Immortals And Melodies (Blood And Guitars #2) (23 page)

"Who's ready to get in the water?" Rex asked.

"Let's go," O'Shea said, jumping to his feet. I stood up and gave him a friendly shove as I walked back to Aurora.

"Be careful down there," she said.

"I will," I promised. Then she took my face in her hands and kissed me passionately. I couldn't help the big grin on my face when she finally pulled back. "What was that for?" I asked quietly. "Not that I'm complaining."

"To remind you what's waiting for you up here at the surface," she said, smiling back. "Don't go drowning on me or anything." I drew an x over my heart, and put my goggles and snorkel on. "No picking fights with the sharks, either," she added.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Chase said to her, coming up behind me. He clapped me on the back, and we went to the edge of the boat together, lowering ourselves into the water. It took a little coaxing to get Jonas in the water, but even he couldn't resist the power of band pressure, which is ten times worse than peer pressure. Add a camera, and there was just no way he could back out. Rex had already disappeared in the water with the bait box, and we were waiting for him to return with a report. He surfaced again a moment later.

"There are at least twenty
reefies
down there," he said. "They're pretty interested in the bait box. Just remember everything we talked about."

We all nodded in general agreement before Rex nodded for us to dive. I put my face in the water, enjoying the coolness of the ocean on my skin. I used my arms and legs to propel myself downward in the water. O'Shea was on one side of me, and Jonas was on the other. Chase, determined to get to the ocean floor first, was a few feet ahead of us with Rex. The professional underwater photographer was just behind us with a video camera. We didn't have to swim far before I could see the reef sharks Rex had mentioned down below. He was right about the numbers. I counted seventeen before I realized I was wasting time counting and gave up. There were quite a few other fish swimming around as we all approached the group. O'Shea was giving me a thumbs-up as the first reefer came close enough to pass between the two of us.

It was a surreal feeling, having such powerful and mysterious creatures surround you. The first shark made a quick U-turn ahead and came back for a second look at O'Shea and me. That was when I noticed Jonas was swimming closer and closer to me. I reached out and patted his shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture. He forced a smile for me before I saw his eyes flicker to something behind me. I turned in the water to see another reefer making its way toward us. I held as still as possible as the shark swam directly underneath me. I was tempted to reach out and touch it, but I couldn't make myself do it quite yet. I surfaced quickly for air and then dove back down.

I enjoyed the wondrous beauty of the sharks as they weaved in and out of our group, but I couldn't stand to let Rex out of my sight. I wasn't convinced he had any reason to come harm me, but there was that nagging little voice in the back of my mind that kept insisting that I could have a big problem on my hands if my instinct was wrong. Who knew how many vampires Damir had his claws in? It was more than clear the head of the Emissary didn't want Aurora and me together, but what I didn't know was exactly how far he was willing to go to prevent it. With everything that was going on, he'd just have to get in line.

I shook my head slightly to pull myself from my thoughts. Here I was, surrounded by sharks on the bottom of the ocean, and all I could think about were the vampires who wanted me dead. I'd have to let Aurora know that her place at the top of the food chain was secure after all. That thought made me smile.

I surfaced again, and swam back down, spending time with each of the guys in turn as we marveled at the reefer sharks. One came close enough to brush my arm with its powerful tail fin. I swam alongside one shark for a moment, fascinated by the domino like motion of its gills as it breathed in water. After seeing Rex reach out and touch a shark, I found the nerve to reach my hand out to the next shark that came close. I brushed my hand along the side of it as it maneuvered gracefully past me. I touched the next shark that came close as well, lifting my hand after just a second to avoid knocking the little companion fish off that had attached itself to the shark's skin.

The bait box floated nearby, and the sharks occasionally bumped it with their noses out of curiosity. None of them tried to actually get to the fish in the box, which meant they couldn't have been too hungry. Maybe that was why Jonas even started to enjoy himself after a bit, though he wasn't anxious to touch any of the sharks. The photographer came right up to O'Shea and me as we floated in the middle of at least ten reefers as they checked us out. Chase waved to get our attention and then pointed out another shark was coming near. O'Shea and I looked over to see a lemon shark cruising past. It didn't stop to get a closer look at the bait box, but it did make a second pass before it disappeared into the distance. Before we finished, two nurse sharks came in to see what all the excitement was about, as well. I touched one of them, if for no other reason than to claim bragging rights. Aurora looked more than a little relieved when I swam back to the boat and climbed out of the water.

"You seem to be in one piece," she said, smiling at me.

"I hope so," I said.

"How was it?"

"It was amazing," I told her. "You should come with me next time."

"You're already planning a next time?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

She grinned and shook her head. "You really do have a death wish."

O'Shea, Jonas and Chase all climbed back into the boat behind me.

"We should have done this ages ago," O'Shea stated. "If I had known just how sweet it would be, I never would have waited."

"You're welcome," I said to him. "Let's not forget who planned this little excursion."

"I won't forget," O'Shea said. "I need someone to blame for my new addiction."

Rex climbed aboard the boat last, bringing the bait box with him. He spoke with the captain for a few minutes before the boat's motor revved, and we started back for shore.

"That was incredible," Chase was saying to Rex. "People must think you have the coolest job in the world."

"Ah, well ... some would argue that being a rock star is the coolest job in the world," Rex said, humoring Chase.

Aurora was watching the vampire with a distrusting eye. I was pretty sure, by that point, that Rex was just a vampire on a boat doing his job and doing it well. The problem was, I couldn't exactly voice that to her with him standing right there.

"I'm just glad you had a good time and that you survived," she said to me after I'd gone below and changed back into my dry clothes.

"Me too," I said. "Thanks for understanding how bad I needed this."

Chapter 30

Aurora

“ARE YOU SURE IT’S okay for me to tag along?” Trey asked me we got out of the
the
BMW.

“I told Antonio I wasn’t letting you out of my sight again. He knows what that means. It’ll be fine.”

Trey and I reached the hotel the next night where the full-moon ritual was taking place. Antonio had texted me the location earlier today. Trey had called the guys in the band and let them know that he needed a few days off to recharge his batteries before they tackled rehearsals. O’Shea wasn’t thrilled by the news, but it was hard to argue with a guy who had only gotten a few days off for his honeymoon. Trey promised to get in touch after a few days so they could get back to work. Now, we were about to attend the full-moon ritual where I would ask for the power to make Trey a vampire like me. I’d spent a lot of time imagining what it would feel like to be here tonight, but so far it all felt a little like a dream.

After a ride in the elevator, we made our way down a hallway to the hotel suite. I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened before I had the chance. Mark smiled at me from inside the suite. I hadn’t seen him since the day he came to The Waking Moon to try and talk me out of my decision to change Trey. We’d spoken only briefly since then, but even after everything that had happened, he looked genuinely happy to see me.

“Hey,” I said, smiling at him.

“Hey, yourself,” he said. His smile only faltered for a second when he realized Trey was standing off to the side. “Trey,” he added with a nod. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Come on in, both of you.”

Trey and I stepped into the suite and looked around. Antonio had gone all out for this ritual. I wondered if it was because one of his children was about to become a maker, or if it was because this was Beck’s first ritual with the brood. It still wasn’t The Four Seasons, but it definitely beat the abandoned warehouse where we met two full-moon’s back. We walked over to where Beck was seated in a lounge chair nearby.

“Good to see you again, Beck” I said.

“You, too,” he said, standing to greet us. “Congratulations on the wedding and everything. I guess you guys have had a pretty crazy week.” Then he looked at Trey and said. “After getting married, becoming a vampire should be no big deal, right?”

Trey laughed and nodded, “Right,” he said, grinning.

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it,” Beck added. “Oh, and I heard “You Only Live Twice” on the radio. It’s amazing. I think it’s your best work yet.”

Trey smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Just when I thought no one could understand what I’ve been through lately, you write a song like that. It kind of puts things into perspective.”

I smiled at Trey. “He has a way of doing that, doesn’t he?” I said to Beck.

Trey just grinned, embarrassed, and looked around the suite. “This is quite the set up,” he said, changing the subject. The table for the ritual was near the giant windows where the curtains were pulled aside, allowing the full moon’s rays to pour down into the room.

“Yeah, I had no idea it would be like this when I left the Synod. Their rituals were pretty extravagant. Honestly, it was a little much for my liking.”

“If you prefer low-key, you’ll fit right in,” Mark said. “It’s not usually like this.” A knock sounded on the door, and Mark turned and opened it again. Malena sauntered in, taking a few steps before she sensed Trey in the room. She spun on her three-inch heels and glared at him.

“What is
he
doing here?” she demanded.

“He’s with me,” I said.

“He’s not supposed to be here.”

“I’ll be one of you tonight,” Trey stated boldly. “I’d say that qualifies me.”

“Ooh,” Malena said, grinning possessively as she took a step toward Trey. I forced myself not to react. “He’s got a little fire in him. Yummy. I can almost see why you’ve kept him around for so long.”

Trey held her gaze, unmoving.

“That’s enough, Malena,” Antonio said as he rounded the corner from the other room in the suite. He was carrying a tray of wine glasses filled with blood. He set them out the table and announced that it was time to begin the ritual. Malena shot daggers at me with her eyes as she stormed haughtily past me and stood on the far end. Trey glanced at me, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. I gave him a small smile, and he took a few steps back, leaning against the wall where he observed in fascination.

“Tonight is a special occasion,” Antonio began. “I’d like to start by welcoming our newest member, Beck, to the brood.” Beck gave an awkward nod and Antonio continued on. “A welcome to Trey as well,” he added. “He’ll be joining the brood soon.” I bit my lip, hoping Antonio wouldn’t make a big deal out of what I was doing. I was under enough pressure as it was. Mercifully, he moved right along without mentioning it. “As it is his first ritual with us, I think it is only fitting that Beck go first.”

Beck hesitated only briefly and then stepped up to the table. Antonio handed him a blood-filled glass, and took a few steps back. Beck stood facing the moon. He closed his eyes for a long moment while he silently asked the moon’s permission for a special ability to practice. When he finished, he drank the blood from the glass and handed it back to Antonio, empty. Antonio nodded his approval, and Beck returned to the group. Malena went next, and Mark followed her. When it was finally my turn, I stepped up to the window, accepting the glass of blood from Antonio. I met his gaze briefly, and willed him to know how grateful I was for his support on a night like this. He gave me a small smile and nodded for me to continue.