“Mamma,” Destin whispered between sucking. He reached up and touched her face, his blue eyes dancing with pinpoints of orange flames.
What would he become? Had they created the ultimate creature, one who would unite all beings or one who would destroy them? She shivered with a new worry.
A familiar presence joined them. Rhea smiled as her beloved bent over to greet his son. Destin’s change in size stopped him mid-motion.
“What happened?” Am smoothed Destin’s hair. “How is this possible?”
Slowly and quietly, Rhea recounted the kitchen surprise. Amor-el listened in stunned silence. “Is he not a vampire after all?”
“No, he is a vampire, my love. More than he is human, though he continues to crave my milk. But this growth is bizarre or amazing and perhaps normal. I have nothing with which I may reference. I will consult The Great Book to see if there is anything in it but I doubt it. No phoenix ever birthed a human. Or a vampire.” She smiled lovingly at her two men.
Destin wiggled and slid from her lap. “Pire!” he cooed and stumbled around Rhea’s chair.
That’s when Amor-el witnessed the change for himself as his son ambled over to him.
“Can you say, Papa?” Am asked gently.
“Papa,” Destin mimicked with a little laugh.
“My God,” whispered Am.
“Papa, papa, papa,” Destin said in a singsong voice, his legs gaining strength with every step.
“He is learning fast and absorbing everything,” Rhea said as she straightened her clothes.
Destin toddled around the room, teetering then falling on his bottom, swiftly figuring out his legs and his balance. He never made the same mistake but stumbled anew every time. Rhea watched him and then remembered the nanny.
“With Destin able to function both day and night, I cannot be with him all the time. I am exhausted already, and he slept most of the day. I hired a nanny, as you suggested. Her name is Sondra Lard. I asked her to move in with us.”
“I believe I saw her.” Am recounted the meeting with the detective and Victoria’s request.
“But Am, she took the job expecting to tend to a baby, and this is what she found.” Rhea motioned with her hand. “I think Victoria is right. Something is very wrong,” Rhea said and added, “with everything.”
Amor-el frowned and guided Destin back to his mother’s arms. “Perhaps you are exhausted and cannot see what I do. We do not know that there is anything wrong. He seems very normal despite his growth and proclivity for milk or blood, non?” He ran his hand over Destin’s darkening curls. “My rose, he’s incredible, and I am too proud. What a gift you have given us.”
His voice faltered as he bent to kiss Rhea gently. For a moment, there was only his wonder for this family. The family. Reluctantly he pulled away.
“Franklin and I will get those wind chimes up shortly. I will do everything I can to keep us safe. Ah yes, there’s one more thing.” He removed his wallet and handed Rhea the small red card.
“Remember the vampire den? I think this belongs to the new club members. I stumbled into having it.” Rhea shot him a disbelieving glance. Am ignored it and continued, “I don’t know where the location is yet, but at least I have a way to get in now. The color is peculiar, called cinnabar. A clever name for the Cinna Bar if I am correct. I think the black bar in the corner is the cardholder’s ID.”
She examined the opaque card in the light.
“Is Dra going to help? She will not like this kind of challenge.”
He smirked. “Competition is one thing but a den? I wouldn’t want to be the club’s owner. Especially if his name is Tobias. I’m also considering asking the new detective for help. Have not decided yet.”
Sondra appeared in the doorway and knocked gently. “Cooke says I am to tell you to, let’s see if I can get it right, ‘get your bonny selves downstairs and eat what I managed to make despite this sauna.’ Yes, I think that was it.”
Sondra’s impersonation was perfect. Everyone laughed. Quickly, Am tucked the card away and lifted Destin who watched his father with interest. Together, the family followed Sondra downstairs.
The rarely used dining room table was dressed and laden with bowls of fresh fish, vegetables, homemade bread, and English jams. Steam curled high and filled the room with mouthwatering scents. The rich aroma of chicory coffee punctuated the air. High back chairs added a regal elegance to the setting but impression shattered when Franklin added a high chair. Just like that, aristocracy settled for ordinary domesticity.
“Where did this old thing come from?” Am wondered as he buckled Destin in and sat beside him.
“It was yours, many years ago, sir. Your mother brought it from Virginia. I’ve kept it just in case.”
Thus, the new family Riviere – Rhea, Destin, Victoria, Sondra, and Amor-el – sat down to a hearty and casual dinner despite the china and silver. Franklin and Cooke, invited to join in, opted to eat in the kitchen for a little privacy. Am savored a bottle of burgundy as the others devoured their dinner. Destin begged for food and Rhea gave him a broccoli spear. When the broccoli stuck to his fangs and he cried, Rhea switched the vegetable for some noodles. He ate as many as he wore. The mood at the table lightened.
“Oh goddess that was delicious,” Victoria moaned.
Sondra nodded and wiped her mouth. “Cooke’s food is going to be my undoing.”
“I think my dress needs to be let out, I ate so much,” Rhea said. “It is wonderful to have Cooke with me again. But she will make me fat.”
The women patted their stomachs and bemoaned their increased girth.
“I’ll help clear the table,” Sondra offered, but suddenly stopped and stared out the window.
Bright green eyes peered through the patio doors accompanied by a smaller pair of bright red ones.
“You should join us, Dra,” urged Rhea without looking.
The patio doors opened and a wolfhound padded in followed by the tall, curvaceous redhead.
“I never eat…food,” Dra intoned in her best dramatic Dracula impression. “But Reaper will never turn down a bite.” Dra approached the table but paused when Reaper growled at Sondra.
The new nanny stared at the wolfhound and then offered him a shaking hand. The growl lengthened until Reaper sniffed her, huffed and moved to Rhea’s side.
“Well, that was different,” Dra studied Sondra and Rhea made introductions. Dra didn’t like what she felt, and neither did Reaper. He kept his distance from the nanny afterward.
Am didn’t give Dra time to comment before he solicited her help with the wind chimes.
“Let’s get it done,” she said. “C’mon Vickie, for once you can tell me what to do.”
“Oh goodie,” Victoria called with a sour look toward Dra for using the dreaded nickname. Again. “I’ll need some blood,” she added.
“That’s my line,” snickered Dra and she waved at Rhea as they left.
Reaper stayed behind. He stared at Destin, fascinated. His tail moved slowly back and forth as the beast considered the mini vampire. Finally, he nosed the little boy’s leg and licked him. Destin giggled and smacked the top of Reaper’s head. The tail wagged harder, and Reaper settled beside the high chair friends for life.
“Never a dull moment around here,” Rhea said as she cleaned off the highchair tray.
“Here let me do that,” Sondra offered and picked noodles from Destin’s face and hair. Meanwhile, Reaper never took his eyes far from the boy and watched Sondra’s every move. Something that Rhea didn’t miss.
“You remind me of someone, but I cannot put my finger on who,” Rhea said.
“I’m glad as long as it’s a good memory,” Sondra answered and picked up Destin. “Come on young sir. You need a bath.” She hurried off.
At the word bath, Reaper backed up and put his head in Rhea’s lap. For a moment, Rhea stroked down his neck and mused aloud.
“We are going to need a bigger house, eh boy? Our family is growing.”
She glanced around the room and then frowned. The vase of blue roses behind Destin’s chair thrived earlier, colors vibrant and alive. Now, as she watched, the petals drooped, darkened, and one blossom fell off.
“What is happening, do you know?” She scratched the hound’s ear, and Reaper whined.
“Me either,” she signed. The phone rang, and the two of them looked up.
Cooke called out. “Lass, the party planner is on the phone. He says he wants to confirm the items for the Halloween Costume Ball. When to send out the invitations. And do we need a florist?”
The question made her check the roses once more and then she shook off the bad feelings. “The gathering is right around the corner. So much to do. I will take the call in the library. Come Reaper.”
Rhea stood, swayed, grabbed for the table and pulled on the edge of the tablecloth. A dish toppled over. Reaper barked as Rhea collapsed.
The blue roses on the sideboard dropped all their petals. Several blackened, shriveled and fluttered to the floor.
Reaper howled, and Cooke ran back, “Reaper get your mistress. Get Dra.”
Reaper waited a brief moment and then ran out the still open patio doors. She could hear the hound’s howling as he raced away. Cooke used her hidden strength and lifted Rhea up to stand with her. She gripped Rhea’s cold hand.
“Let’s get you to the sofa before they return.” Cooke prepared to carry her friend.
“May I help?” A warm bass voice vibrated through Cooke, and she twitched, nearly toppling Rhea.
Without waiting for an invite, a tall man with dark brown eyes picked up Rhea and set her on the indicated sofa. He promptly stepped aside and nodded to Cooke. As their eyes locked, Cooke slowly pulled a knife from her apron. The thin, serrated blade was ugly in the firelight. Cooke raised the knife, and her intent was clear. This was no empty threat.
“Vampire,” she hissed murderously.
SETTING THE POSTS into the ground was easy enough because of Am and Drahomira’s strength. Using a compass, Franklin positioned the poles, Amor-el or Dra drove them in, and then Victoria hung the chimes because of the silver. On both sides of every clapper, she dabbed a bit of blood from both Dra and Am, ensuring their vampirism didn’t set off the chimes. Then she waited for it to soak in. They nearly finished all four posts and were dabbing the last wards with blood when Reaper’s howling approach lifted goosebumps on Victoria’s arms. Everyone paused, and Victoria grabbed Franklin’s arm to steady herself. A blurry vision clouded her eyes.
“Something’s happening to Rhea,” Victoria exhaled in a panic, “something bad.”
The next moment, Reaper arrived and grabbed Drahomira by her leg.
“Go,” Am yelled. Before his words died, the crimson mist disappeared dog and mistress. He took off at a dead run. Franklin hefted the last chimes on the hook before he and Victoria piled in the car and followed.
Crimson tendrils appeared on the patio as the redheaded vampire and hound emerged from the depths and into the library. Seconds later, Am appeared behind Dra and none too soon. The sound of Dra’s glickris leaving its sheath sounded like slicing ice.
The scene was chaotic. Cooke brandished a knife. Rhea lay still on the sofa. Standing taller than Cooke and very close to Rhea loomed a strange vampire. Reaper snarled, ears flattened, and he prepared to attack. Cooke advanced on the vampire who did not move. Sondra burst in holding Destin close and quickly backed out again. Immediately Destin sensed fear and screamed his frustration.
“Rhea!” Amor-el leaped over the sofa, fangs distended, eyes burning with menacing fires.
Reaper moved forward, head down, mouth open.
“Stop,” Dra commanded softly. Reaper immediately came to her side and sat, but his growling continued. Only she or Rhea could prevent Amor-el from the carnage he intended mere seconds away.
Death whispered close.
The stranger held up his hands submissively. Despite the gesture, he exuded a sense of power. Am quivered like a strained bowstring as he stood beside his beloved.
“I apologize. I believe I’ve come at a bad time. Or maybe just in time? I mean no one harm. I hope the lady will be all right?” He glanced at Cooke who slowly lowered her knife, to Amor-el who danced with blood fury, and then at the beautiful but prone Rhea before he turned and bowed to the knife-wielding Drahomira.
“We need to talk, my queen. That is if you wish to remain queen.”
“QUEEN?” SONDRA AND Victoria squeaked in harmony.
For a fraction of a deadly second, Amor-el considered ignoring Dra, but instead, he abruptly turned his back on the “guest” and knelt beside Rhea. The rest of the drama didn’t matter to him. Franklin quickly brought a cold towel for his mistress, though no one saw the knife waiting in his coat pocket. Cooke put away her blade and pressed the cloth to Rhea’s forehead.
Franklin whispered to Victoria, “I thought you warded us.”
Victoria whispered back, “I didn’t have time to activate the last one. Now I have to wait.”
“Go now, miss. Hurry.” Franklin said sharply, and Victoria immediately left.
“Sondra, honey, take junior upstairs. There may be blood,” Dra said slowly and licked her lips.
Sondra practically ran out.
The silence was painful to everyone but Dra.
“My friends,” Dra began, “I present His Eminence, Prince Alexander Fedorovich, Viceroy to the Magyars and my Chancellor. He is also my fiancé’s uncle. Alexi, what in the seven hells are you doing here?”
Rhea stirred and Franklin, feeling the weight of his responsibility, approached the stranger.
“Sir, may I take your cane?”
“Don’t bother Frankie. He’s not staying.” Dra crossed her arms and glared at Alexi.
“Thank you, no,” Alexander said to Franklin. To the others, he said, “Again, forgive me for intruding but I must settle urgent royal business with Drahomira.”
Rhea’s eyes opened, and she reached for Am. Slowly, relieved, he helped her to sit up. When she spotted the newcomer, she squeezed Amor-el’s hand, surprised.
“Sasha?”
Alexander abruptly spun around and tilted his head at Rhea. She offered Alexander a hand along with her smile.
“Irini? My lady?” Recognition bloomed. “I thought you looked familiar, but I did not think you could be who I remembered. You have not changed in these many years. Have I found you taken ill?” He approached and accepted her offered hand. Amor-el stood slowly, a warning flickering in his eyes.
“It is all right, Am. I knew Sasha, um, Alexander, before he became a vampire. He was a young man then, and I called him the name his mother used.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” said a dumbfounded Dra. “Alexi, you did not tell me.”
“How could I know, princess? I did not even know my lady was here or that you were with her.” He smiled at Rhea once more, still surprised. “I thought you dead, Irini. Forgive me,” Alexander smoothly answered with a bow.
Amor-el swallowed his jealousy and his distaste and stepped forward. “I am Jean-Louis Riviere. For Rhea and myself, I welcome you to our home.” He nodded but refused the requisite courtesy bow or handshake.
“Rhea? Ah, of course, new times, new name. Congratulations.” He faced Dra again. “But I came here because the Regent told me you might be with friends and you were not at your club. Besides you left me without an answer.”
“I did. I said no. And if that was unclear, let me speak plainly. No. Are we good? I give you leave to go home.” Dra waved a dismissive hand at him.
“My love, are you all right?” Amor-el asked quietly.
Rhea nodded and tried to lessen the tension around them. “Alexander, will you join us? Franklin, tea and drinks please.”
Amor-el chose to stand by the sofa and stay close to Rhea. Franklin left as requested. Am fussed over Rhea and placed a small blanket across her lap. Cooke followed Franklin out of the room satisfied she could do more, but not before casting a m
urderous glance at Alexander. Dra and Reaper remained back by the open patio doors. The bayou hummed as if it too, waited.
Victoria suddenly returned but stopped when she sensed the tension in the room. She opened her mouth, but Dra shot her a sharp look, so she said nothing. Instead, she gave thumbs up and waited by the library door.
“Now what is this about? Dra?” Rhea stared at her friend.
“It’s nothing,” Drahomira snapped.
“I beg your pardon princess.” Alexander interrupted. “Irini—” he began.
“Rhea,” Amor-el growled.
“Yes, forgive me. My Lady Rhea, I have been instructed to escort Her Royal Highness back home where she will officially assume the throne. Her birthday approaches and preparations must be made before there can be a coronation.” Alexi faced Dra. “If you chose to decline the throne you must do so in front of the council. You know this. And then you accept the resulting consequences.”
Drahomira sighed and sat down on the sofa’s arm. “I’m not refusing, but I can’t go right now. I have to go to New York, and I have to go now. I swore an oath for a debt.” She frowned, remembering. “I must keep it.”
“You made an oath to the Magyars too. To their people,” Alexi added.
“My people.” Dra jerked to her feet and snarled. “By the Beng, they are my people. I am a part of them. That damned council of leeches couldn’t care less about the gypsies. Never did. Especially Raikas. They hope I die before year’s end.” She howled in frustration. “For that matter, so do the gypsies, unless they kill me first.”
“All the more reason to return with me now, princess, if you wish to honor your people and protect them.”
Dra growled under her breath and Reaper growled back in sympathy. She calmed him with a touch.
“Sasha, I do not understand,” Rhea said. “What happens at the end of the year? Dra?”
“The princess celebrates her millionth birthday on the Winter Solstice. She must be married before the date and formally crowned before she turns one thousand.”
“Sergei undoubtedly is unavailable,” Dra said with a touch to her waist pouch.
Love and Blood (Evening Bower Book 2) Page 10