Demon Gates (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 2) Read online

  Demon Gates

  Helena Hawthorn Series Vol. 2

  MAY FREIGHTER

  Table of Contents

  1 Not So Happy Birthday

  2 Bittersweet Memories

  3 Donors Not Hookers

  4 A Simple Threat

  5 Confessions

  6 Friend Or Foe?

  7 Wanting To Be His

  8 Sis

  9 Stages Of Madness

  10 A Bird In A Cage

  11 Make Me Yours

  12 Ruined Afterglow

  13 Staatsoper

  14 Unstable

  15 A Real Partnership

  16 The Quinns

  17 A Theory To Test

  18 Similarities

  19 Seeking Danger

  20 Date Prerequisite

  21 Peace Never Lasts

  22 Family Matters

  23 Working Together

  24 Blood Gate

  25 Demon Wastelands

  26 Too Much Loss

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright © May Freighter, 2016.

  The right of May Freighter to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  This work is copyrighted. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design: May Freighter

  NOTE: This book is written in UK English.

  Some spelling may be different to U.S.

  www.mayfreighter.com

  1

  Not So Happy Birthday

  The white ceiling of her room stared back at Helena. She gingerly lifted the sheets and rolled up her tank top. Blood-red bandages spanned from her ribcage to her lower abdomen. Lazarus had gone too far this time.

  “I guess it wasn’t a dream.”

  She lowered the covers and scanned the room. Whoever was taking care of her had been kind enough to leave her phone on the bedside table. She reached for it and muttered an array of curses as the movement tugged at her raw wound. Instead of pursuing the idea further, she relaxed and glanced at the window. Light filtered in through the gaps in the curtains. She couldn’t be certain how much time had passed, but she had to know what day it was and if she had missed dinner with her parents.

  The door opened, and Perri peered inside. She beamed at Helena and shuffled over. Her brown eyes shimmered with what Helena guessed were unshed tears. Perri’s short blonde hair was tied into a short ponytail with a few loose locks tucked behind her ears, curving around them.

  “You’re finally awake,” Perri said.

  “How long was I asleep for?”

  Perri sat next to her on the bed, her smile fading. “Since yesterday. I tried to get Hans and that strange woman to take you to a hospital, but they assured me you would be fine after their blood was absorbed into your system.”

  Helena paled. “What do you mean?”

  “I know what they are. I prefer not to speak about it in case it causes Master Vincent trouble.”

  Helena nodded. “You had me fooled. I don’t know how many times the words nearly spilt out of my mouth. Hans warned me not to tell—Wait. Does he know?”

  “Yes, for some time now.”

  “And Laura? Where is she?”

  “She called last night and said she couldn’t make it. She’ll be back tonight to congratulate you.”

  Helena tried summoning memories from the previous night. After Lazarus left, Michael became strange. Her frown deepened at his final words. “Did Hans notice anything strange about me?”

  Perri seemed to struggle keeping a straight face. “Aside from the gaping hole in your stomach?”

  “Yes, my—”

  “Am I interrupting something?” Lucious’ deep voice came from the doorway.

  Helena glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  He sauntered over and glared at Perri. “Leave us.”

  Helena grabbed Perri’s wrist. “Don’t tell her what to do!”

  “I don’t know if I should get involved,” Perri said.

  “Indeed, you mustn’t. Now get out.”

  Helena tried to sit up. Torturous pain exploded in her abdomen, and she cried out.

  He was immediately at her side, pressing her back against the mattress. “Don’t move. You could reopen your wound.”

  “Don’t…touch me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Relax,” he said softly, and the soul-string between them stilled. Calm washed over her, loosening her muscles.

  “I’ll go get you something to eat,” Perri mumbled, rising.

  Helena shot her a pleading look. “You don’t…have to.”

  “Take care of her until I return,” Perri added and scurried out of the room.

  Lucious took the seat where Perri sat before him and tugged the sheets away from her body.

  Helena grabbed at them the best she could and missed. “What are you doing?”

  He held her down with one hand clasped around her shoulder and lifted her tank top with the other. “Nothing sexual, I assure you. I am merely curious about the damage you took. Your shields have become so weak that your pain and emotions are seeping through the link.”

  Her cheeks heated, and she turned her face away. “I’m sorry it’s become an inconvenience to you.”

  Lucious’ fingers traced the outline of the bandages, sending shivers down her body. She couldn’t understand why his touch was warm and every other vampire’s remained cold. Could our link be affecting him this much?

  He found the bandage clips and unhooked them, one at a time.

  Helena watched as he lifted her back off the mattress with great care and began undoing her dressing.

  “Try to not move. If anything hurts, tell me,” he said.

  She lowered her arms to her sides, giving her enough support to not require his help to stay upright.

  “Lucious,” she began in a shaky voice, “can you feel something different about me?”

  He paused on the last stretch of her bandages. “Anything, in particular, I should be on the lookout for?”

  “My string, Michael said it was grey.” Her voice trembled, but she went on, “He can’t guard me anymore because of it.”

  Lucious undid the last of the bandages and peeled off the bloody gauze, revealing a new layer of fresh pink skin where the wound was last night. How much blood did the vampires give me?

  “You are healing well. In a day or two, you can get out of bed.”

  She grabbed his hand. “I need to go out tonight. I have plans.”

  “Any plans can wait. Your well-being is more important.”

  “My mother will kill me if I miss dinner.” She gritted her teeth as she propped her back up against the headboard. The cool oak surface sent an unpleasant shiver through her. “Ask Perri to get me some painkillers.”

  He pressed his palm to her wound, and she cried out in agony. Tears rushed to the surface and spilt over when her stomach started to burn and her head pulsated.

>   “You will not leave until you have healed,” he said, removing his hand.

  Her vision blurred and her tears kept on falling. “Get out and stay away from me!”

  Perri burst into the room. Her eyes darted from Helena to Lucious. “Are you alright?”

  “Please get me some painkillers. I have to get ready,” Helena pleaded.

  Lucious stood. “You are not leaving this place unguarded.”

  Ignoring him, she shifted her legs to the edge of the bed until they were no longer on the mattress. “It would be odd for me to go to my birthday party with a stranger in tow.”

  “I can influence your parents and make certain they believe your celebration is tomorrow.”

  Helena’s voice rose along with the drumming of her heart in her head. “You are not brainwashing my parents. You hear me?”

  “Helena, he’s right. You can’t go alone or in the state you’re in,” Perri said.

  “Perri, I beg you. Get me some painkillers, please…”

  Perri didn’t wait long and scrambled out of the room.

  It hurt to sit. Her body was not going along with what her mind wanted. The pain changed from sharp to dull, but it didn’t stop. Her stomach clenched and nausea took over. She swallowed a couple of times in an attempt to trample the sick sensation.

  Lucious knelt in front of her. “I can feel your struggle, your pain, yet you persist on this course of action. Why?”

  She planted her hands firmly on either side of her for support. “I don’t know how much time I have left with them. Lazarus may appear at any time and finish what he started. I don’t want to have any regrets in my life. I won’t.”

  He grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look into his mesmerising blue-brown eyes that hid too many secrets behind them. “If I feed you my blood now, I am certain you will get better. But, after consuming a lot of vampire blood, I fear there may be side effects.”

  “What side effects?”

  “As I have heard, Zafira and the Council’s spy both gave you their blood. Adding more to the mixture in such a short amount of time could kill you.”

  Helena snorted. “That’s a side effect? I was under the impression it only healed people?”

  “Like with any medicine, the quantity remains important. It is why they didn’t give you enough to be fully healed. They simply couldn’t. And, if you died with their blood in your system, you’d become a ghoul.”

  “I’ll be fine with a few painkillers.” She set her feet on the ground and slowly stood. The room began to swim around her.

  Lucious’ fingers dug into her shoulders. His powerful arms were the only things keeping her vertical. When the wave of dizziness dissipated, she pushed him away.

  “I’m alright,” she whispered.

  “Tonight, I will go with you.”

  She peeked at his stern face which told her that any of her complaints would be shot down. Lowering her head, she staggered towards the door. For every step she made, Lucious did the same. Past her discomfort, a faint smile managed to escape her. This vampire sure was stubborn.

  The painkillers managed to dull the pain and take her nausea away, but not enough to give her courage to pretend she was fine for the entire evening. Her fingers tensed around her upper arms. It was already past eight. The air was getting chilly as they stood in front of her parent’s home.

  Lucious watched her with a mixture of amusement and concern. She couldn’t tell which was more prominent. His eyes followed her every movement and his lips upturned.

  “Do you want me to ring the bell?” he asked.

  “No! No. I will do it. I will. When I have enough courage…”

  “Will your courage come tonight or must we wait until the end of the year?”

  She punched him in the arm, and he chuckled.

  “I am glad to see your spirits have returned.” Lucious pressed the small brass buzzer.

  The loud tweeting of the bird on the other side of the door made Helena want to disperse with the evening breeze. Her mother was going to misread their relationship. She mentally shook her head. They had no relationship.

  Helena heard her mother on the other side telling Richard she would answer the door as it opened. Sasha wore a pink knee-length dress that wrapped around her pale skin. She smiled at Helena, but like a hawk, she immediately locked on Lucious who bowed his head in greeting.

  “Mrs Hawthorn, it is a pleasure to meet you. Your daughter has spoken very fondly of you,” Lucious said.

  Helena held in the urge to kick him. He was acting like Alexander would with one of his whores. She forced a smile, hoping some of it looked authentic.

  He took her mother’s hand and raised it to his lips, brushing them against her skin. Helena had never seen Sasha Hawthorn blushing through her make-up till now.

  “Oh my, aren’t you a gentleman? My daughter forgot to mention she was bringing her...”

  “Friend,” Helena finished for her.

  “I’m Lucious, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Well then,” Sasha beamed at him, “don’t stand there in the cold. Come in.”

  Her mother’s stare was on Helena as they entered the house.

  Richard peered around the corner and came over, only pausing to study the man next to her before he wrapped Helena in a warm bear hug.

  The pain in her abdomen resurfaced like a sudden jab in the gut, and she bit her lip hard enough to taste blood. She drew away from her step-father, keeping her face low.

  Lucious tugged her to one side and helped her out of her coat.

  Clearing her throat, Sasha got everyone’s attention. “We’ll wait in the living room. Helena can show you the way.” She pulled her husband after her.

  “Are you alright? I can smell blood…” Lucious whispered into Helena’s ear.

  “Fine. I’m fine.”

  He took off his jacket and hung their outdoor attire on the coat hanger.

  “Your lip is bleeding.” He reached out, but she brushed his hand aside.

  “You are my friend, remember? Don’t let them question your presence.”

  “Would it be so bad for them to believe we are romantically involved? It would allow me to take care of you when you are suffering.”

  “I don’t want to lie to my parents more than I have to.” She slipped out of her shoes and turned on her heel. “Let’s go.”

  Helena marched down the hallway with Lucious trailing close behind. She peeked around the corner of the living room to find her mother and Richard setting another set of cutlery and a plate for Lucious.

  “Come in and take your seats,” Richard called.

  Lucious and Helena complied. Her nerves seemed to be piling up like rocks at the bottom of her stomach with every assessing look her mother stole when she thought Lucious wasn’t paying attention.

  Richard sat in a chair, and Sasha waved for Helena to follow.

  Reluctantly, she left her seat and trailed after her mother into the kitchen.

  Sasha grasped her by the shoulders and turned her daughter to face her. Big brown eyes searched her face for something. Sasha frowned and spoke in hushed tones, but Helena knew Lucious would hear them, anyway.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” her mother asked. “All this time, I believed you were going to get together with Andrew, and you come home with a male model.”

  A pang of guilt shot through Helena’s chest at the mention of Andrew’s name. He hadn’t once sent her a letter or an e-mail since he was turned. And, five months ago, Lucious told Helena that Andrew blamed her for becoming a vampire.

  “Lucious is not my boyfriend. He’s only a friend, Mum.”

  Her mother raised a brow. “Uhuh, and I’m Mary Poppins. Still, isn’t he a bit old for you? I mean, I liked older men when I was your age, but he’s got, at least, seven years on you.”

  Helena snorted inwardly. More like one-hundred and twenty. She glanced at the side dishes on the counter. “I’ll bring in the food.”
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  Not waiting for her mother’s reply, she brushed past her to grab the plates and hurried out of the kitchen.

  In the dining room, Lucious and Richard sat at the table, laughing about something. Helena almost sighed with relief at the relaxed atmosphere Lucious managed to create with her step-father. She set the dishes on the table and concentrated on their connection. “You didn’t brainwash Richard, did you?”

  Lucious smiled pleasantly at her as she finished placing the last plate on the table. His voice sent shivers through her as it echoed in her mind. “No, I did not. We have simply found a few common interests.”

  Helena sat next to him, uncertain if she should believe him or not. She studied her step-father. He seemed to be his usual self.

  Richard placed his elbows on the table and leant in. “Lucious told me you two met at college. I am glad you finally made new friends in your course.”

  “Yes, he practically knows everything about the myths.” She refrained from adding, “because he is one.”

  “I have made many lifelong friends when I was in college,” Richard said, smiling. “You should try to be more open-minded about people.”

  Helena raised a brow. How much more of an open mind could she have when she was surrounded by the undead, the living, angels, and demonic beings that didn’t belong in their realm?

  Lucious interjected, “You may not know this, but she made a number of friends over the past year. Our classmates are usually fighting for her attention.”

  Sasha gravitated to her seat next to Richard. “She never told me any of this.”

  “I guess she is shy about the topic,” Lucious explained.

  Helena kicked him under the table. “Stop it.”

  Lucious grinned. “Your cheeks have regained their colour. Are you embarrassed, my dear?”

  Sasha cleared her throat, and Helena realised she was staring at Lucious and ignoring everyone else in the room. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

  “We should eat,” Sasha said.

  Helena picked up her knife and fork then looked at her plate. It was empty. She lowered her cutlery and hung her head as heat climbed up her neck.