“Seems like this fight is over.” Damian ran up, his sword drawn. He nudged both of the frozen men with the tip, grinning when he realized they couldn’t fight back. “Too bad. I have an itch to skewer one or both of them for making fools of my guards.” Then he noticed Flo was bleeding, her gown stained as she sobbed in Richard’s arms. “Bastardi! You hurt my sister?” He turned to me. “Only one person can freeze men in their tracks like this. Thaw them, Glory. I want a fair fight so I can kill them, one at a time.” He slashed each man with his sword, making them bleed.
“No. Let them be. I can’t stand to see you fight.” Flo held out a hand to her brother. Damian ran to her and began exclaiming in Italian.
“Can we finish what we started here?” Miguel still held Stefan Maury close to the fence. His mortal friends were stirring, the electrical shock obviously not enough to kill them.
“Yes, let’s finish it.” Richard handed Flo over to Damian. “Listen to me, you piece of shit, don’t you ever come after my family again. Do you hear me?”
“I can’t promise that, monsieur. Kill me if you must, but I can’t go home without the relic. You don’t know my grand-mère.” Stefan stared straight ahead. “She leads the family. I was given this task and, if I fail, I will suffer such as hell would be a welcome release.”
I pulled away from Jerry who’d been holding me while he carefully examined the insignificant cut on my back from the stake.
“Wait. I know what it’s like to have a difficult, um, relative. In my case it’s my mother. Can’t you at least let him borrow the relic, Richard?” Flo’s husband still gripped it. He looked incredulous. “Come on. You know how to get it back if the old lady dies.”
Stefan eyes, glazed with pain, focused on me. “You would plead my case? Yes, yes, of course I will make sure you get your relic back, Mainwaring, if Grand-mère dies. And if she lives, I will see that it finds its way back to you as well, even if I must risk my life to do it. Grand-mère will understand that you must treasure it. This illness has brought her closer to God.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure God was surprised. Anyway, I can persuade her that this was a generous loan. That you are a pious man and due a handsome reward for it.”
Richard and Flo stared at me. They whispered together then Flo took the velvet box from Richard. “Here, take it.” She pushed it into Stefan’s hands. “Perhaps you should hope it does not work miracles, eh? I keep the necklace. It is important to me. Do not bother me about it again. Tu mi capisci?”
“Yes, I understand. I can’t thank you enough.” Stefan swallowed. “Are you through carving your initials into my face, Cisneros?”
“Maybe, maybe not. For your information, I am out of the assassination business. Though I will certainly keep your money because of the trouble this has caused me and my friends here. Tell your people and the rest of your connections in Europe that Miguel Cisneros no longer takes hits.” Miguel wiped off his blade on Stefan’s cowboy shirt and slipped it out of sight. “And if I hear you’ve been bragging that you bested the Austin vampires to get this relic, I’ll make sure the Maury family, every one of you, is wiped off the map. Do you believe me?”
“Yes, I do.” Stefan tucked the velvet box into his jeans pocket and helped his cousins to their feet. “I will let you know how this turns out for my grandmother. Thank you, Mainwaring, Madame.” He bowed toward Florence. “I am not sure I would have been as forgiving as you have been.” He tipped his cowboy hat at the rest of us then marched out of sight, his two mortal friends staggering after him.
“Uh, what about them?” Flo pointed at the bleeding vampires who were still frozen in place.
“I’ll take care of them. Gloriana isn’t the only vampire who can pull that particular trick.” That comment from Miguel raised eyebrows all around. “They are exceptionally nasty hired guns, but they only do what they are paid to do.” He glanced around the group. “You never know when you might need someone like that. Leave them to me.”
“Okay, Miguel, but make sure they leave town.” I walked over and jerked the stakes out of each of their hands and tossed them over the electrified fence. We could hear the wood hit the rocks down below the steep cliff on the other side. “I don’t want to be around when you do thaw them.”
“Fine. I know how to handle their kind. They can hear us so they know this job is over. They’d better catch Stefan Maury if they want to be paid. After the party is over. You agree, Sabatini?” Miguel nudged one of the men with his foot and, satisfied that he was still immobile, nodded at Damian.
“Yes, that’s good. Now I say we all need a drink. The blood on the costumes is unfortunate. If either of you ladies would like to change, I have some silk robes upstairs…” Flo and I frowned. “Never mind. Of course other vampires may think the blood a nice touch, a charming decoration.” Damian seemed to realize his joke was falling flat and shook his head. “Pah! Look on the bright side. We have the longest night of the year ahead of us to dance, drink and make love. I, for one, plan to enjoy it.” He gestured toward where we could hear the band still playing, always the perfect host. “Come, the music is great and Gloriana has promised me a tango.” He grinned and led the way.
I held onto Jerry and walked toward the music. A tango? I could barely stay on my feet. I’d come close to being staked and I’d never forget the feel of that wood against my skin. The wound still itched, the allergy we all had to a certain type of timber assuring me that it really could have killed me if it had hit my heart. I was always worried about how to spend eternity. Well, I’d just had a reminder that there were no guarantees that I’d live forever, none at all.
#
It was Christmas night and we were finally moving into our new apartment. Jerry had let me order the furniture and he’d paid extra to get everything delivered on Christmas Eve. I hadn’t been to the place since before the Winter Solstice Ball. Business at the shop had been crazy in a good way. I’d helped the clerks and been on a buying spree, contacting vamps I knew who liked to sell their vintage pieces so I could restock. I needed fresh merchandise for our emptying racks and shelves. I was actually getting over my bridal nerves and looking forward to becoming Jerry’s wife. Imagine that.
“All right. I know we’re not married yet but Florence said I have to carry you over the threshold anyway. For luck. She seems big on these kinds of things.” Jerry lifted me into his arms as soon as we got to the top of the stairs. We had a new door, a shiny red one with a peephole so I could see who was on the other side before I opened it. Not that my vamp senses didn’t usually tell me anyway.
“This is new. Wasn’t the other one just solid dark wood?” I leaned down to turn the brass knob.
“Yes, but I’ve made a few changes since you were here last.” He kissed me long and hard then set me on my feet in the small tile entryway. “Surprise!”
“I can’t believe it!” I gazed around me. The walls in the entry were a pale turquoise. When we stepped into the spacious living room the color deepened to the blue of the Mediterranean. The white leather couch I’d picked had a half-dozen colorful pillows scattered across it and a pair of print chairs matched perfectly.
“I hope you like it. I told the decorator I wanted the color of the water off the Amalfi coast. Remember the trip we took there? I’ll never forget how you looked on that beach, the water matching your eyes when a moonbeam hit them.” He brushed my hair back from my face. “It was one of our perfect nights together.”
“Jerry.” I kissed him hard, so moved I struggled not to cry. “This is a romantic side you rarely show me. I remember that night. I was afraid to swim but you carried me into the waves and we made love there.” I held onto him, remembering. How long ago had it been? Fifty years? Sixty? So many memories. I drew back. “You hired a decorator? When?”
“After you let me know how you felt about neutrals. Look around. You’ll find that there’s not one white wall left in this place. Come see our bedroom.” He grinned and dragged me down the hall. “You can c
hange anything you don’t like, but it was easier to repaint when the place was empty.”
I caught a glimpse of a terracotta kitchen with splashes of yellow and blue. The dining room was tricked out in emerald green that complimented the dark wood round table that would probably never see a dinner, just the poker parties Jerry had already warned me he wanted to throw there.
“What do you think?” He threw open the bedroom door like a magician showing off a great trick. I gasped.
“Wow!” I laughed and threw myself into the middle of the king-sized bed. He hadn’t moved his bedroom suite here after all, but had ordered another set, this one with the kind of vintage look I loved. The massive French baroque headboard rose toward the ceiling and had been gilded, a mirror in its center. Too bad that mirror was wasted on us.
The walls were done in Venetian plaster, the deep peach a color that would make my skin glow in dim lighting. I was tempted to strip off right then to test the theory. The bedspread was sumptuous velvet, a royal blue with gold woven bee designs that I recognized from that period. Against one wall was a Venetian painted dressing table loaded with crystal perfume bottles. I couldn’t resist hopping up to check them out. Gorgeous.
“Are you crazy? Are we going to be able to sleep in a room like this?” I lunged at Jerry, hugging him so hard I was afraid I’d cracked a rib. I should have known better. My man was warrior strong.
“We don’t sleep. We die at sunrise, my love. And I hope you like it. The decorator was CiCi. She has pretty feminine taste. Has she pleased you?” Jerry glanced around the room. “She did finally put in a sturdy desk so both of us could use our computers. But she wouldn’t allow a TV in here. Said I’d have to watch it in my Man Cave as she dubbed it. Come see. It’s in one of the extra bedrooms.” He dragged me out of our bedroom but only after I got a look at the master bath, resplendent with navy and gold towels and a dark furry rug that begged to be christened with a sexy romp.
“Man Cave? I may want to use this room too.” I had to admit the deep red walls were amazing. The glaze glowed under the lights from a black iron chandelier that CiCi might have found in an old saloon. There was a vintage humidor for Jerry’s cigars and a hidden TV that popped up when he pushed a remote. He played with his technology, showing off the stereo system and the way his leather chair vibrated with the touch of a button. I was more interested in the couch with a faux fur throw where both of us could snuggle to watch TV or DVDs.
“So can you live here with me? Happily ever after?” Jerry pulled me down to the couch. “Be honest. Paint is an easy thing to change.”
“I love every bit of it.” I sighed against him. “I can’t wait to marry you. I’m beginning to wonder why I kept putting you off.”
“I’m sure not going to remind you.” He jumped up. “I hear the truck coming. They’ve got the last of the boxes and our clothes. Just wait here. I’ll supervise the unloading. When it’s done, I want us to start working our way through every room in the new place. You decide which room we’re going to do first.” He leaned down and kissed me gently, his palm cupping my breast. “You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?”
“Yes, indeed.” I ran a finger down his zipper, his jeans taut against his bulge. “Hurry them along.” I grinned as he practically ran out of sight.
“Seems like I got here just in time.”
I knew that voice. Had hoped to avoid it until after New Year’s Day.
“Mother.” I swallowed and stood. “What do you think of my new apartment?”
“It’s beautiful. But you can’t distract me with a tour of this place. Tell me you’re not marrying that fanged monster.” With her typical drama, my mother staggered over to Jerry’s pride and joy, his new leather chair. It was a shame that we looked so much alike. She even appeared almost the same age as I did, though maybe closer to thirty than the twenty-two I’d been when I’d been made vampire. We had the same blond hair and blue eyes, the same figure though mine was more generous thanks to an eating binge and bloating right before I was turned.
We shared the same love of great clothes and shoes too. Mother hadn’t come down in her toga tonight. No, she loved to rub in her knack for creating her own wardrobe with a magical blink. This visit she wore a Pucci print shift from the sixties and black ballet flats.
“He’s not a monster, Mother, he’s the love of my life. And if he is a monster, what does that make me?” I was not about to stand for criticism from her tonight, not of Jerry. He’d been nothing but wonderful lately.
“Misguided. Brainwashed. Take your pick.” She sighed, pretending to be long-suffering.
“I pick happy.” Maybe the devil made me do it, but I couldn’t resist. I grabbed the remote and treated her to the massage button on high.
She shrieked and jumped out of the chair. “That man ruined your life. Can’t you see it, Gloriana?”
“He gave me immortality. I would be dust by now if he hadn’t turned me in 1604 and don’t you forget it. But this is an old argument and I don’t see the point. Be happy for me, Mother. If you love me like you say you do, you’ll back off and let me live my life as I choose.” I tossed aside the remote and strode to my new bedroom where I picked up one of the beautiful perfume bottles. No scent in it of course. Vampires rely on their sense of smell for defense and don’t muddle it by using perfume. But I do love old crystal bottles. Bless CiCi for knowing that. I tensed when I felt Mother’s hand on my shoulder.
“Darling. Of course I love you. But how can you think this is best for you? Drinking blood.” She turned me to face her just in time for me to see her shudder. “I can’t bear the thought.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not changing.” I realized I was about to crush the bottle or throw it against the wall so I gently set it down. “Look around. Jerry had this space decorated to please me. He treats me like a queen. I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
She reached past me and picked up a sterling frame from the dressing table. “So you’ve agreed to marry him?” Her voice rose several octaves. “This is a wedding invitation. You’ve planned a wedding for New Year’s Day, less than a week away. Where’s my invitation?”
“Where would I send it, Mother? Do you have a post office box on Olympus?” I snatched it out of her hand. CiCi had framed one of our invitations. It was a sweet gesture but now I had to deal with what was sure to be a scene.
“So am I invited?” She strode around the room, stroking the velvet coverlet, frowning down at the chaise lounge in the corner where CiCi had left one of my favorite self-help books. This one was about taking control of your life. Of course my mother wouldn’t approve of that, she wanted to pull my strings.
“I’d love for you to be there if you can promise to be happy for me and not ruin my special night.” I heard the front door opening. “Here’s Jerry now. The movers are bringing in our clothes. Will you stay and be nice to him? Wish him, us, well?”
“You ask too much.” She whirled to face me, her face a solemn mask. “I have plans for you, Gloriana, and they don’t include a husband from this earthly plane. Especially not one who is a bloodsucker.”
“Mother, you came to my life too late. I make my own plans.” I knew I was taking a chance, defying her. But she’d abandoned me when I was a baby. Left me to be raised a Siren, in the Olympus version of an orphanage, to basically become a murdering prostitute. Can you blame me if I wasn’t exactly eager to jump to do her bidding?
“We are not done, Gloriana. Not at all.” And with that, she disappeared.
Jerry strode into the room with a box in his hands, followed by workmen carrying cardboard wardrobes that I knew were filled with my clothes and his. “Tell them where you want your things, Gloriana. We’ve got two more trips downstairs and then we’re finished.”
I found a smile and got busy. No way was I destroying Jerry’s happy mood by sharing my mother’s visit. But she was so powerful. If she had plans, I was sure they weren’t to just stand by and let me marry the ma
n I loved. I swallowed a sick feeling as I went through the motions necessary to put away my meager wardrobe in my fabulous new closet. I had built-in shelves for shoes and handbags, drawers for my lingerie. Stepping back and seeing my things looking so pretty was almost enough to help me forget…
“Come out here, Gloriana. I have one more gift for you. It is Christmas, you know.” Jerry was acting like an excited kid. It had taken him all of ten minutes to stuff his underwear and socks into drawers. He’d told the men to hang his things wherever in his closet. Yes, he had his own on the other side of our master bath. Have I mentioned how much I love this apartment?
“Jerry, you’ve done enough.” I dragged myself out of my walk-in, casting one more admiring look at the way I’d arranged everything by color. It probably wouldn’t stay that way, but for now it was perfect. “I love, love, love everything here.”
“One more thing. In this box.” He gestured to the gold wrapped box sitting on the foot of our bed. It had a fluffy bow on top made of gold and silver ribbon. “Florence mentioned that you love these things and I asked Lacy to help me shop for it. I hope I got it right.”
I knew from the size of the box that it probably wasn’t jewelry. Which was good. Unlike my best bud, I really didn’t wear much. A fur? I hoped not. Austin isn’t exactly against fur, but isn’t for it either. And we did have those mild winters.
“Would you just open it?” Jerry slid his arms around me. “The suspense is killing me. I don’t buy stuff like this. And to order it on-line... I probably screwed it up.”
“Okay, okay, but whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it.” I turned in his arms and kissed him, slowly, thoroughly. “Because you were thinking about what would please me. And I know what will please you. Maybe I’ll get out the nightgown Flo gave me. It’s supposed to be for our wedding night but this first night in our new place seems to be the right time. I think you’ll find it stimulating.” I teased one of his ears and saw him shiver.
Real Vampires Take a Bite Out of Christmas Page 8