, and saw Hope gazing over his shoulder. “Yes. I caught her in time.”

“Then you’d best bring her up.”

He nodded, his mind sluggish as he peered at the woman in his arms. His libido, although rarely satiated, flickered as he lifted the woman’s supine body. A frisson of connection worked its way through him.

“Vampires! Vampires attacking!” a voice called out in the night and he glanced up, scanning the crowd who now stepped back uncertainly.

A sea of white faces stared back at him. The humans seemed frozen with horror, disbelief and something else. There was more than fear in the air now. Malice.

His hackles rose and the centuries-old warrior emerged. He’d been in just this position before. It was one he’d hoped never to relive again. The memories of the long distant past, one he had tried to bury, rose. His heart thudded fast as adrenaline surged through his veins. He contained his instincts to fight or flee.

Hope. He had to protect Hope. She was his first priority.

His mind urged him to return to her, to leave the human behind, but something, maybe the shadow of his soul, told him he couldn’t. Instead, he cradled the woman in his arms, holding her close while he scanned the crowd for any threats.

“Get inside, Hope.” He stalked backwards in the direction of the door, his preternatural senses telling him that Hope had followed his instructions, while his mind ran through strategic options of defense.

Hope might’ve been a powerful vampire in her own right, but she was also the life partner of his friend and master, Xavier. He would give up his own life to protect them both.

“He’s taking the woman!” another voice, this one shrill with fear, called out into the night as he moved faster, gaining the scant security of the doors that shut as he entered.

The sea of voices swelled and rose. “He can’t take her” mingled with “He’ll kill her.”

Anger rose but he tamped it down with ruthless efficiency. Within the building, he freed one hand and slapped it against the emergency shields. They had all been upgraded in the long months since the attack on Hope and Xavier. All security procedures and protocols had been overhauled, but he feared it wouldn’t be sufficient.

Right now, he was more than grateful for the foresight.

“We should get her upstairs. Find out if she’s okay.” Hope laid her hand on his shoulder.

He scanned her face. “Are you okay?”

Hope beamed at him. “Javed, it will take a lot more than an angry mob to frighten me.” There was no tremble in her voice and for a moment he wanted to tell her that she should be frightened. But she hadn’t been around for hundreds of years. She hadn’t seen the ferocity of the attacks on the nests in earlier centuries. She’d never had to run for her life, the way so many of their numbers had.

He swallowed the angry words and followed her to the lift, after nodding at the security guard on duty. He knew the man had made contact with the necessary authorities, overhearing his words “… yes a mob, outside…” before redirecting his attention back to Hope and the woman in his arms.

“I think she might need to see a healer.” His words sounded gruff and he winced as she speared him with a sharp look.

“You know, I may not be able to read your mind, but I can tell that you are angry about my comments and trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to hide it.”

He closed his eyes. “I didn’t mean—”

“No. I know you didn’t mean any disrespect, Javed.”

He breathed deeply, hearing her soft tones. He gazed out of the glass elevator over the city, seeing the sparkling lights beyond while he accepted the gentle remonstrance.

“Xavier told me about the times the nests have been attacked. About the dangers older vampires have survived. I’m not being flippant.” The bell chimed, cutting the opportunity for further discussion as they entered the reception area.