by Danae Ayusso
The woman dismissively waved their guards away and they disappeared much the same as they appeared, and she looked up at me, her red eyes burning with power. “So this is the child that is the cause of all this drama?” she asked, her voice melodic and no longer edged with authority and power.
I struggled to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat.
Dr. Willa bowed and motioned for me to do the same so I did. “Your Excellency,” she humbly greeted.
“Fae, you are no longer required,” the man said.
Again, Dr. Willa nodded, but I grabbed her hand before she could run like the others.
She looked at me curiously.
“Thank you,” I said then pulled her into me and hugged her tight. “Thank you for healing me and tending to my wounds, and for coming as quickly as you did. I will forever be in your debt.”
Dr. Willa looked up at me and smiled before caressing my cheek. “Simply amazing,” she whispered then disappeared in a shimmering of golden luster that floated to the floor before disappearing into the wood.
Luka hopped off the altar and hurried over to the woman and hugged her tight. “Mom! I’m glad you got my messages.”
Mom?!
‘Sires, Makers, not biological.’
The ones Tybalt mentioned? Aleksei Chaikovskaya and Maiya Illich-Svitych?
‘Yes.’
“We are as biological as your natural parents were,” the woman, Maiya, scolded. “Our blood runs through your veins just as our venom runs through them. And you, my wearisome baby boy, are nothing but trouble,” she informed Luka and he smiled wide. “Keep your father company while I speak with your brother and the child. Allow him to smooth over your most recent indiscretion and to work his terrifying negotiation style on the local Senatus. There is much to discuss and you have started something that we cannot turn back from.”
To my surprise, Luka nodded before kissing her on the cheek then went over to the man, Aleksei, and kissed him on the cheek in traditional European fashion before they headed for the doors.
“There is a fantastic strip club not far from here. They have the best and most creative snack delivery methods,” Luka beamed.
Aleksei chuckled. “Sounds promising, Son,” he said.
Once the doors closed behind them, she got down to business.
“Come down, Child. Let’s take a look at you,” Maiya said, waving for me to join them.
I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat; the woman was powerful, beautiful, cultured, possessed strength I wasn’t capable of having a hundredth of, and she terrified me.
Fear prevented me from moving, speaking, or even remembering how to breathe.
That wasn’t normal.
“Dear, tell her to come down,” Maiya instructed Andrei.
Andrei sighed. “Master, it would be of no use. The stubborn creature can deny my command at will. She is unlike any Scion ever created.”
Maiya gasped, her eyes wide. “I dare say, that is most intriguing. Never have I heard of a Scion being able to deny their Maker’s command before.”
My eyes widened.
The idea of being at a man’s, or any creature’s, control and beck and call was not something I wanted, and it sure in the heck wasn’t something I’d ever approve of or do! I ran from Usk to get away from a controlling monster, one that I still have nightmares about, and to think that I thought I was finally free from a controlling monster just to get a new one, was unacceptable.
Andrei sighed. “Calm down. It is not like that and I would never command you to do something that would go against your wishes,” he said, looking up at me.
“You drove an invisible dagger through my heart and a hot branding iron in my head when barking orders at me when I was at the cemetery!” I snapped at him and his eyes widened. “Sorry. That was rude, but you did.”
He nodded his agreement. “And yet you disobeyed my orders.”
“It wasn’t easy at first. It wasn’t until Tybalt came to my rescue when he heard my cries of distress,” I retorted, giving him a look. “As much as you hate him for being near what is yours,” I sneered the latter, making a mocking face, and he rolled his eyes, “Tybalt never once hurt me like you’ve repeatedly done. Something to think about the next time you feel the need to shove a branding iron in my head or a dagger in my heart.”
Of course he had no comment for that.
“Hmph,” Maiya huffed. “The last creature that spoke so brazenly to one of my sons I disemboweled.”
That doesn’t surprise me in the least.
‘Be nice.’
Hello Pot.
‘I am not calling you Kettle.’
I couldn’t help but giggle, and he winked.
“You can already telepathically communicate,” she continued, obviously irritated that we weren’t including her in our conversation.
Andrei nodded. “It was a surprise to me as well, Master. Usually centuries of an established bond are required. To have it immediately is concerning.”
The corners of her full, glossy red lips pulled up into a smirk, and her red eyes sparkled when my smile fell.
Suddenly she was standing in front of me and I jumped back with a shriek.
“You have nothing to fear from me at the moment, Child,” she assured me, her eyes moving over me, appraisingly. “I am your grandmother through venom-”
“Maiya Illich-Svitych,” I blurted out.
She cocked an overly sculpted black eyebrow. “Yes.”
“Why did the others just up and leave without question when you walked in?” I asked, trying to wrap my mind around all of this.
In my extremely limited experience, it was never good when the authority of something is terrified of someone, especially someone in a corset.
“Because we ordered them away,” she said as if it were obvious. “You have no idea who I am, do you?”
I shook my head. “Andrei’s Maker and that is the extent of it.”
Softly she growled under her breath and I backed away from her.
Maiya stopped growling and forced a smile, and that’s when I saw the overly long fangs, all eight of them: two on both sides, top and bottom. “You are a new born, a baby in essence, thus you have not learned of our world. You have slept through two thaumaturgical cycles, which is concerning but not surprising with what has transpired as of late-”
“It’s been a month?!” I interrupted. “Oh no. No. No. No. Mia mamma! She has to think I’m dead or something,” I stammered and started freaking out. “I’m all she has left even if that monster won’t let her talk to me,” I tried to explain, but through my hysterics they couldn’t understand a word out of my mouth.
Maiya stepped away from me. “Perhaps this is why I never had daughters. Son, be a dear and do something to fix this.”
Andrei hurried to join us. “I talked to Giada,” he promised, taking my face between his hands, forcing me to look at him. “Your mother was not happy that I, a strange man, was calling her about her daughter. After threatening and cursing me for nearly an hour straight, she was happy to hear that you were safe and merely under the weather.” Tenderly he used his thumbs to wipe away the tears staining my cheeks. “I informed Giada you moved to a much nicer building that is safer, where there are no crackheads or drunks using the entryway as a toilet, with security even, and that you got a new job which pays many times more than the last, and that you were busy with training and being sick meant you went to bed early every night.”
“Really?” I hiccupped.
“Really. Before the sunrises you can call her. If you need to see your mother-”
“The monster won’t let her see me,” I sniveled.
“Then I will disembowel the beast and you may dance upon his grave,” he offered with a soft smile.
The corners of my mouth twitched.
“That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever offered to do for me,” I said.
He smiled fuller. “Then it shall be done.”
Andrei pressed his finger against my lips to silence them then shook his head. “You said I could not kill so do not give me reason to do just that. Okay?”
I quickly nodded with wide eyes.
“I swear to you, an oath, that the monster you ran from, and every other that is foolish enough to crawl out of the shadows, will never hurt you as long as I draw breath.”
Tenderly he wiped away the tear that rolled down my cheek, his eyes moving over my face.
“It is my solemn vow to you,” he whispered. “There is a new cell phone in your room, and one was delivered to your mother with extreme discretion so you can see her care of video chat or whatever it is… Luka took care of selecting the model and assured me it would do what I required it to. Once this night has concluded and you have fed, you may touch base with those you feel the need to.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “Can we get cheeseburgers? I’m really craving them.”
Maiya applauded, joining her son now that he had calmed me down.
For a passing moment, I had nearly forgotten the terrifying vampire was standing there.
“I dare say, she does bring out a side of you that very few have gotten the honor of seeing…” her words trailed off and her eyes moved over my face many times, as if something just occurred to her. “That is a rather interesting choice in hair style.”
I blushed, smoothing my hair down. “I didn’t get a chance to brush it, sorry.”
“That is not what I was speaking of,” she dryly informed me, her eyes narrowing and focusing on my hair.
Okay.
“The skunk stripe, as my brother calls it, is a family thing,” I said, deducing that’s what her problem was. “It isn’t a fashion choice or my attempt at being punk or an X-Man. The white is from a condition called poliosis circumscripta. Giovanni had it in front like I do and white eyelashes like mine, twinsies as he called us… He died when I was younger. Blood condition that came out of nowhere, they said. He was my only sibling and best friend. He can’t come in here. Is there a way to un-Catholic this place?” I rambled, the way I did when nervous.
Maiya’s head tilted to the side, as if everything I just said was in an unfamiliar language. “Is she always so odd?” she complained.
“Endearing,” Andrei instantly corrected, causing me to blush. “She has not fed aside from what was supplied care of a nasogastric tube, thus hunger and cravings may be to blame for her rambling and mood swings.”
I glared at them; I hated it when people talked about me as if I wasn’t even in the room.
“Your mother has that same white in her hair and eyes of hazel-violet?” Maiya asked, her expression tight.
I chuckled. “No. Not at all. Madre has brown hair without a streak of silver or white, and eyes comparable to light jade in the sun. She is very beautiful, a dark Italian beauty that the white people of Usk hated since the moment she stepped foot on that God forsaken land.”
“And her birth name?” she pressed.
“Giada Sophia Bellucci,” I blurted out, confused as to why this mattered.
She nodded, her expression softening and she smiled once more. “Very well. You are very pale for an Italian. Was your father American?”
I shook my head. “Yes, but no. He came to America when he was a child, born in Italy where his family tree was firmly rooted. I’m pure blooded Italian, just pale by comparison from what, my brother suspected, was full body vitiligo aside from here,” I said, showing them my collarbone where a dark olive colored spade shaped birthmark was. “My brother is, was, many shades darker, the same shade as my birthmark hence why he thinks I have full body vitiligo. Because of it we looked like negated twins.”
Thankfully, she didn’t press it.
“As you know, I am Maiya, and I understand my son has had very limited time to teach you anything, especially of vampires, so allow me to educate you,” she said, offering me her hand.
“I’m Shawn,” I introduced since no one had bothered to introduce us, and without thinking about it, I took Maiya’s hand and gave it a shake.
I don’t know what I expected, but the woman’s hand was cold and clammy, firm almost, and nothing like Andrei’s skin; the temperature, feel, texture, it was wrong.
The terrifying vampire gasped before recoiling away from me, then snarled and bared her fangs.
“Oh no,” Andrei said then appeared between me and his Maker and bared his fangs, his lip snarling.
I hid behind Andrei as much as possible.
How do I explode into hundreds of bats to get out of this awkward social interaction?
Instantly Andrei stopped and his shoulders heaved, and his hand covered his mouth.
‘Sadly, you can’t,’ he silently informed me, and I pouted.
That would have been so useful, especially at the moment.
We don’t sparkle in the sun, do we? I complained.
‘Unless you feel the need to roll in glitter before killing yourself in the sun, no.’
Hollywood lied about everything when it came to vampires, the sparkling thing I’m glad to hear though.
Maiya stopped and regarded her son curiously.
“Mатушка, no,” he scolded, reaching back behind him and rested his hand on my lower back, protectively keeping me close.
It was surprisingly nice and made me curious, and paranoid, as to why he needed to do that.
“Do you know what she is?!” she demanded.
To my surprise, he nodded.
What am I?
Of course he wasn’t going to tell me.
Maiya glared at him. “You had to go and do it again, didn’t you?” she sneered. “The first time wasn’t horrible enough that you had to subject yourself to it more than once, and for what? I permitted that thing to live, it is under the protection of the crown now, and you had the audacity to keep the truth of it from me?!”
“Shawn, not That,” I tried to correct, but I ended up whispering it like a spineless, terrified child.
Andrei wasn’t scared of her in the least and I envied him for it.
“I had no hand in this, Mатушка,” Andrei reminded her. “Luka started something and I refused to standby and allow history to repeat itself. Your opinion differs from mine and matches those of the Light that demanded a vote to kill her with a clear conscience, but that differing of opinions is something that I will live with for the rest of my life regardless of how long or short that may be.”
Maiya shook her head in irritation. “You have your father’s passion and warped sense of romance, and I never understood where you stubborn old fools got it from, or how you can allow your hearts to control your actions, but I pray to the Dark Father that it never changes.”
Tenderly she caressed his cheek.
“My precious, precious little boy,” she whispered, ignoring the dark tear that rolled down her pale cheek. “You are an insufferable glutton for punishment and readying to repeat the mistakes of the past, and for what?” She rested her forehead against his.
“There is nothing to worry about, Mатушка,” Andrei promised.
“Uh huh,” she huffed, skeptically. “Guard her, teach the child, and do not make the same mistakes that destroyed your soul before because of her. Do you understand?”
He nodded.
I’m glad he understood what she was talking about because I was completely confused.
“War will ensue if happens again,” she warned.
“Of course, Mатушка. I will wage war before you can shed a drop of blood in the name of your child,” he clarified, and a smile filled her face.
I feel like the third-wheel in an even worse relationship than that of Luka and Andrei.
Maiya leaned back then looked to me cowering behind her son. “If the past repeats itself, I will kill you.”
My eyes widened.
I didn’t know what past she was speaking of, and as the High Priestesses would attest, I have no past lives to repeat the mistakes of.
I was a new soul, they said, and that was why I was considered a Herald of the Goddess, at least that is what they called me.
Andrei sighed. “Mатушка, you are acting like a temperamental child when you are a Queen.”
Wait, what?
Now it was starting to make sense, but it didn’t make sense in the least.
“Your Maker is a vampire Queen?” I whispered, trying for clarification.
Maiya took Andrei’s hand in hers then headed down the hallway, heading for the stairs. “Come, Child,” she instructed and I hurried after them, curious about what they were going on about and hoping she would tell me since I knew Andrei wouldn’t. “I knew what my son had done before Luka called in regards to what transpired; not that Luka told me his hand in this. The moment I felt the overpowering sensation pulling at my mind, stealing a piece of the crown which I wear, I knew it was because of the venom and blood which flows through my son’s veins. Luka was solely sired by my husband, but forever will that brat be my baby boy. Andrei, however, required more than what Aleksei was capable of. That is not unheard of when-”
Andrei started mumbling under his breath in Russian, much too low for me to hear.
Note to self, learn Russian.
“Very well, that is not a lesson he is ready to give you just yet,” Maiya conceded, patting Andrei’s hand as if conceding on the subject. “Why did you bring the Scion’s existence to the Senatus?” she asked him. “You and your brother are untouchable by their pretend power and laws. It is merely Luka’s inability to follow anything through that keeps him from truly having a Scion, and you out of respect for the child-”
“Because,” Andrei interrupted, giving her a dirty look and she smiled wide, “it was made public to the son of an Alpha by mistake. Fearing for the life of the Scion that was created and claimed by one that is, according to public opinion, blacklisted from creating life due to my Makers, it caused his father to demand a vote to save the life of the Scion his son made a date with.”