Justin's POV
There is this saying that goes 'Life works in mysterious ways' or something along those lines. When you have lived long enough you can say that with certainty, knowing you couldn't be more right about it. With all the things you've seen you have this theory that reincarnation does happen and that in your previous life you had to be some kind of atrocious swine, which enjoyed hurting people, to be living the hell I find myself in every single day. I always try to keep a positive out take of things by telling myself that this time is going to be different and when I go out there to fight the, oh so called good fight, someone is going to decapitate me and I won't have to deal with this shit anymore. I still haven't found a worthy opponent, but dreaming about him or her or it doesn't hurt anyone. Then again, tomorrow I'll wake up and I won't feel like this and vindictive will be the special of the day. Then I won't be dreaming about someone killing me; I'll be imagining the many ways to make it very painful for the people I'm going after.
I'm in the car with the boys. We have a job to do. It's simple; we go in and kill everything evil and then come out and find more things to kill. The boys, hmmm… aI'm not one of them. I know that they put up with me because they need me. I have saved their sorry asses more times than I care to count. And you would think they would try to pay back the favor or at the very least pretend like they tried to, but that really doesn't happen. Their logic is that since I can't die, at least not while someone is using the wrong instrument like a gun or a knife, then what's the point of risking their lives for mine. What they don't know is that it hurts like a bitch to get stabbed or shot at.
"We're here," Marcus says as he goes inside the parking lot, which is underground. I really don't like him very much. I never liked his family or his friends. "Are you guys ready?" he asks and I can't help but roll my eyes.
He always asks the same thing. If we're not ready to do this by now we have a big ass problem. I smile because I can hear their heartbeats going very fast. I don't think about it or give myself a pep talk as I get out of the car. I don't bother to check my guns or my sword. I start walking to the elevators and they follow knowing I will lead them exactly to what we're looking for.
I think briefly how I could turn around and kill all of them. Go back to the mansion and annihilate everyone that would represent a threat to me. Then I would walk away from all of it and never look back. I could go and explore the world and do whatever the fuck I want, but I don't. Mostly because I'm used to do this, it's my job. Also because I'm still angry and I let it out on what you could call my real family. A hundred years and I still hold a grudge. But I'm not some human that has to let go in order to be happy and live his life without all the stress and drama. I can have this bitterness eat at me for a thousand years and then consider letting go of it, consider it.
"Prepare yourselves," Marcus instructs.
For the love of god, is he really serious? Once we are inside the elevator I press the button to the fifth floor and move to the back. If anyone ever met me and found out about what I do, they might wonder how I ended up with Marcus and his soldiers, like I love to call them. When I was turned I was so pissed because…I had a family that I loved very much. But they didn't care about them. They raped all of them and I mean all of them, they drank from them and tortured them. Then they made me watch as they killed them one by one and I had to pick the order in which they died. At first I didn't want to but then they started torturing them again and I had to. I couldn't let them suffer any longer.
They didn't touch a hair on me because as soon as their leader saw me he told everyone hands off. He said I was going to be a present for his sire because that would make his master happy and very proud of him. I tried to run away a couple of times and in my last attempt they just knocked me unconscious. I woke up in a dark room in someone's bed completely naked and smelling of vanilla and cinnamon. And he was there waiting for me. I was only sixteen years old, in some ways I still am, I was scared out of my mind. I cried when he started talking to me telling me how pretty I was. He said he could smell my virginity and that it belonged to him.
I fought him for as long as I could but he was stronger than me. He took me by force and then turned me. Then for what it felt like an eternity he kept torturing me. There was even a time where he chained me to that room for months. Always doing what he wanted to me and I hated him. Until one day William and his people came into the house killing every demon in sight. My sire had been sleeping and when they came to kill him I helped. Then I got on my knees and begged them to kill me too. Marcus grandfather didn't let them; he had plans for me. William freed me and taught me to fight and found a way to feed me that didn't involve me killing humans. Then ever since I've been in that house, generation after generation and helping them while they help me with my revenge. I never liked William or Frank or Marcus, I guess it runs in the family to be arrogant assholes that I dislike.
"It's very quiet," Kevin points out as we step out of the elevator. He's Marcus little brother and not as bad as the rest of the family.
I push my way to the front and right away I know something is wrong. If I had a heartbeat it would be beating as fast as theirs. "We have to leave."
"Leave?" Roman asks me in disbelief.
"Something is not right," I tell them. I can feel it in each of my bones. "We have to leave right now," I tell them. I don't know what the problem is exactly, but I know something is not right.
Then it happens, out of the shadows comes a figure and attacks us. The guy knocks Marcus back and then kills Roman. I know he's gone before his body touches the floor. I pull out my gun and start shooting him on the back, in this business everything goes. He turns around hissing and I don't stop shooting. I know who he is and he's not happy to see me, the sentiment is returned. I pull my sword and he punches me hard on the face. For a moment he looks at me wondering why I'm not going down.
"I'm not a fledging anymore, Michael," I spit out his name with fury. Then I swing the weapon in my hands managing to cut a straight line across his chest. I know he was caught of guard and I can't help but smirk.
He hisses at me and tries to attack me but I move back each time he takes a swing. I didn't know he was alive. This is the guy that I wished everyday I had been able to take revenge on the most, but thought William's people had killed him. He's the warrior that wanted to please his sire; he's the one that tormented my family and ended my life as I knew it.
Marcus has already gotten up and is now starting to shoot at Michael. Kevin was shooting at him too, but Michael wasn't going down. I can hear the elevator and I know it's the rest of the guys coming up. But then it all goes to hell because as soon as they step out to help us two other guys come from the shadows. I know they are very young and by the way Michael is watching out for them I know they are his. It turns into a war zone and my humans are dropping down fast. I know that in situations like this I only can do so much. I grab Kevin because he's the closest of the two brothers and also because I like him better than Marcus. Someone has to come alive out of this to keep the family tradition. I see that Marcus is pulling back and for a moment I think Michael is going to go after them…I should know better by now.
As we run we manage to lose Michael and his boys. I manage to get Kevin to hide after a hundred protests and then I'm running again. I know they will follow me. They must want to kill a traitor like me. That's how they see me I'm sure. After all I live killing vampires, demons and everything in between that's evil. I get to the emergency door and then I'm running up the stairs. After a few floors I go through one of the doors back into the building. By the smell I know that they were making some kind of spell. I see blood on the floor and as I keep walking the bodies start appearing. They are probably people that worked in here that made some kind of deal and didn't know what they were getting themselves into. I've seen it all before.
Then it happens, something I wasn't prepared for, not in a million years. The more I live the more I find truth in things. Life works in mysterious ways was something that I learned was truth a long time ago. Now as I stand there not running anymore because there are two guys in front of me I discover that reincarnation is another truth of life, for many reasons I might add. I also learn that it must be true and not my imagination that I was a horrible person in the past life and this is really my hell. This is payment and someone up or down there is making sure I suffer through it all.
"Surprised?" he asks with a grin and takes a step forward.
I hear Michael and his kids running towards me and then they stop. Suddenly I feel like I did that day in that dark room. This can't be happening to me. I reach for my sword but he's way too fast. He grabs it and then pulls me up by the neck. I try to fight him but I can't. He keeps backing away until my back is pressed against the window.
"You've been a very naughty boy, Justin," he tells me letting the 's' drag before he finishes my name.
I can see the anger in his eyes and who can blame him? I'm racking my brain trying to find an explanation for this. Then again I know nothing about my kind except what I've learned from the Macklin family. My kind is an evil race that needs to be destroyed at all cost and I've heard it for so long that it comes natural to me to do so.
"Don't worry," he whispers close to my ear. "I'm going to take pleasure on breaking you in," he mutters and licks my earlobe. "Yet again."
I cringe and he puts me on the floor. He steps back with this wicked smile that I know all too well. He's going to do something awful to me and he's going to take pleasure in doing so. He moves so quickly that I barely have time to acknowledge it. He pierces me right through the heart with so much force that I break through the glass. I'm send flying out of the building and I should be thinking of things that matter. Things like how I need a plan to get out of this predicament, it could be the fact that in a few minutes the sun will be out and I'll probably be left to burn, and boy does that hurt like a motherfucker. I can think of things like I have enough time to end my own life so they won't have the satisfaction of doing it later or at the very least the fact that when my body finally lands on the ground is going to hurt like a bitch since I'm obviously going to break everyone bone in my body.
But no, the only thing present in my mind right now is how much I hate my sire.