The Vampire Legacy; The New Queen Rises (5 page)

I laughed, how silly was this? Who would
believe that their daughter was a child of vampires, but the priest
assured us it was true.

Her father had been killed, not by a train,
but by some of his followers who had sought him out and killed him.
The mother had foreseen this coming and rushed to the hospital.
They said that Ashley was taken out by force and then they had
killed her mother. They tell us that, as far as they know, Ashley's
mother had been a few centuries old, but she could have been
older.

They want us to believe that Ashley thrived
in her mother's womb for more than a few centuries. Ridiculous, but
then again, they also told us something more outrageous.

Ashley, among her kind, is of royal
blood.

I closed the book and looked up at the
ceiling that was towering above me. This is why Julian wanted to
protect me so badly. I was his Queen, but then again, why would
this old woman want to protect me from Julian? I was confused, but
they had made one thing perfectly clear. Whatever vampire told me
about my past would be in danger of being hunted down. I couldn't
let Julian be threatened by this. I would go along with my parents
on the hypnotism, for Julian's sake.

My mind was made up when I went to his house
after camp, but I couldn't bear to go in and tell him that I knew
the truth. I stood by the water, looked out at the blue ocean, and
wished that I could get lost in its depth. I was there, thinking
and then I knew I wasn't alone. I turned and glimpsed at the back
steps of the patio. Julian stood on the steps, a white dress shirt
pulled out of his black dress pants. His hair blew in the breeze.
He was quite handsome and I wanted to run to him, but I didn't.

I turned back to the ocean and he walked down
to stand beside me. His smile faded when he eyed my face, I turned
and sighed.

"We're moving."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you." He crossed his arms and
sighed. "It's for your own protection."

"Ash, this is stupid, just tell me why?" He
laughed, and then sighed. "I don't know why you have to be so damn
stubborn."

"We're moving because ...because." I stopped
and squinted at him. "Because I know if my parents were to find out
about us, you and the others would be put in danger. If I see you
anymore, if you and I get any more involved, then you could get
hurt."

"You think that your parents can hurt me?" I
shook my head. "Then who?"

"I can't tell you, Julian, it's too
dangerous." I sighed. He watched out over the ocean and sighed.

"It's not possible." I watched him start to
get emotional and then, suddenly, he was swinging at the air as he
walked away a little bit. When he came back, he took my hand. "No
one will hurt me, Ash. It’s not possible. I won't let them."

"They will try, and you can't do anything
about it, Julian." He suddenly broke down and cried, fell to his
knees and held his face in my hands. "I have to go to protect you,
because you care for me. That puts you in harm’s way, and I can't
live with that."

"Ashley, this silly." He pulled me down on
the grass with him, reached out and touched my face. His fingers
tingled my skin and I leaned toward him and inhaled deeply. "Can
you stay for a little while?"

"Yes, I guess that wouldn't be a
problem."

He took my hand and led me back to the house.
I waited for him to bring me upstairs to his room, but we headed
for the servant quarters. I followed him into the furthest little
bathroom and watched him open a panel in the wall. He led me
through a maze of dark paths that I could only think were under the
house. We traveled for quite a while, before he stopped and opened
another door.

"Julian, where are we going?"

"You'll see." He smiled bravely. I had to
snicker at his slyness. We walked for several more minutes, and
then he stopped again. Julian turned on a small light and searched
his pockets. When he found what he was looking for, he held a small
brass key. The door to his left opened when he slipped the key in
and he pulled me through, out into the light of the afternoon. We
stood at the edge of the water, looking out over the ocean.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Sure, if I knew where I was." He took my
hand again and led me up a winding path to the top of the hill. To
my amazement, I found that we were standing on an island, far
enough away from the house that it looked like a matchbox model
car. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know. No one else knows about this
place." He smiled and pointed to a small hut just about twelve feet
away. "Come on in."

"You're not going to try to seduce me, are
you?" He pulled me to the hut. He smiled then shook his head.
"Good, because, I'm not interested."

"Liar."

When we got inside Julian started a fire as I
made myself comfortable on the twin-sized bed that sat near a large
window. I gazed out at the ocean that stretched for miles and then
I looked at him. He stared at me as he had when met on the beach,
in complete awe.

"You're very beautiful, Ash." I smiled and
then closed my eyes. "What's the matter?"

"I'll never forget how you say that." My eyes
filled up with tears. "I'll never forget you."

"I know you won't." He walked over sitting
beside me on the bed. "What makes you think you'll forget me?"

"My parents want to take me to this man." I
sighed. "He hypnotizes people. They WANT me to forget the past
year. They WANT me to forget you."

I watched him stand up and walk over to the
fire. I could feel the violent streak in him coming out, and I
didn't want it to happen.

"Julian, please, don't do this, now."

He turned to me, with all the anger in his
gorgeous eyes and he walked over. He sat by me on the bed again and
just looked me over. He reached out to touch my face, as he slowly
laid me back on the bed. I wouldn't resist him, not in the state he
was in. He put one arm beside my head, and with the other hand, he
touched my hair.

"I want to hurt them." He snarled. "I can't
help it, I can't control it. I want to hurt them very badly,
Ash."

"You can't, they're my parents."

“They're taking you away. They're trying to
make you forget. I won't let them."

"You have too. If you don't then you'll be in
danger Julian."

"I don't care!" He backed away from me and
walked back to the fireplace. I didn't want to do anything to
provoke him, but then I had to say what was on my mind.

"Do you love me just because someone told you
that you were supposed to?"

He came to me quickly and pinned me down to
the bed, a position that I remember being in a couple of times with
him already. His face was violent, his teeth had grown and his eyes
were red. I wanted him. I shook my head, moving my hair from my
neck, as I had done once before. He closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Do it, Julian."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do what your body tells you to do. I don't
want to go home. I want to stay with you, and if I can't, I want
die." My voice cracked.

"You're crazy, Ash."

"Do it, Julian." His anger level grew. "Damn
it, Julian, do it now or I swear I will do it later."

He growled and went to my neck. I closed my
eyes and waited; wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pushed
his face closer to my neck. He nuzzled it softly and then brushed
it gently with his teeth. I shivered from that touch, but he never
bit down. Instead he started kissing me again, but this kiss didn't
end at my neck. He kissed my cheeks and my eyelids. Then he kissed
my mouth, softly, like an angel's kiss.

I looked into his silver orbs. He shook his
head and sighed. "Don't ever ask that of me again, Ash. You know I
couldn't do it." I smiled at him and then let out a shuttered
breath, one that I had been holding in. "Please, tell me that you
won't harm yourself."

"I won't." I hugged him tightly.

We lay on that bed for hours, just holding
each other. I could hear his heart, but its slow beat put me to
sleep. When I awoke, he was just putting another log on the fire.
He looked at me and smiled.

"Where did you live after Quinn was changed?
How did you ever meet Michael and David? When did you start to live
here?"

"I lived in the woods, just outside of the
small town that Victor lived in. Quinn never would leave him, but I
would never leave Quinn. So we stayed there for a long time." He
smiled. "I met Michael the same year we came here. The villagers
were hunting Victor, so, we left and came here. My great-great
grandparents built this place, therefore, we moved in when no one
was here. Michael was walking on the shore one day and he almost
fell into the ocean. He was drunk and we took him in. He has been
here ever since. David is a fairly new vampire, but he befriended
Michael one night after Mike saved him from some bullies that were
chasing him."

An hour later, Julian led me back to the
house and we said goodnight. That night I faked being sick so that
I could stay home from school the next day.

My mother left me by myself. She thought I
had gotten sick from spending the night on the beach. I changed the
answering machine message to say that I wasn't answering the phone,
but I was fine. After everyone left, I snuck out to see Julian and
tell him we were leaving the day after my birthday and that my
girlfriend, Gina, had invited me to the beach for a beach party in
my honor.

I had told her about Julian and the other
three before, just that I knew them, and she had told me to invite
them along. When Julian heard that he was invited, he was ecstatic,
but I could see that the others had something else in mind.

"You have to promise me that you won't do
anything to influence these girls. You don't need any added
attention brought on yourselves." Quinn smirked and looked out a
window. I walked over to him and touched his arm. "For me, I'm
asking you to behave."

"Don't worry." He looked down at me. "You
have my word."

Julian drove the five of us to the beach
where we were supposed to meet. When we arrived I introduced them
to the other girls and guys that were there. He and Gina smiled at
each other and the three of us were inseparable the entire
time.

Later, as the sun set, I told Gina that we
were leaving in the morning. She started to cry, then so did I, and
we hugged each other as we sat in the sand.

Julian walked over and sat near us on the
sand. "Are you two okay?" I nodded and then looked at Gina.
"Everyone's asking what to do next. I was thinking of inviting
everybody over and setting up a bonfire on the beach."

"Sounds good." Gina looked at the two of us.
"Why don't I spread the news and you two can talk?"

I smiled at her and then, as she walked away,
I looked back at Julian. He smiled at my bloodshot eyes, and then
pushed my hair out of my face. I smirked at him, and then attacked
him. He lay back in the sand and put his hands behind his head. I
climbed over so that I was lying almost on top of him, stomach to
stomach, with my hands under my chin.

"We could get in trouble if anyone saw us
like this,” I laughed.

"It's not like were sleeping together," he
said. I smiled and then I was suddenly on the bottom instead of on
top. I looked up as he leaned over and put his forehead to mine,
and then he kissed my nose.

"You want to say something; I can see it in
your eyes."

"You're so young, but your heart and your
mind, are centuries old." He spoke softly to me, as if he were
about to start reciting poetry. The words he said, though, made
sense to me. Being in my mother's womb for several centuries made
me think that maybe I had taken some of her knowledge and kept it
for myself. "Ash, I want ...no, never mind."

"What?" I asked, snapping back to this
reality.

"It can't happen, you're still too
young."

"Julian, what do you want?"

"You, I want you, but it's a want that I'll
have to deal with. It can't be now, but when you leave, when they
try to make you forget, just remember. Even if it's just in the
furthest corner of your mind remember that I will be here and we
will meet again. In the future, and then we can be together." He
smiled at me and kissed my nose again. A wolf whistle made Julian's
head snap up. He looked at Quinn and then at where Quinn was
pointing. "Your sisters are here."

"Oh, jeez." I sat up. "Quick, walk down the
beach. They can't see us together, not like this." He stood up,
looked at Quinn, who started to talk to Kim, and then at me and
walked away a little. Grace walked over and Kim soon followed. "And
you’re here, for what reason?"

"We came to say happy birthday," Kim smiled,
cheerfully.

"Thanks now go home." Gina came over and
looked at me.

"Where's, um ...Todd, have you seen him. I
seem to have misplaced him again."

"I think I saw him on the other side of the
tower." I smiled at her.

"We leave in five minutes."

"Where are you going?" Grace asked.

"Gina's bringing me to see her cousin and
then we're going to the movies." I got up. "Later." I meet Gina in
the parking lot and she looked at me oddly. "My mother thinks that
Julian's a bad influence and we shouldn't be hanging around
together."

"Ah, I see." Gina smiled as we got in the
car. "Secret love affairs, I love them."

The next morning, the five of us got into our
car and headed north. I whispered good-byes to Julian as we passed
his house. The excuse they had given on the hastiness of our
departure was that Dad had gotten a promotion, effective
immediately. So, a moving company was hired to pack up the house
and move it north when they were done. I wasn't impressed with this
lie, but I couldn't tell them that I knew the truth. For their
sake, I hoped that Julian and the others were now out of harm’s
way.