Bloodthirsty Bastard: A Hero Club Novel

by T. L. Christianson

  My hostess went on to talk about village gossip, but my mind wasn’t on the local love affairs, but on vampires. Why would moroi stay in a village when they were basically outed by the entire town?

  Finally, Alina finished her coffee and collected my tray.

  “I’ll bring you fresh coffee,” she told me before closing the door behind herself.

  Why was everyone warning me away from Ethan? Was he really that bad? Was I really in danger?

  Opening my laptop, I began going through emails and the usual, even though both Aubrey and Alina’s words haunted me.

  “The guy creeps me out.”

  “A sweet girl like you should find a nice man and get away from a monster like him.”

  I thought my mind was made up but was Ethan really a monster, or just misunderstood?

  Was that feeling Aubrey got merely a human response to being around a predator? I’d heard people felt strange around tigers and lions. I sure got a bad feeling before I’d seen the mountain lion.

  Yet, I knew where my heart lay—along with no small amount of lust. I was willing to gamble on my vampire with my life.

  17

  Ethan was grinning like the cat who ate the canary as he ushered me into the car.

  “You’re not going to tell me?” I settled myself inside and buckled my seatbelt.

  “It’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait,” he said, sipping his coffee while balancing a small cookie on the lid.

  “Where do you keep getting these cookies?” I asked, pointing to his travel mug.

  “I bought them at the market. You can’t have coffee without a biscuit, it’s illogical. Did you want one?”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s just weird to eat a cookie with breakfast.”

  He shrugged that euro shrug. “I’ll give you a hint…we’re going to a place called the DisneyLand of Romania.”

  I slumped, racking my brain. “It’s a theme park?”

  He shook his head, “No, but it’s very commercial.”

  I scrunched up my nose, “And you think I would like it?”

  A saucy grin lingered on his lips, and he nodded. “It’s what most of the world knows about Romania.”

  “Hmm…Romania…”

  “Think very obvious,” Ethan turned off onto the narrow road leading toward Brașov.

  “Okay, obvious…Dracula?”

  “Castle Bran.”

  “You’re taking me to Dracula’s Castle?” I laughed aloud and clapped my hands.

  He smiled, “I thought as a history teacher, you’d like that. Was it a good choice?”

  I reached out and gripped his hand. “Perfect choice. I love it!”

  Ethan glanced over at me, “There’s a but. I see it on your face.”

  I hesitated, biting my lip. “I don’t want to ruin Dracula’s Castle for you.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me, “Ruin it for me? Why?”

  “Bran Castle isn’t really Dracula’s Castle. Bran Castle just matched the description of Dracula’s Castle from Bram Stoker’s book, and it was assumed. Bram Stoker never even set foot in Romania.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Bram Stoker just cobbled together a bunch of Eastern European myths and stuck it into the book.”

  His eyes stayed on the road. “Well, that kind of makes sense. If I remember this correctly, his book came out in the latter part of the 18th century. I’m certain it’s the source of all the vampire legends.”

  I mulled his words over. “I think that also accounts for Alina’s knowledge of moroi. Her and the local people of the village know that vampires run Balaur.”

  “They do?” Ethan glanced over at me.

  I shook my head, “Yeah. She warned me away from you because of it. She said that Dracul meant devil.”

  “Not in old Romanian. In medieval Romanian, it meant dragon. Do you remember on the plane when Freddie said that Balaur meant dragon?”

  I nodded.

  “In modern Romanian. The company Balaur is the modern-day Order of the Dragon.”

  “Like as in Vlad Dracul?”

  “The very same.”

  “So, Freddie was wrong?” I smirked.

  “Freddie was half right. Balaur is dragon in modern Romanian, and Dracul means devil in modern Romanian, but during the 14th century Dracul meant dragon.”

  I breathed out a laugh. “Here, I thought Freddie was some all-knowing ancient vampire.”

  This made Ethan chuckle. “We’re all fallible.”

  As we entered the small town of Bran, the castle loomed over the valley, high up on a rocky outcrop.

  Slowing to a stop, Ethan parked in a dubious location.

  “Are we allowed to park here? I don’t think this is open to public parking.” I told him.

  He jumped out, the cold air rushing in through his open door. “No, it’s fine, come on.”

  Reluctantly, I followed him into a bustling tourist area. Dozens of market stalls surrounded the entrance to the castle, selling Dracula memorabilia. Even though the sky was overcast and the temperature icy, several booths were doing a brisk business. They sold everything from snacks to native Romanian clothing to kitsch vampire gifts.

  “Do you want a Dracula t-shirt?” I teased.

  Ethan cringed and barked out a laugh, “no, I think you ruined it for me.”

  I groaned, trying not to laugh. “Shut up, you knew this was fake anyway.” I linked my arm into his. “It’s still fun. Oh! Look at that baby t-shirt! I’m buying it for Aubrey and Chance’s baby!”

  The woman working the stall spoke English, and I quickly picked out what I wanted and paid.

  We continued to people watch and peruse the outdoor market for a while.

  Finally, we came back around to the entrance of the Castle grounds.

  “I read that there are model peasant villages somewhere that we can look at, or would you like to see the Castle first?” He asked me.

  “Castle! I’m freezing.” I pointed toward the gate, but my vampire continued on without buying a ticket. “What? We need tickets…” I trailed off.

  “I spoke to the owner, he sent someone to give us a tour.” He nodded up a stone path.

  Most of the time, I forgot that Ethan wasn’t just a regular guy—most of the time.

  We followed the footpath that led to the castle and excitement built. I pictured horse-drawn wagons bringing supplies up to the nobles and knights that lived here. As we entered through a man-made gap in the rock, I could feel history all around me: the echo of people who’d lived and died in this place, the stone floors marred by human traffic over hundreds of years.

  A man recognized Ethan and greeted him, shaking his hand, “Hello, Mr. Dumont. Welcome to Castle Bran.”

  The men spoke in English, but I ignored it, for the most part, taking in the beautiful historic building. Our guide led us inside and began going over the informational panels that lined the walls.

  Ethan gazed at me. “What are you thinking about? Your eyes are just eating the place up.”

  I narrowed my eyes, “I imagine how this place looked hundreds of years ago.”

  “You appreciate the passing of time. I like looking at the world through your eyes.”

  I pointed to the fireplace that seemed to have a large stone box surrounding the top of it. “Why are the fireplaces weird like that?”

  “Oh!” Ethan turned back toward the sizeable man-size box that was made of stone and covered in plaster. “I don’t know the Romanian name, but I know this as a Russian fireplace. You make a scorching fire inside there. The smoke and heat work its way through a labyrinth inside there before going out the chimney.”

  “Oh? Kind of like when the sun warms up large boulders?”

  Ethan nodded and touched a bench next to the fire. “The flue probably goes through this bench. So, you could sit here and be warm. This whole structure is like a giant battery, holding onto the heat.”

  I reached up to kiss my vampire on the cheek. “How come you�
��re so smart? That’s actually pretty cool. Why don’t we use those fireplaces in the US?”

  He just shrugged.

  We made our way up a broad set of stone steps where we gazed into a more modern room. “Looks like this has been remodeled,” I muttered.

  “Yeah, parts of it. Did you read the information panels back there?”

  “Yeah.”

  He wrapped an arm around me as we wandered through the building.

  “We’ve come to the torture museum,” Our guide warned, and led us into the first room before hanging back to give us space to look around.

  “Do you think all this stuff is from this castle?” I asked, frowning at what I thought might be a rack with spikes.

  “No. I think it was brought here, for the museum,” Ethan said as he pushed the door of a wooden Iron Maiden open. After an eerie creak, I spotted the sharp spears inside.

  “Okay, I’ve had enough,” I shuddered as I backed away from a chair covered in rusty old spikes.

  “There are two more rooms, are you sure?”

  I nodded. The rooms I’d seen had been well lit, but the objects gave me a nasty feeling. It was as if I could feel the oppressed people who suffered at the hands of these things.

  Ethan gripped my hand, our fingers interlaced. “You okay?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. It’s awful that people made torture devices like that. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel to one another. I mean, who deserved to be put into any one of those things? Those instruments were designed, thought out, and made by hand—all to hurt or maim another person. I just don’t get it.”

  Ethan ushered me through a narrow stone passage where we came to a more modern bedroom, the bed corded off.

  I bit my lip and looked up into my lover’s face. “Maybe vampires aren’t the monsters—humans are. You know both worlds. Who is worse? Vampires or humans?”

  He narrowed his eyes, gazing around the room. “I don’t know. With power, there is always abuse, and moroi have a lot of power.”

  “Do you think the moroi from Balaur abuse their power? Alina warned me away from them…and you,” as did Aubrey, but I couldn’t say that.

  Groaning, Ethan took my hand and led me around the back way, down more narrow stairs to the courtyard. “There is always gossip in small towns like that. I don’t know why moroi stay there. They would be better off in Brașov or Bucharest.”

  I gazed around the indoor space. Tudor style balconies and whitewashed walls were trimmed with brown. I imagined goats, chickens, and straw littering the area.

  “So why don’t they leave?” I asked.

  “Many moroi close themselves off, and Sigi, the owner of Balaur, is no different. He has a modern house at the edge of the village, in the woods just across from the castle.”

  I frowned. “Sigi?”

  “The leader of the Dragon Clan.”

  A stone well was centered in one area of the yard, and I looked down into its depths before sitting down on a bench with Ethan.

  I sniffed, “That’s just crazy. How long has Sigi been the leader of the Dragon Clan?”

  “I told you Balaur’s history was as the Order of the Dragon. Well, Sigi was the Roman Emperor several hundred years ago. He created the Order and is still the clan leader.”

  I blinked, “How have humans never picked up on this?”

  Ethan smirked, “As moroi, we have to keep a low profile. Or we hire an aging human who bears a close enough resemblance to take on our name as we become the next generation. This is why you won’t find many pictures or any at all of me online. Many times, I travel under a pseudonym.”

  “How many times have you done that? Changed your name or whatever?”

  “I can usually pass until about age forty, but then I’ll have to move.”

  “Is Ethan your real name?”

  He nodded. “Yes, the way most moroi handle IDs and the paper trail in the modern age is to file a birth certificate as the child of our current identity. That way, we can use the same name over and over again, and when people recognize us, the resemblance is taken in stride because I am my child. Does that make sense?”

  “I think so. How long have you been in De Luz?”

  “Too long. Ashley has been my assistant since I started the company. She doesn’t know what I am, but she knows I’m different.” He sighed, “I’ve had to alter her memories a few times.”

  I pressed my lips together. “Is that why you won’t show me how to avoid mind control? Are you going to alter my memories once you get tired of me?”

  “It’s different. Ashley has seen some things that scared her. I didn’t want her to be afraid.” He defended himself.

  “Were you two together?”

  He pierced me with his pale eyes. “Why do you ask questions about things that you don’t want to know the answer?”

  I bit my lip. “You and Ashley were a thing?”

  “We went out to the clubs a few times when she first started working for me—but that was years ago.”

  Oh my gosh.

  I knew I shouldn’t ask.

  “You know what, you’re right, I don’t care, and I don’t need to know,” I told him, standing.

  He tugged at me and pulled me onto his lap before I could walk away.

  “Look, you are important to me,” he whispered into my ear.

  I widened my eyes and turned to him. “I hate this. I’m not a jealous person, but when it comes to you, I have these irrational feelings.”

  He brushed the hair from my face, “Unfortunately, if you want to dig into my past, you’re going to find things that you won’t like. I’ve lived for a long time.”

  “I know,” I told him, frowning.

  He cocked his head, “Honestly, it’s a little sexy when you’re possessive. I also have a confession.”

  “Yeah?” I laughed.

  “Yeah, I saw one of the Balaur employees looking at you, and I warned him to stay away,” he admitted and pulled me in for a quick kiss.

  “Did you compel him?”

  “No, but I’ll admit it wasn’t my finest moment,” he said, blowing out a chagrined breath.

  “Just promise me one thing. Don’t ever use mind control on me. Ever.”

  His eyes flicked between my own. “A day may come when you might want me to alter your memories.”

  “Promise me.”

  “I only make promises that I intend to keep.” He drew a line down my coat above my sternum.

  “Ethan. Promise me. Say the words, ‘I will never mind control Caroline.’”

  I felt his chest rise with the intake of breath. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Very well.” He whispered, his eyes locked on mine. “I promise that I will never mind control Caroline Blakely, this woman on my lap—unless she is aware of it. Are you satisfied?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “I hope that’s what you really want.” He warned.

  “I need that peace of mind.”

  He nodded.

  Hand in hand, we ambled down and away from the castle. Walking through the little Disneyesque market, I glanced at the wares, but nothing caught my eye this time.

  At the car park, Ethan slid behind the wheel of the SUV. “I have another surprise for you.”

  Leaving the town, we followed a dirt road, which gradually narrowed and became almost impassable. Ethan stopped and shifted the vehicle into 4-wheel-drive.

  “Where on earth are we going?” I laughed as we ground our way through the snow and over the rutted out trail.

  “One of the guys at Balaur told me about this place, just wait.” He revved the engine, and the little SUV bounced over a large rock. A scraping noise from the undercarriage made me raise my eyebrows.

  “This can’t be safe,” I told him, gripping my handle with a sweaty palm.

  The small jeep trail we followed narrowed even more before abruptly ending in a patch of trees near a meadow.

  Ethan pulled to a stop
in a small turn around and turned the car off.

  Eyeing him skeptically, I gazed out into the snowy forest.

  “We’re here,” He said, grabbing a pack from the back seat.

  Bundling up again, I followed him into the woods. There was no trail, but Ethan seemed to know his way through the dense pines.

  The forest here was mostly coniferous until it opened up into a cliffside full of leafless beech trees. There before us stood the ruins of an old stone castle. Dry grass poked through the snow here and there where the snow was thin.

  Ethan jumped up into an opening in the wall and reached down to me, “Come on.”

  With one tug, I was inside the darkened building.

  Navigating the room behind my vampire, I traveled up a stone staircase like those of our B&B and Bran Castle and onto the top level.

  Gasping, I covered my mouth as an amazing view opened up before me. A large glassless window looked out into a steep pristine valley.

  “Wow!” I said, my feet moving toward the view.

  “This is all a national preserve.”

  Birds fluttered and chirped at our presence high above. Glancing upward, I could see the sky through thick charred arches that spanned the room.

  “Careful,” Ethan tugged at my coat, “The floor is gone over there. Follow me around this way.”

  Once we circumnavigated the damage, we settled down onto a fallen beam that looked out over the landscape.

  “This is amazing! I have to admit I was pretty skeptical about our destination.”

  “I know you were.” His chest shook with a silent laugh as he pulled out a Carrefour bag. “I have cheese and sliced meat and crackers for us…and wine. Oh, and a diet Pepsi if you want. I looked for Coke, but they didn’t have it.”

  I couldn’t help my smile as I gazed at my vampire. “This is perfect. Thank you for taking me here.”

  We sat there, nibbling on the picnic lunch.

  “Thank you for putting up with me these past weeks. I knew this would be a tough job, but we’re almost done. I’m just sorry that I’ve had to leave you alone so much.”

  “Why did you bring me instead of Mel?” I gulped my soda.

  “I didn’t want to leave you. And I had hoped…”