Desired

“But don’t tell anybody,” she said. “There are a few others, too. But most of the Royals are human. They want to be among us. But there are strict rules here, and it’s not allowed. It’s us and them, and we’re not allowed to cross that line. There are certain members of the royal family we don’t want to have too much power. And Marie insists on it, too.

“Anyway, this is just the most fabulous place. I can’t imagine it ever coming to an end. There’s party after party, endless dances, balls, concerts… There’s going to be the most fabulous one this week. An opera, actually. I already have my outfit picked out.”

As they approached the doors, several servants scurried to open them. The golden doors were massive, and Sam looked at them, awestruck, as he walked through.

Polly marched right down a huge, marble corridor, as if she owned the place, and Sam hurried to keep up. As they walked, Sam looked all around, amazed by the opulence. They walked down endless corridors made of marble, with enormous crystal chandeliers hanging low, reflecting the light off of dozens of gilded mirrors. The sun poured in and reflected the light in every direction.

They went through door after door, and finally entered a huge parlor, made of marble, with columns all around it. Several guards stood at attention as Polly entered.

Polly just giggled, apparently immune to them. “We also get to train here,” she said. “Their facilities are the best. Aiden has us on a hard schedule. I’m surprised that he let me break to come get you. You must be pretty important.”

“So where is he?” Sam asked. “When will I get to meet him?”

“My, you are impatient, aren’t you? He’s a very busy man. He might not choose to meet you for some time. Or he might summon you right away. Don’t worry, you’ll know when he wants to see you. Give it time. In the meantime, I’ve been asked to show you to your room.”

“My room?” Sam asked, surprised. “Wait a second. I didn’t say I could stay here. Like I said, I really need to find my sister,” Sam began to protest – but at that moment, a huge set of double doors opened before them.

An entourage of royals suddenly entered, surrounding a woman in the middle, who they carried on a royal throne.

They set her down, and as they did, Polly bent low, gesturing for Sam to do the same. He did.

A woman who could have only been Marie Antoinette, slowly got down, took several steps towards them, and stopped right before Sam, gesturing for him to rise. He did.

She looked Sam up and down, as if he were an object of interest.

“So, you’re the new boy,” she said, expressionless. Her green eyes burned with an intensity he’d never seen, and he could, indeed, sense that she was one of theirs.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she nodded. “Interesting.”

With that, she walked right past them, and her entourage quickly followed.

But one person lingered behind, clearly one of the royals. She looked to be about 17, and was dressed in a royal blue, velvet gown, from head to toe. She had the fairest skin that Sam had ever seen, set against long, curly blonde hair, and piercing aqua eyes. She fixed them right on Sam, locking them onto his.

He felt helpless in her gaze, unable to look anywhere else.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

After several seconds, she took a step forward, and stared even closer into his eyes. She reached out her hand, palm down, clearly expecting him to kiss it. She moved slowly, proudly.

Sam took her hand, and was electrified at the touch of her skin. He pulled her fingertips close, and kissed them.

“Polly?” the girl said. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

It wasn’t a question. It was a command.

Polly cleared her throat, reluctantly.

“Kendra, Sam,” she said. “Sam, Kendra.”

Kendra, Sam thought, staring into her eyes, taken aback by how aggressively she stared back at him, as if he were already her property.

“Sam,” she echoed, smiling. “A bit simple. But I like it.”

Chapter Six

Kyle smashed through the stone sarcophagus with a single punch. It smashed into a million bits, and he walked right out of the standing coffin, on his feet, and ready for action.

He wheeled and looked about, ready to fight anyone who approached. In fact, he was hoping that someone approached him for a fight. This time travel had been particularly annoying, and he was ready to let his rage out on someone.

But as he looked around, to his disappointment, he saw that the chamber was empty. It was just him.

Slowly, his rage began to cool. At least he’d landed in the right place, and he could already sense, the right time. He knew that he was more of a veteran of time travel than Caitlin, and he could place himself more specifically. He looked around, and to his satisfaction, saw that he landed exactly where he’d wanted to be: Les Invalides.

Les Invalides was a place he’d always loved, one that had been important to the more evil of his kind. A mausoleum, deep underground, it was made of marble, beautifully adorned, sarcophagi lining its walls. The building had a cylindrical shape, with a soaring, hundred foot ceiling, culminating in a dome. It was a somber place, the perfect resting place for all of France’s elite soldiers. It was also the place, Kyle knew, that Napoleon would one day be buried.

But not yet. It was only 1789, and Napoleon, that little bastard, was still alive. One of Kyle’s favorites of his own kind. He would be about 20 years old now, Kyle realized, still starting his career. He wouldn’t be buried in this place for some time to come. Of course, being of his race, Napoleon’s burial was just a ruse, just a way to let the human masses think he was one of theirs.

Kyle smiled at the thought of it. Here he was, in Napoleon’s final resting place, before Napoleon had even “died.” He would look forward to seeing him again, to reminiscing about old times. He was, after all, one of few people of his kind that Kyle semi-respected. But he was also an arrogant little bastard. Kyle would have to slap him into shape.

Kyle walked slowly across the marble floor, footsteps echoing, and checked himself. He had seen better days. He had lost one eye from that horrible little child, Caleb’s son, and his face was still disfigured from what Rexius had done to him back in New York. If that weren’t enough, he now had a large wound in his cheek from the spear that Sam had hurled at him in the Colosseum. He was a wreck, he knew.

But he also kind of liked it. He was a survivor. He was alive, and no one had been able to stop him. And he was madder than ever. Not only was he determined to stop Caitlin and Caleb from finding the Shield, but now he was determined to make them both pay. To make them suffer, just as he had suffered. Sam was on his list now, too. All three of them – he would stop at nothing until he tortured each of them slowly.

With a few leaps, Kyle bounded up the marble staircase, and into the upper level of the tomb. He circled around, walking down to the end of the chapel, beneath the huge dome, and reached behind the altar. He felt its limestone wall, searching.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. He pushed a hidden latch, and a secret compartment opened. He reached in, and pulled out a long, silver sword, its hilt encrusted with jewels. He held it up to the light, and studied it with satisfaction. Just as he remembered it.

He slung it over his back, turned, and headed down the corridor, reaching the front door. He leaned back, and with one huge kick, the large oak door when flying off its hinges, the crash of it echoing throughout the empty building. Kyle felt satisfied that he had his full strength back already.

Kyle saw that it was still night, and he relaxed. If he wanted to, he could fly through the night, head right for his target – but he wanted to savor his time. Paris in 1789 was a special place. It was still, he remembered, rife with prostitutes, alcoholics, gamblers, criminals. Despite the nice veneer and architecture, there lived an underbelly that was long and wide. He loved it. The town was his for the taking.

Kyle lifted his chin, listening, sensing, closing his eyes. He could sense Caitlin’s presence strongly in this city. And Caleb’s. Sam, he wasn’t so sure about, but he knew that at least the two of them were here. That was good. Now all he had to do was find them. He would come upon them by surprise, and, he imagined, kill them both quite easily. Paris was a much simpler place. There was no grand vampire Council, like in Rome, that he had to answer to. Even better, there was a strong evil coven here, led by Napoleon. And Napoleon owed him.

Kyle decided that his first order of business would be to track down the little runt and make him reciprocate. He would enlist all of Napoleon’s men to do whatever they could to track down Caitlin and Caleb. He knew Napoleon’s men could be useful if he should run into resistance. He would leave nothing to chance this time.

But he still had time. He could feed first, and get both his feet planted firmly on the ground. Plus, his plan here was already set in motion. Before he’d left Rome, he’d tracked down his old sidekick, Sergei, and had sent him back here ahead of him. If all had gone as planned, Sergei was here already, and hard at work executing their mission, infiltrating Aiden’s coven. Kyle smiled wide. There was nothing he loved more than a traitor, than a little weasel like Sergei. He had become a most useful plaything.

Kyle bounded down the steps like a schoolboy, filled with joy, ready to plunge right into the city, to take whatever he wanted.

As Kyle headed down the street, a street artist approached him, holding out a canvas and brush, gesturing for Kyle to allow him to paint his picture. If there was anything Kyle hated, it was someone wanting to draw his picture. He was in such a good mood, though, he decided to let the man live.

But when the man pressed his case, following Kyle aggressively, thrusting his canvas towards him, he pushed it too far. Kyle reached over, grabbed his brush, and jabbed it right between the man’s eyes. A second later, the man dropped dead.

Kyle took the canvas and tore it up over his corpse.

Kyle continued on, quite happy with himself. This was already turning out to be a great night.

As he turned down a cobblestone alley, heading into the district he remembered, everything began to feel familiar again. Several prostitutes lined the streets, beckoning him. At the same time, two large men stumbled out of a bar, clearly drunk, and bumped hard into Kyle, not looking where they were going.