Superstition

by Veronica Blake

  He mentioned the Clan Society, because their obligation to the vampire clan had expanded over the centuries. Now these select few did even more than provide the vampire village with necessities for living or tools to advance their knowledge of the world below the mountain.

  As the modern world had become more dangerous for the vampires to hunt for their own prey, the Clan Society had also begun to provide the mature male vampires with fresh blood sources to fuel their need for blood. Born as dhampyres—the children produced from a vampire father and human mother—their appetite for blood was minimal, but it could not be denied or their thirst would become uncontrollable and they could be capable of killing even a loved one to satisfy their unnatural cravings.

  Most of the blood sources brought to the mountain by members of the Clan Society were homeless alcoholics and drug addicts who lived on the streets of the reservation or in the slums of nearby Phoenix. They were for the most part deemed by society to be non-productive members of the human race whom no one missed once they disappeared.

  But occasionally, in between the arrival of the Clan Society with hand-picked blood sources, there was always the tempting lure of the gold seekers and hikers who wondered much too close to the caves at the top of the mountain. These curious real ones provided an additional feast of blood the vampires could gorge themselves on for days or even weeks if they were young and healthy.

  Mateo placed his hand over his heart and continued to speak to his grandfather, who had hardly said a word so far. “For all eternity we will be the honored Blood Clan of the Apaches, and I am a proud member of this clan. Once we learn how to use all the knowledge we’ve gained from the world of the real ones, we will be able to ensure a better and safer existence for our kind.” Mateo paused, expecting his grandfather to disagree or at least say something, but the elder vampire remained silent.

  “You have always said that as our population continues to grow, so must our ability to learn how live among the real ones without being detected. I know we are able to be with them without arousing suspicion because my brothers and I have been doing it for many years now.”

  “I have worried much about this,” Drago finally said. He shook his head slowly. “Sometimes I think I was wrong to let the Clan Society bring us all those books and modern gadgets from the world of the real ones. They should have just provided us with blood sources and nothing more. Now, we—you younger ones—take so many risks with the knowledge you have gained.”

  “It’s not feasible to think we can continue to exist without advancing along with the rest of the world. We walk such a fine line of trying to remain hidden in these mountains and blend in with the world down below. I believe there will come a time when we will have to learn how to live among the real ones all the time if we are to survive,” Mateo added.

  A heavy sigh fell from Drago’s mouth. “I have thought much about this, too. But it really worries me, Grandson. I don’t know how this would be possible. Our survival up to this point has only been because we have been able to remain hidden from the rest of the world down below.”

  “But, Grandfather, eventually modern technology will catch up with us. Every time a jet flies over the tops of the mountain I wonder if we will be discovered. Every day the real ones discover new ways to search the hidden places of this earth. There will come a time, when someone—somewhere—discovers one of the secret villages of a Blood Clan, whether it will be ours or one of the others in a different part of the world, then all of our kind will be exposed because they will hunt for us until they find every one of us.”

  Mateo saw a flash of alarm flare up in his grandfather’s gaze. The older vampire’s jaw grew rigid as he considered the truth Mateo had spoken. “But I can promise you this,” he rushed on, “I will never stop looking for ways to protect our clan. My desire to spend time with my mate in the world of the real ones will only help with this quest, although this is not the only reason I am asking you to give me time to be with her in her world.” He stressed the depth of his devotion to his clan by reaching out and placing his hand on his grandfather’s bare shoulder as he went on with his prepared speech.

  Drago smiled down at the spot where his youngest grandson’s hand rested against his shoulder. “Help me to understand why you ask for this time to be with her then. You could mate with her in the ways of our clan and still continue with your research to learn of ways to protect our future.”

  Mateo sighed. “I realize I am asking to go against the customs of our clan as far as the mating process is concerned, but only for a little while. I just want to know this woman as she is now—a real one. I want to learn all her human desires and needs. Because, as you and I already know, once she is brought here to the village under my spell, she will be little more than my love slave and the mother of my children until she is no longer fertile and I turn her into a vampire to be at my side for the rest of eternity.”

  Drago remained silent for a few moments. He stared intently at his youngest grandson.

  Mateo could tell his grandfather was processing all he said. Drago was an ancient vampire, but as far as his grandson was concerned there was no man—real one or immortal—who was as wise. Even though he might wish it wasn’t so, Drago understood they must always strive to expand their knowledge of the modern and evolving world below if they had any hope of protecting their clan and their secret way of life here in the Superstitions, as well as the other clans all over the world. Mateo also knew regardless of the decision his grandfather made today, nothing would change Dawn Malone’s eventual fate.

  Mateo’s grandmother, Raven, had not had a choice, either, as did any of the human mates. His grandfather told him when he first arrived here in the Superstition Mountains after leaving the Blood Clan of his birth behind in old Mexico, Raven had been waiting here on the mountain for him.

  After he made her his mate, he descended the mountain to select their Clan Society. They were all members of the Jiricalla Apache tribe who lived in Raven’s village at the base of the Superstitions. The Clan Society escorted Drago back up the mountain to where his mate waited for him to return. Then they had taken the couple to the highest summit of the mountains so they could make a home in the sacred caves hidden deep in the mountaintop.

  Those caves also contained strange shimmery veins as bright as sunrays lining the rock walls. At the time, none of those tribal members understood the extent of the wealth contained in the secret caves, and although the Apache tribe did benefit some from the gold in the cave through the years, their main objective was to protect the Blood Clan at all costs. Much of the treasure was used to provide protection for the dangerous secrets concealed at the top of the Superstitions.

  After Drago and his mate settled into their home on the mountain over two hundred years earlier, she gave birth to fourteen dhampyres—thirteen daughters and finally one son. Had they not had any sons, Drago’s clan would have ended with him.

  When years passed and Raven bore no more children, and her body grew ravished with age, Drago bit her neck and drained her of blood so she would become his eternal mate. She sat at Drago’s side now looking as youthful and lovely as the day he had come to her, nearly two centuries earlier, even though she had been a middle-aged woman when she had become an immortal.

  The thirteen daughters born to Drago and Raven Two Moons moved down to the Apache village below when they become young adults. The children these female dhampyres gave birth to, whether male or female, also were real ones in every way and lived human lives like their mothers.

  Mateo’s father, Antonio, was the one son Raven had given birth to. Producing more male dhampyres for Drago’s clan rested solely on Antonio’s shoulders. Over a hundred years ago, he had come of age and found his chosen mate, Rosa. She had come to him from the Mescalero Apache tribe in New Mexico at the young age of sixteen. Six dhampyre children within sixteen years had been the result of their mating; three daughters, and thankfully, three sons.

  But she had not borne
any more children and had become Antonio’s mate about forty years earlier. Once the three girls, Mateo’s sisters, were mature enough to begin their own lives, they moved to the village below, lived their normal human lives, grown old and died of natural causes in the past couple of decades. The responsibility of saving Drago’s clan from extinction was passed to Antonio and Rosa’s three sons.

  Since there were no guarantees when it came to the sex of dhampyre offspring or how many children each mate would conceive, and because it took a full century before the male members of the Blood Clan were mature enough to seek their own mates and produce offspring, the survival of all clans were always in peril. Some ancient clans in other parts of the world now existed with only the original leader and his mate, because they had not been able to produce any male dhampyres.

  Since Mateo’s two older brothers, Anton and Rafael, found their mates, the dhampyre children their women had given birth to so far romped freely around the mountaintop village until they were old enough to seek their own destinies. They dressed in the old Apache style of loincloths, and spoke a mixture of English and Apache when they were in the hidden encampment. But like every member of Drago’s clan, they were also well-educated in the modern ways of the world below.

  On the occasions when they would go down to the world of the real ones, they looked and acted like any other children of Native American descent. The Clan Society from the Apache Reservation took the dhampyre children to movies, museums, libraries or anywhere else they desired to go during the daylight hours. Long before sunset, however, the children would be returned to the mountain.

  Unless there was an extreme emergency and they were forced to come to the top of the mountain, not even the members of the Clan Society, who were promised safe passage at all times, wanted to be caught in the vicinity of the Superstitions at nightfall when the mature male vampires awoke and left the caves.

  Now, at last, Mateo’s mate had arrived. He had waited a bit longer than his brothers. Their mates had shown up at almost the same time as their century birth date. But Mateo’s hundred-year date happened almost two months ago, and it had been a long agonizing couple of months until Dawn Malone finally appeared on the mountain.

  He had been consumed with seeing her for the first time and spent most of his time trying to imagine what she would look like. There had even been times when he thought of going in search of her. A couple of weeks ago he actually brought this idea up to his grandfather. After all, he had come here to meet his mate when he had become old enough, hadn’t he? But Drago told him to be patient. Now that his mate was finally here, ironically, it was Mateo who was asking his grandfather to be patient.

  “I know you would never put the clan in intentional danger. But it could still be risky if you spend so much time in the world of the real ones,” Drago finally said. “We have not survived this long by being careless.”

  “If there is any chance of that happening, I would immediately finish the mating process and bring Dawn—my mate—to the mountain.”

  Drago’s thick brows raised in surprise. “You have started the process, but stopped? Why would you do that if you wanted to wait to bring her up here?”

  “It was not until I began the mating process I realized how badly I want us to spend time in her world before I bring her to ours for the rest of eternity.”

  “Did you drink the blood of her thigh?”

  Mateo drew in a heavy sigh and shook his head. He knew sucking blood from their chosen mate’s large artery in their thigh was the final step in producing complete control over their woman’s mind and body. Once he pierced this major artery with his teeth, he would suck Dawn’s blood until she lost consciousness. When she awoke a short time later, her body, mind, and soul would be completely under his control for the rest of her mortal life, then for all eternity once he turned her into a vampire when she grew too old to bear his children.

  “No, only from her neck and” Mateo hesitated, before adding, “And that’s when I realized I wanted to wait.” He didn’t dare tell his grandfather already sucked the blood from her neck twice and once from her wrist without completing the mating process. Even now, just recalling how intoxicating Dawn’s blood tasted on those three occasions caused Mateo’s mouth to water with the desire to sample her sweet blood again soon.

  Drago played idly with one of his long thick braids. “This starting and stopping is worrisome. It’s never been done before as far as I know. We don’t know how it might affect her. It could make her weak and sick at the very least. What if she remembers something about being bitten? It could have dangerous consequences for us if she remembers anything and tells other real ones.” He chuckled. “Not that anyone would believe her.”

  “I won’t let anything happen that could even remotely draw attention to our clan, Grandfather, and I definitely won’t let anything happen to her.” Mateo recalled Dawn’s friend saying she had been sick…could that have anything to do with him biting her? He wouldn’t risk her health because of his own desires. Until he was ready to complete the mating process he had to be strong and not allow himself to bite her again.

  His gaze moved to the large cavern where so many more secrets were concealed. He hoped he could convey how dedicated he was to his clan, and yet, still make his grandfather understand how important waiting to make Dawn his mate was to him.

  Drago focused his dark eyes on his grandson. “I can’t help but wonder how you will be able to hide what you are from her and other real ones if you try to spend too much time with her. You can’t chance being caught out in daylight. So much is at risk for you in her world. It would be disastrous to our entire clan if anything happened to you.”

  “I won’t let that happen, Grandfather,” Mateo said with determination.

  Drago’s gaze moved out toward the hidden encampment as if he was assessing the private world he protected for so long here in the Superstitions. Unlike the Apache reservation in the valley below where the real ones lived in prefab housing and drove expensive pickup trucks, nothing had changed here on the mountaintop since the Clan Society first accompanied Drago and Raven here. Wickiups made of sticks and clay provided housing for the dhampyre children and their human mothers. They slept on animal skins just as their Apache ancestors had done from the beginning of time.

  “Help me to understand why this is so important, Grandson.” Drago asked. His thick black brows drew together in a quizzical expression.

  Mateo shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I could. I don’t even understand why this is so important to me. But I do understand how desperately important it is to keep all of this—all of us—safe.” He waved his hand out toward the encampment.

  Once again, he wished he could explain it better to his grandfather, to his brothers and parents… and mostly, to himself. But he had always been curious about the world below and the real ones, more curious it seemed than anyone else in his clan. Ever since he could remember he wanted to explore this other world, which was so drastically different from the secret world of the Blood Clan. As a very young child he constantly pleaded to go down to the Apache village to learn first-hand how the real ones lived. His grandfather had given into him and commanded members of the Clan Society to take him down to the village.

  Mateo’s curiosity continued to grow as he matured. He ventured out beyond the Indian village on his own once he was old enough not to draw any attention to himself. Occasionally, his older brothers would join him, but they did not share his intense curiosity about the real ones.

  He discovered libraries containing books on subjects he had never known existed, because the only books brought to the mountain by the Clan Society were educational ones or classic novels they felt would be interesting. At the library, he poured over books about ancient legends involving his kind—the myths about half-vampire half-human children—dhampyre—only they weren’t just myths that existed only in horror novels and scary movies. He began to question the phobias and old superstitions that kept his clan
prisoners in their secret world. But so far, he had been too worried about risking the safety of his clan to test out any of his theories.

  It was also at the public library where he first met and interacted with real ones who were not a part of the Apache tribe. He realized he could easily blend into their world during the night time. Even more importantly, he seemed to have no problem controlling his urge to drink blood when he was with humans as long as he drank a small amount from the blood sources in the village before he descended from the mountain top.

  That had been before he tasted the decadent blood that ran through the veins of Dawn Malone. Since that first drop of her sweet blood, he had a constant and unnatural craving for more. But maybe he could control his longing to drink her blood now that he knew there was a chance of putting her health in danger. Finding the strength not to bite her still might prove to be his greatest test. Mateo hoped it was one he could pass.

  Raven remained quietly at Drago’s side throughout this conversation, but now she held her hand out toward her youngest grandson. Mateo took her out-stretched hand without hesitation. Her head tilted to the side and her long ebony hair fell across the side of her face and cascaded over one of her shoulders. Even though she was ancient in years, with her smooth high cheekbones, full lips and sparkling black eyes she was the epitome of a beautiful young Apache woman.

  A worried frown creased her brow as she asked, “So, you want to be with this woman while she still has a will of her own, before you put her under your vampire spell? But what if this woman does not want to be with you in her world? I cannot imagine anyone would not love you as much as we all do, but what if she doesn’t? How would it make you feel when you must bring her here to be your mate? You cannot change the destiny set in motion since the day you were born.”