Issue 3

Excerpt from Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising

Prophecy looked at the people filling the warmly lit ballroom of her mansion. They were dead silent and perfectly split down the middle. The Caelestis were to her right, and the Aurorea had gathered reluctantly near the wall to her left. They'd been like it for almost twenty minutes.

She'd been stunned when Valentine had walked in. First because she'd forgotten how good he looked when he wore ball attire, and secondly because he'd had what must be every Aurorea that was resident in his mansion with him, and they hadn't looked too annoyed to be there. Killing the elder must have been the right thing to do.

Her eyes moved between the two groups again. They had both of the families here, now they just had to find a way to get them to dance.

She glanced at Valentine, taking in how striking he looked in his long black jacket that was accented with finely embroidered silver thread. The buttons on the jacket were silver too. They matched the buckles at the sides of his boots. Her chest ached to recall that Law Keepers wore something similar. Valentine had long surrendered that dream in order to save her. Was being lord of his bloodline any consolation?

He gave her the slight smile that he only ever seemed to give to her and then turned back to face the room.

He looked so noble and handsome.

She smiled and edged closer to him. His gaze moved back to her but instead of settling on her face, it went straight to her dress. She didn't need to ask what he was thinking. He had that same passionate fire in his eyes as he had done the night of the Creator Day masquerade. Her hands moved to her sides, her dark red satin gloves sliding over the tight blood-coloured corset as they moved downwards towards the bell shaped skirt of the dress. The red was graded from the waist, getting slowly darker until it turned black at the hem.

Valentine held his hand up and the band began to play. She extended her hand to him and he took it, holding it lightly in his.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Serenity dressed in a rich midnight blue gown. It contrasted well against her dark hair and pale skin. She looked beautiful tonight and Prophecy could see the excitement in her eyes. Serenity's previous position as her aide had always left her hiding in the shadows with the other servants when there was a ball. Now she was finally getting to attend one.

Serenity smiled and then looked past both her and Valentine. Prophecy wondered what she was staring at and when she leaned to one side so she could see past Valentine, she was surprised to see Cornelius. He looked so different when dressed in such fine attire. The jacket was so dark red that it was almost black and it seemed to fit him well. His hair was slicked back so she could actually see his face. When dressed like that and standing still, he looked so much more sensible.

She turned back to Serenity when she felt her move closer. Her friend offered her a hesitant smile but before Prophecy could act on it and introduce her to Cornelius, Valentine was doing it.

“How rude of me. Serenity, Chosen Daughter of Caelestis, this is Cornelius, Chosen Son of Aurorea.” Valentine placed his hand against Cornelius' back.

Prophecy watched him slowly guide Cornelius towards Serenity. There was a flash of fear in Cornelius' eyes and Valentine's arm tensed, keeping Cornelius steady. Prophecy suppressed the smile and the giggle that tried to escape her. Valentine might be able to improve Cornelius' chances of dancing with Serenity by guiding him, but once they were out on the dance floor it would all be down to him. She silently hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself. Serenity was used to strong men, ones who would simply sweep her off her feet and drag her onto the dance floor.

When Cornelius reached them and opened his mouth to speak, she cringed and clenched her teeth, waiting for him to stumble and trip on the words. She could feel the nerves pouring off him.

A glance at Valentine revealed that he had a similar brace-for-impact look on his face. She gave him a look that said this wasn't going to go well.

All she could do was watch Serenity and Cornelius. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, and she couldn't take her eyes off them no matter how hard she tried.

“Se…Sere…” Cornelius stumbled along and Prophecy screwed her face up. The temptation to bury her face into Valentine's chest was overwhelming.

“Serenity.” Serenity held her hand out and smiled courteously. “And you're Cornelius.”

He nodded dumbly, evidently relieved to be spared having to say his name.

“I think we should dance to set the example,” Serenity said with an even wider smile. “And maybe you should let me lead.”

Prophecy pressed her hand against her mouth to stop herself from laughing as Serenity led Cornelius to the dance floor. She couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her when Cornelius looked over his shoulder at Valentine with a lost expression and Valentine waved him on in an irritated fashion.

“Some men do not know when they are onto a good thing,” Valentine whispered down at her.

She smiled up at him and held her hand out. “Dance?”

“I would be a fool to say no.” Valentine placed the back of his hand against her palm so her hand was draped over it and led her towards the dance floor.

It was so formal. The last time she'd been at a dance, she'd been dragged onto the dance floor. Valentine had saved her while she was already dancing. She wondered if he would have led her onto it as formally as he was now if that hadn't been the case.

She swallowed when she remembered who else had danced with her at the Creator Day masquerade.

Venturi.

Her eyes sought him out. He was leaning against the wall at the far end of the room. She hadn't realised that he'd come down. When she'd returned home this evening and asked him whether he'd be attending the ball, he'd refused on the grounds that he had to translate the prophecy. She'd asked him to come if he could.

He'd said that he'd come if she'd dance with him.

He was here. Did that mean she had to dance with him? She hadn't promised that she would.

Her thoughts of Venturi were chased away when Valentine pulled her into his arms. The dark look in his eyes said that he'd caught her staring at the Tenebrae.

“He said he wasn't going to come,” she explained, hoping to ease the anger she could see in the depths of his green eyes.

“Then pretend he is not here,” he said and placed one arm about her waist, tugging her flush against him.

She looked around at the dance floor and realised that more people had begun to dance now, and some of them were even dancing with members of the opposite bloodline. It might just work after all.

Feeling a little more relaxed, she pulled out of Valentine's arms and curtseyed while he still held her hand. She went low and looked up at him.

“My lord,” she said in a sweet voice.

He grinned and pulled her back into his arms, his grip on her firm enough that she could feel his fingers through her corset. His hand clutched her other one and her free one slid up his arm, slowly moving over his bicep to his shoulder.

He dipped his head towards her and their cheeks brushed.

“My lady,” he whispered softly into her ear.

She closed her eyes, anticipation building inside of her while she waited for him to make a move, making her queasy and giddy. She'd felt the same way the last time she'd danced with him.

The second he moved, her stomach flipped and a smile crept onto her lips. She opened her eyes and watched the world whirling by as they spun to the cadence of the waltz, all the while trying to keep up with him. It wasn't as fast or as dizzying as the dance at the Creator Day masquerade, but it made her head spin regardless.

She smiled at everyone who looked at her. When they passed Serenity and Cornelius, she was glad to see that Cornelius didn't stumble as much with dancing as he did with words. She wondered if Valentine had schooled him.

Bringing her attention back to Valentine, she smiled into his eyes. They flashed blue at her, making her tremble inside, and she couldn't stop hers eyes from switching for a second.

She almost lost her footing but Valentine's strong grip on her waist and hand saved her. Focusing on her feet, she tried to keep up with him. Dancing had never been her strong point, especially to music as fast paced as this. Turning her head with each spin, she tried to keep her eyes fixed straight ahead but it seemed impossible. When Valentine adjusted his grip on her hand, she looked up to find him staring straight at her. He wasn't even looking where he was going. Was he so confident that people would get out of their way, or did he know exactly where everyone was? He was skilled enough that he could plot a course through a crowd and follow it with his eyes closed.

She stared back at him, right into the crystal green depths of his eyes, and lost herself there. The music ebbed away, her whole body relaxed into his and her feet seemed to suddenly know the way. Her chest ached. Each star that was drawn on her body began to hum with magic. She sighed out her breath and felt as light as a feather as she danced with him, whirling in an ever-constant circle. Her feet felt as though they weren't touching the floor. She was so lost in the connection she could feel between her and Valentine.

When he looked down, she did too, and her eyes widened to see that it wasn't the dancing making her feel as though her feet weren't touching the floor.

They really weren't.

She glanced at her hand and saw the red magic curling around both hers and Valentine's. She bit her lip and kept dancing, not wanting to question how she'd managed to make them float in case the spell suddenly stopped working.

Besides, there was something breathtaking about dancing while floating in the air. Their steps still seemed to register, sending them around the room above the heads of the rest of the people. She looked down. Some of them were still dancing, but the rest had stopped to stare at her and Valentine.

“You really are magical,” Valentine said as the music ended.

She smiled and held onto him as they spiralled slowly down towards the dance floor. Everyone moved out of the way, giving them room to land. Valentine's feet touched the floor first and he caught hold of her waist, gently lowering her into his arms. She wrapped her arms about his neck and kissed him.

Feeling her feet touch the floor at last, she released Valentine and cleared her throat when she felt everyone staring at them. She silently thanked Valentine with a smile when he led her from the dance floor. He picked up a glass of blood and handed it to her. She waited until he had a glass in his hand and then toasted him. Gulping the blood down, she was surprised that he drank his too. It was cold and barely fresh, two things that usually made him refuse it. On such short notice, it had been hard to get the supplies without raising too much alarm in the human populous of the city.

“I do not think I have ever had a dance quite like that.” Valentine placed his hand against her back and she noted how he was staying close to her now that he knew Venturi was in the room.

She edged nearer to him, making the most of his closeness.

“Me neither. I didn't do anything to make us do that. I didn't even think that I was flying or anything. I don't even think it was me that did it.” She put her glass down and took his when he'd finished it.

“What do you mean?” A frown knit his brows and his attention was suddenly wholly with her.

She looked around the room and then moved closer to him. “I mean…I think I'm getting more powerful.”

“Maybe you are the great power.”

A sudden clap of thunder boomed overhead, making her jump. It was joined by another simultaneous bolt of lightning and rumble.

“It's close,” she said and wondered where the storm had come from. She signalled Serenity when she saw her standing not far away talking to Cornelius. Serenity came over to her immediately, giving her a wide smile. Prophecy frowned. “Has there been any word from Mia or Dmitri?”

Serenity shook her head. “I can ask the guards if you'd like?”

“No, you'd better stay inside. The storm seems bad.” Prophecy touched Serenity's arm and waited for her to go back to Cornelius before turning to Valentine. “This doesn't feel good. They should have been here by now.”

“They did not say that they would definitely be able to attend. Some matter of business may have arisen and needed attending to.” Valentine looked down the length of the room at the tall windows at the end of it when another flash and rumble tore up the sky. “The storm is bad though.”

It was unusual for a storm to come from nowhere in these parts but he shook it off. With the music playing and the din of chatter filling the room, it was possible that they had missed the warning signals. He'd been so caught up in dancing with Prophecy that a war could have broken out and he wouldn't have noticed.

He gave her a smile when she looked at him. She still looked on edge. Her eyes were constantly scanning the gathered crowd as though she was searching for something. Every time she glanced at him, she gave him a little smile, as though it would hide from him how worried she was. Moving to block her view of the room, he waited for her to look up into his eyes. She furrowed her brows when she did and he could see all of the tension in her.

Brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek, he absorbed how beautiful she looked. Her hair was almost back to its natural colour again now. The silken blood red strands of it pooled around her shoulders, hiding her neck and almost obscuring the silver star she always wore around it. He ran his fingers down over her jaw, gliding them along the chain that held the star and eventually taking hold of it. He looked at it for a moment and frowned. A sudden sensation that he should know something about it filled him and he struggled to keep hold of the feeling, trying to understand what it meant. It slipped away just as quickly as it had come and he was left staring at the silver star. There was something about it, something important.

His gaze dropped to the fine dress she was wearing and his thoughts slipped away, replaced by a desire to take her away from the prying eyes of both their families.

“You are beautiful tonight,” he whispered and moved nearer to her, sliding an arm about her waist and locking eyes with her.

She smiled. “Not nearly as handsome as you. I remember that night at the ball and how you looked so like a prince.”

“I am a lord now.”

“Better than a prince, then.” She placed one hand against his chest. “Do you think we're neglecting the guests?”

“Not at all,” he murmured and drew the hair away from her neck. He pressed a soft kiss to it, tasting her skin and his marks. “Do you think we are?”

“Yes…” she sighed the word out and leaned into him. “But when you do that, I suddenly don't care.”

He smiled against her throat. Extending his canines, he barely scraped her neck, creating a small incision in it. He wrapped his lips around it and closed his eyes when he sucked on the wound. She moaned quietly, her fingers tightening against him. A dance between their families was no place for this kind of behaviour, but the scent of her blood was overpowering and he was too weak to resist tasting her.

“Valentine?” Her fingertips dug into his shoulder and he resisted the temptation to groan when he caught the scent of her desire.

A streak of lightning split the sky and the lights flickered for a moment when thunder rolled over the Earth.

He realised that Prophecy was suddenly alert and stiff against him. Drawing away from her, he licked the small wound on her neck, and then looked from her to the room. Everyone had stopped dancing.

Heaving a sigh, he released Prophecy and took hold of her hand, bringing her with him while he walked towards their families.

“It is merely a storm,” he said, hoping to reassure them so they would go back to dancing and forget the weather. “We have had worse here before. If the lights go out, we will light the candles. Weather such as this should not frighten you…unless you are all nothing more than little children? We command more destruction than lightning, and are more sinister than a storm. Come…dance…laugh…enjoy this night.”

They looked at each other for a moment and then started to talk again. He was relieved when some of the people began to dance.

“It does not sound good.”

He turned sharply and barely held the growl inside when he saw Venturi stood close to Prophecy. She gave the Tenebrae a smile and then turned to face himself.

“It will pass?” Her words sounded more like a question than a statement.

“It will, given time. Nothing bad will come of it.” Valentine touched her arm and then intimated the dance floor. “Maybe we can take your mind off it.”

She nodded and walked towards the centre of the dance floor. Valentine held Venturi's gaze for a moment, his expression dark and hard, before walking after her.

Looking over the heads of the gathered people, Valentine signalled the band. They nodded and abruptly ended the piece they had been playing. When the next one began, Prophecy turned to look at him with an expression that said she recognised the music. She should do. After all, it was what they'd danced to at the Creator Day masquerade.

He held his hand out to her and she slipped hers into it. It looked small compared to his and he stared at it for a moment before closing his fingers around it and drawing her slowly towards him.

He ran his fingers down her cheek while the first slow violin notes filled the room, keeping his eyes locked with hers the whole time and feeling the desire flowing between them. As the rest of the orchestra began to join in, he curled his fingers around her waist and brought her body against his. Her fingers tensed in his the moment he started dancing with her, as fast a waltz as she'd survived the last time, only this time there was no fear in her eyes.

There was only hunger and desire.

She smiled broadly, her eyes changing to their green state and the points of her teeth visible between her lips. She licked them, pulling him in until he could see only her. He slowed their dancing, wanting more time to be closer to her. The world twirled and laughed by them, the other dancers in the room still running to the giddy tempo.

Lifting her off the floor, he turned with her on the spot, kissing slowly across her chest and savouring the taste of her skin before nipping at her collarbone. She slipped her arms about his neck and ran her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. He closed his eyes, the divine sensuality of her touch driving him mad with desire. Sharpening his teeth, he growled when she leaned back, forcing his head lower towards her bosom. He drew a fang over one and was rewarded by a sweet moan of pleasure from her. Licking the cut, he breathed heavily as he savoured the metallic tang of her blood. It spoke to his own, whispering words of want that he was unable to ignore.

He groaned when she pulled herself towards him and rained kisses down on his temple and cheek. She nicked his earlobe with her teeth and all control dissipated. Clutching her backside, he ground against her and sneered when she giggled.

He cursed the rest of the room when he realised they were all staring at him. Roaring at them, he carried Prophecy through the crowd and pinned her against the wall. Who were they to stare, trying to make him feel as though this wasn't appropriate behaviour. He was their lord and she was their lady. What they did was none of their families business and they certainly had no say in it.

Prophecy brushed her lips against his as she kissed across his jaw and he paused for a moment, trapped in her green eyes when she drew back a fraction. He stared at her for what seemed like minutes before crushing her mouth with a feverish kiss. Her teeth clashed with his and it was only a matter of seconds before he could taste their combined blood on his tongue. It didn't stop him, and it only seemed to drive her on. She arched against him, her fingers desperately holding him to her while her lips danced passionately on his. His eyes closed. He gripped her sides so tight that he was sure that he was hurting her, but he couldn't stop, not until this feeling inside of him began to ebb, and with each kiss it just seemed to be growing.

A drop of blood coursed down his chin and he tilted his head back when Prophecy rushed to lick it up. He struggled to stop his claws from extending and puncturing her sides when she pressed long wet kisses around his mouth, cleaning all the blood away, and then licked his lips for him. Shoving her hard into the wall, he grinned when he knocked the air from her and kissed her again. His teeth scraped against her lip and he felt as though he was drowning in the taste of her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he groaned when her body rubbed against his, sending desire like a burning wildfire through him.

The tempo of the music began to slow and he pulled back enough to see that her lips and chin were covered in blood. Spots of it had dripped down onto her exposed chest. He watched her bosoms rise and fall with her heavy breathing and then dipped his head. She mewled and dug her fingers into his hair when he licked up every last drop of blood on her chest, working his way slowly upwards towards her mouth. Slipping out of his vampire guise, he cleaned her jaw and chin, savouring the taste of their combined blood. When he reached her mouth, he kissed her gently, making the most of it.

She was smiling when he finished and he went to wipe the blood away from his lips. She stopped him with a green flash of her eyes and brought her thumb down, trailing her fingers across his cheek. He stared into her eyes while she captured the blood from his bottom lip and then licked her thumb clean. The look in her eyes said it all. She wanted to be away from here, wanted to be alone with him as badly as he wanted to be locked away in her room with her.

PRICE: $4.99

» Buy Now From Fictionwise

» Buy Now From Alinar Publishing