Diomira disrobed and rubbed the cleansing herbs and sea salt over every inch of her body, which caught Felipe’s gaze. He could not help but notice the witch’s rounded breasts and pink succulent erect nipples, her slender hips, and her curvaceous buttocks. Felipe surprised himself by becoming aroused.
Since the curse, Felipe had not given much thought about having sex, he just assumed he would not be able to have intercourse since he was the undead. Judging from the ever growing bulge of his throbbing erection in his breeches, he was wrong. Felipe adjusted himself to relieve the pressure.
Facing east, Diomira sprinkled the herbs and sea salt, moving clockwise around the circle. Next, she took the crystalline powder and dusted a thin layer over her body and on the board’s hide. She covered her naked body with the pelt and sat crossed legged in the center of the circle. Diomira raised her index finger and aimed it at the candle in front of her. All four candles lit themselves one by one, clockwise. She stretched out her right hand, palm up, and the blue topaz gemstone lifted off the floor and floated toward her and rested in the palm of her hand. Concentrating on the topaz, Diomira started chanting.
“Things seen in light, blind their sight. Let me walk by the dark of night.” She chanted the incantation nine times. Slowly, she began to fade.
“Felipe, can you see me?” Diomira asked.
Felipe strained his eyes, but even with his keen vampire sight, he could not see the witch sitting on the floor. The flames of the candles in the sacred circle flickered. Diomira was on the move. Felipe’s eyes followed the flickering flames, attempting to catch a glimpse of her.
“No.” Felipe said as he spun around the room. He listened closely. Felipe could hear Diomira’s faint breathing and light footsteps walking about the earthen floor of the cave. He strained his eyes once more, still unable to catch sight of Diomira.
Diomira appeared in front of Felipe, startling him.
“Amazing!” Felipe had a foolish grin on his face while he stared at Diomira wearing nothing but the wild boar’s skin around her shoulders.
“Diomira, you do understand the risks involved if we get caught?”
“Not to worry.”
Felipe felt his cock stiffen as he continued to stare at Diomira’s shapely body. He reached for the pelt, allowing it slip off her shoulders, dropping to the floor. He pulled Diomira close and he leaned in and kissed the edge of her lips. Felipe’s kisses trailed to her neck. He felt Diomira flinch.
“Relax, I’m not going to bite you,” Felipe whispered softly in her ear.
Diomira unbuttoned his shirt. The back of her hand brushed against his six-pack.
Felipe shuddered from her touch. His tongue eagerly found its way back to her mouth. He cupped her breast in his hands, playing with her nipples, rolling them in his fingers.
Felipe could feel Diomira melt in his arms as he clasped her buttocks and pressed himself against her. She was his. Her hands scrambled to take off his breeches.
Diomira gently massaged his engorged shaft.
Felipe moaned, rearing his head back in pleasure.
“Follow me,” Diomira’s honey voice purred. She took Felipe by the hand, leading him out into the forest beyond the cave, through a lush meadow to the top a waterfall. She giggled and dived off the limestone cliff into the water.
Felipe smiled and followed suit by diving deep into the river below, coming up in her arms. They kissed. He lifted her body onto his. Her legs straddled right onto his stiff cock and he slid deep inside of her. Felipe thought he saw starbursts in his eyes. The sexual sensation was heightened by his vampire senses. They rocked rhythmically back and forth so intensely, Felipe levitated them both out of the water, defying gravity. They continued making love in midair until they both climaxed.
Jolts of pleasure shot through Felipe’s body like electricity. Never had he experienced an orgasm this intense. His eyes turned translucent and then black, his fangs immerged. How he longed to taste Diomira’s blood. He let out a sigh. His cock still hard, he flipped Diomira over and placed his hands firmly on her buttocks. He probed her anal channel with one finger, prepping her tight muscle and then penetrated her slowly.
Felipe gave a deep thrust before switching his angle and burying his cock even deeper inside Diomira. He continued to thrust until he reached climaxed, and emptied himself deep within her. He continued to thrust until no more of his seed remained.
Felipe lowered Diomira gently back down to earth, landing on the soft grassy embankment.
Diomira lay against him, her body softly curved and warm.
“God, that was amazing,” Diomira said, wrapping herself in Felipe’s arms.
He rolled on top of her, kissing her adoringly, parting her legs, letting his fingers explore her hot, wet, swollen folds of her vagina. His tongue trailed along her slender belly to her sweet nectar. His tongue took her to more heights of sensual delights.
THE ARREST
Toledo, Spain. The de Hayos estate, late evening.
“This house just isn’t the same without Eduardo and Gertrudis,” Francisca commented, sitting beside Tomás in the great hall working on her needlepoint.
“I agree with you, my love. While Eduardo and Gertrudis are off enjoying their lives as man and wife in the south of France, we are stuck here with Rosaria. God, what an awful cook,” he laughed. “She has absolutely no control over the kitchen staff. I’ve been meaning to have a word with her about that. And Hector, why that man has trouble remembering his own name.”
Francisca laughed. “Well, Rosaria and Hector will have to shape up soon because we will be planning another wedding, this time for Zaybeth and Alejandro. Honestly, I had no idea those two were in love, did you dear?”
Tomás was too busy listening to the commotion stirring outside the door to answer Francisca.
Dozens of soldiers, led by General Ramírez, burst into the great hall. Hector was in shackles, being held by guards.
“What in the devil is going on? General, why do you have my butler in restraints? I demand that you release him at once!” Tomás said standing.
The archbishop and the inquisitor entered the great hall.
“Your Excellency,” Tomás said, surprised. He walked to the archbishop and got down on his left knee and kissed the archbishop’s ring. “To what do I owe this honor? If I had known you were coming, I would have—”
“This is not a social visit, Señor de Hayos. I am here on official church business.”
Tomás looked around anxiously as the great hall was filling with soldiers. “What sort of official business does the Church have with me at this hour?”
The inquisitor stepped forward. “Señor Tomás Miguel de Hayos Pérez, by the power of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, you, your family, and your servants are hereby under arrest.”
“Guards, seize them!” General Ramírez ordered.
Soldiers made their way throughout the manor, rounding up servants.
“I demand to know why we are being arrested,” Tomás said, with growing tension in his voice.
“Heresy and consorting with the devil,” the archbishop said as a matter-of-fact.
“There must be a mistake. Your Excellency, please—”
General Ramírez seized Francisca by her left forearm, squeezing her arm tightly.
“Let go of me! Don’t touch me!” Francisca screamed, struggling to free herself from the general’s grip. Francisca raised her hand to slap him, but General Ramírez blocked her arm, grabbing her wrist and twisting it around her back. “Tomás!” she shrieked.
Tomás pulled out his sword from its scabbard. “General, I order you to release my wife!”
The general’s soldiers drew their swords and surrounded Tomás.
“I no longer take orders from you, Señor,” he said flatly. “Now, I am ordering you to drop your weapon!”
“Not until you release my wife.”
“Señor, don’t be stupid. If you do not drop your sword, my men will run you through.
”
Tomás looked around at the guards, recognizing their faces. These were the men he selected and personally trained. Tomás’ arm weakened, the sword slipped from his hand, making a dull sound as it hit the floor.
General Ramírez slung Francisca to the floor, binding her wrists in heavy chains, fastening her leg in irons, with a chain connecting the two.
Tomás franticly turned to the archbishop. “Please, Your Excellency, I beg you, please stop this.”
“We have an eyewitness, who named you and your family as the ones personally responsible for turning your son, Felipe into a vampiro.”
“Turning Felipe into a what? Is this some sort of joke? My son is living in Granada. Why, my family and I visited him this past Easter.”
“I know all about your visit,” the archbishop said angrily.
“Then Antonio, you know this cannot be true.”
The archbishop gave Tomás a look of offense.
“Your Excellency,” he corrected, “this is insane. Vampiros don’t exist. They’re just silly superstitions mothers tell their young to make them behave, like the cuegle—a monster that steal babies from the cradle.”
“I can assure you, Señor this is not some silly superstition. As you are aware people are being murdered.”
“Yes, but that is the work of a murder, not a vampiro. Vampiros don’t exist.”
“The vampiro is very real and there are eyewitness accounts, naming your son, Felipe as the creature.”
“This is pure madness. Surely you can see these are lies fabricated by jealous politicians, attempting to usurp my position as a statesman. Your Excellency, you have known Felipe his whole life. When you were a priest, you christened him. You were at his wedding not long ago. You know this cannot be—”
Tomás was interrupted for a moment by loud screams and breaking glass upstairs. There were fast running footsteps, followed by more glass crashing to the floor. Chaos and confusion was coming from every direction of the manor. Tomás spun around following the chaotic noises.
Soldiers arrested servants, dragging them out into the great hall, binding them in heavy chains and leg irons. Once all of the arrests had been made, guards escorted servant after servant to wagons waiting outside in the courtyard.
Tomás could only stare helplessly as Maria, Zaybeth, and Alejandro were bound in chains and led down the stairs by soldiers.
“Mother!” Zaybeth cried out, struggling to free herself. One of the guards picked her up, placing her over his shoulders.
“Zaybeth!” Maria said, trying to reach her shackled hands to her daughter. “Tomás what is happening?”
“Papa, why are we being arrested? What have you done?” Alejandro cried out as he was being hauled away.
Tomás ran in front of the soldiers, blocking their path. He threw himself on the ground, lying prostrate in front of them crying. “No, please not my family! I implore you take me into custody until this misunderstanding is cleared up. Please, let my family and my servants go.”
A soldier carrying Zaybeth, heading for the door, kicked Tomás in the stomach and kneed him out of his way.
While Tomás lay on the ground moaning in pain, two soldiers shackled his hands and ankles. “Your Excellency, please spare my family. If Felipe is truly what you say he is, I will take full responsibility for his actions. Please, I beg you, let my family go.”
The guards shoved Tomás and Francisca inside an awaiting jailer’s wagon.
YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO ME
Diomira’s soft, curvy body lay against Felipe. He had drawn his hand onto her thigh and now her fingers. His fingers trailed along, barely touching her. He kissed the nape of her neck. She melted into his embrace.
The musical chirping of birds frolicking in the woods near the mouth of the cave caused Diomira to stir and opened her eyes. She looked up to Felipe lying naked by her side, smiling down at her.
“Buenos días,” she said, still groggy. “Have you been here all night, watching me sleep?”
“Yes,” Felipe said, nuzzling her neck before kissing her softly on the lips.
“Some night, huh?” she giggled, fondly remembering their sweet night of love-making. She stretched her arms around Felipe’s neck, giving him a sexy moan in his ear. She looked into his eyes and sat up in bed. “The redhead, was she the reason you were turned into a vampiro?”
Felipe turned away from Diomira and sat rigidly silent, with his back turned to her.
“I don’t mean to pry, but if I am to help you, I need to know everything.”
“Yes.” He turned and looked at Diomira. “Not only did Lilith curse me, she cursed my beloved, as well. Five- hundred years from now, when Saturn returns and opens HIS all-seeing Eye, HE will possess Zaybeth, giving her the power to destroy me. She and I will battle to the death, that is, unless I turn her into a vampiro. You see, I can only turn one into my kind.”
“Do you know where Zaybeth lives?”
“Yes, with my parents in Toledo.”
“Then why not go to her and turn her? If Zaybeth is a vampiro, you can avoid the battle altogether. With two immortals, we may stand a chance in stealing the scrolls and breaking the curse.”
“I had given it some thought. I’m not so sure I want Zaybeth to share my curse. For now, I must protect her.”
“Felipe, you do realize if we are successful in breaking the curse, there is a chance you may die?”
“Diomira, I’m already dead. I died that night at the temple, when my wife stabbed me through the heart. Breaking the curse would allow me to finally rest in peace. I can accept being dead, but what I cannot accept is being like this—a monster— preying on humans.”
“But I don’t want to lose you,” she said, touching his shoulder. “Felipe, you’re special to me,” she confessed.
Felipe cupped Diomira’s chin and pressed his lips softly against hers. He gave her a long, heartfelt kiss. Rubbing her nose against his, he chuckled to himself.
“Look at us, a bruja and a vampiro, what a pair we make.”
Diomira wrapped her arms around Felipe’s neck and kissed him softly. She looked into his eyes.
“You’re hungry, my love, you must feed.”
Felipe got up from bed and dressed.
“I’ll hurry back,” he said, kissing Diomira on her forehead before vanishing.
THE INQUISITION
Francisca and Tomás stood chained and shackled inside the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Tomás swallowed hard as he glanced over at the audience. The tribunal was filled with bailiffs, chaplains, clerks, notaries, dignitaries, monarchs, and the Archbishop de Acuña, who sat regally in his ornate chair with a judgmental sneer frozen on his stern face. As a statesman, Tomás had participated in many tribunals. He had witnessed countless tortures and mutilations of the guilty for ‘not telling the truth’—the truth according to the inquisitor.
Tomás knew anyone would confess to anything if they were in enough agony. But there was something even more terrifying than being torture—burning at the stake. Tomás looked over at his frightened wife. He gave her a reassuring nod, while trying to hide his mounting fear.
The Inquisitor, Manuel Álvarez, kneeled reverently on his left knee. He looked up into the archbishop’s face and gave a confident smile before kissing the archbishop’s ring. The inquisitor stood and walked over to a gelded stand in the center of the room. He took the Bible off the stand and kissed the holy book. He turned and greeted the audience by raising the holy book up over his head.
The inquisitor deliberately kept his back turned to Tomás and Francisca as he addressed the tribunal.
We are gathered here this day, the fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1456. Before you stand the accused, Señor Tomás Miguel de Hayos Pérez and Señora Francisca Montoya de Hayos, both charged with heresy and consorting with the devil.”
Whisperings and murmurings could be heard echoing throughout the chamber.
“I will prove that
it was their black magick,” he said turning around quickly and pointing to the bound couple, then turning to face the tribunal, “that turned their very own flesh and blood into a monstrous beast.”
The inquisitor whisked around to Tomás. “Do you take the oath to tell the truth, Señor de Hayos? Do you swear on the Bible?”
Tomás and Francisca knelt down before the inquisitor. Tomás placed his right hand on the Bible.
“Yes,” Tomás said boldly.
Inquisitor Álvarez jerked the Bible away from Tomás’ hand and placed it in front of Francisca.
“And you, Señora de Hayos, do you take the oath to tell the truth?”
Francisca reached up to touch the Bible.
“Yes, of course,” she said, placing the book to her bosom.
The inquisitor yanked the Bible from Francisca, placing it back on its gelded stand. The inquisitor turned quickly to Tomás.
“What then do you say to these charges, Señor?”
Tomás chose his words carefully, one wrong word and he, and his family would burn at the stake.
“My family and I are God-fearing Christians.”
“Is that so?” the inquisitor shot back. “Your eldest son, Felipe, he is married to a Moor is he not?”
“Yes.”
Spectators reacted negatively to Tomás’ answer with loud outbursts of outrage.
“Lilith and her family are the white Moors.”
“Perhaps your eyesight is keener than mine, Señor de Hayos, as I cannot distinguish one Moros from another Moros. They are all dark-skinned to me.”
A few spectators laughed.
“Felipe was handpicked by the Sultan Said to be their sympathizer, was he not?”
“No, Felipe was chosen by the sultan to be a statesman,” Tomás said.
“Tell me, Señor de Hayos, would you describe your family as Roman Catholics or Alumbrados?”
Eye of Saturn (The Daughters of Saturn Book 1) Page 24