The Board Short Story Series: Sanaa's Fate Dorothy Darrow Copyright 2012 by Dorothy Darrow Smashwords Edition This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Smashwords License Statement Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. Written in the U.S.A. Sanaa had fallen to her knees hours ago, but she still couldn't get up. Rubble simmered all around her. Emergency vehicles had never shown up. They never did in those cases. Her life was gone. Her entire clan, her master, all of her possessions, had been in Jax's club when the New Order struck. They had taken everything from Sanaa. What was going to happen to her when the sun came up? Jax's cruel face dwelled in her mind. She couldn't get the white skin and with hollow cheeks and bruised purple circles under his blank black eyes out of her head. She knew shouldn't cry for him--in fact, she hated him--but she couldn't help it. He was dead, which meant any chance she had to fulfill her dream was dead, too. She needed to leave. She had heard that Slayers stuck around after a bombing to pick off survivors, vampire or not. To the New Order of Slayers, anyone who associated with the vampire race was fair game. Sanaa had no more tears left to cry, but she continued to mourn the death of her dream. She tried to will herself to leave, but she couldn't make her body move. She needed to find a place to stay. Homelessness in that city was dangerous for everyone, humans and vampires alike. She hoped she'd be able to find a clan to take her in even though she'd already been marked. She had a single friend left who might let her stay with him, even though he'd never done so for anyone else before. But if he felt only half as much pity for her and she did for herself, he'd give in. Sanaa ordered her body to get up. Her legs wobbled as she rose and straightened them. They tingled fiercely, as if the underside of her skin was made of hot needles that continuously prickled her muscles. She gave her legs a chance to regain strength before moving any farther. Once they were ready, she gave what used to be her home one final glance and turned around. The shock knocked Sanaa back to the ground. She didn't know how long the man had been standing behind her. Right behind her. She threw her arms in front of her chest and face, shielding herself from a Slayer attack, but the man did nothing. Sanaa warily lowered her guard. Once she could see clearly, she realized the man wasn't paying her any attention. More than that, the man was a vampire--nothing to fear. He was statuesque, gorgeous, and he possessed the same piercing eyes Sanaa had grown accustomed to having all around her. He stared at the ruins. His lips moved slightly. He seemed to be counting to himself. Sanaa realized he was sensing how many victims had fallen to the bomb. Sanaa knew the number was in the hundreds, and that was only accounting for the regulars. The immortal released his gaze from the club. He looked directly at Sanaa, reading her soul. Though her hair was down and masking her scar, the look on his face relayed that he knew what she was. Sanaa stared at him in awe. He had to be exceedingly powerful to sense so much with such little effort. He was probably the strongest vampire Sanaa had ever encountered. "Were you supposed to be in there?" he asked, his voice surprisingly gentle, with a pleasant, old-fashioned Southern drawl that didn't exist anymore except in old movies. Sanaa timidly bobbed her head up and down. The immortal took note of the time on his shining platinum watch. "The sun rises in eighteen minutes. Do you have anywhere to go?" Sanaa glanced at the annihilated club, half-hoping it would answer for her. The vampire reached his hand toward her, startling her. For a split second, she thought he was going to strike her, but she realized he was simply offering to help her up. Her hand trembled as she reached up and accepted his assistance. His freezing skin was a comfort. The vampire effortlessly and gently pulled her to a stand. Her knees were still weak from her extended kneeling, and they involuntarily buckled. Sanaa fell into the vampire. He didn't take offense. He patiently helped her steady her stance. "My name is Colonel Ambrose Charles Craft," he introduced himself. Ambrose. It was such a pretty name. Sanaa was sure she had heard it before, but her foggy mind couldn't remember where. Ambrose kept his frigid hands around her shoulders and escorted her shuffling, miserable body across the street to where a short black limo waited. Through the heavily tinted windows, Sanaa saw drawn blackout curtains. She suddenly realized who Ambrose was. Jax had forbidden her from associating with him or anyone he worked with. Jax didn't trust them. He said they would put everyone in prisons with scalding hot showers blasting all day and night. From his rants, Sanaa had gotten the notion that Jax was afraid of them. But Jax was gone. The protection he had promised was gone. The life he had promised was gone. And Ambrose was there with her now, having already helped her more than Jax ever had. As Ambrose opened the back door for Sanaa, keeping one hand on her back to keep her from falling, he made a promise. "The Board will take care of you." #### About the Author Dorothy Darrow is a writer from the United States. She has degrees in many creative pursuits, including writing. She likes to write supernatural fiction, such as vampire novels. That is all she wants you to know. For now. Connect With Dorothy Darrow Online: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Dorothy-Darrow Website: http://www.dorothydarrow.weebly.com Read more vampire fiction at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DorothyDarrow Look for the second novel in the Vampire Queen series, When the Moon Tires of the Night, a prequel to These Flowers Have a Taste for Blood that partly explains how the Queen's prophecy formed, out in late 2013.