Immortal Fire Series; The Trilogy ~ Eighteen Summers, Severina, Rising Bloodtide

by K. M. Liss

  “Portia's son. He was called Enrico,” her voice trailed off into a whisper and they both looked at each other. “I need to warn Nico and Cali.”

  She ran naked into the living room, closely followed by Miche, and picked her phone out of her bag and called Cali.

  “Hiya, how's things?” Calista answered chirpily.

  “I'll tell you some other time. Cali, listen carefully. Remember I told you that Portia had a son, well his name is Enrico. Now it could just be a coincidence, but something is telling me it's not. Someone of that same name has possibly been recruiting a gang of vampires for an army. At least a dozen of them, it could be more. They left the Refugio yesterday together. I don't know for sure, but I get the feeling Villa Gianni could be the target.”

  “Oh my God, no! I had a strange dream a few days ago. I put it down as a nightmare as I haven't had any of those dreams for a while, you know... Those dreams of premonition I have. Guns and blood and the noise of bullets being fired everywhere. These men murdered us all. You, Nico, everyone here. They put me on the floor and executed me last of all.”

  “Cali, put Nico on the phone.” A minute passed and he finally spoke to her in a very worried tone.

  “Hello Sevi. Cali has just explained. Give me the details.”

  “There aren't any Nico, I wish there were. This is all I know. Rocco, the new doorkeeper at the Refugio in Rome, well he and I have a special friendship through Miche, his great grandfather, who I turned last year. Rocco called him and told him about the mass departure of some of the vampires yesterday. It seems Rocco has a friend, a resident there. She mentioned talk of an army and Rocco remembered Enrico and another vampire calling a few months back. He put two and two together, thank God. He's a sharp boy.”

  “Right, listen. This is what we shall do.” Sevi listened as Nico explained about how he would need to get hold of some heavy weapons and that they should meet briefly at the Villa in the next few days. He was moving all the women to a place of safety in the meantime.

  “I can handle a gun. I want to be there Nico,” Sevi insisted.

  “No, just Saba and Miche. We have sixteen men here right now, plus your two. That should be sufficient.”

  “Okay, I'll let them know.”

  She ended the call and stood quietly, as Miche put his bathrobe around her shoulders and kissed her passionately. She sank into his arms in a heavenly haze. Her two men. Exactly. She would have to speak to Saba and she would have to tell him soon. About her and Miche. And that she wasn't coming back to him. She had to return to New York to finish her contracts, but she wouldn't be living with him anymore. A terrible sense of foreboding entered her soul and it was nothing to do with the vampire army she had just learned about. She pushed the cold feeling aside as his hands slipped around her waist and up her back. She shivered with desire at his touch.

  “Let who know what, baby?” he murmured against her lips.

  “It can wait. Take me in your shower. Let's forget the big bad world for a few hours, hmmm?”

  * * *

  Rico picked up his phone and called Quin, while lighting a cigarette to calm his rapidly growing nerves.

  “Yep?”

  “Where's my order you fucker? It's a week overdue and I'm not a patient man,” he snapped.

  “It's nearly complete. Just waiting for the ammo.”

  “I'm paying you fifty grand for this. It had better be here soon and top quality.”

  “It is, man. Keep your shirt on. AR-15's, AK-47's, and even some RPG's. You could knock over Fort Knox with all this firepower. It'll be here in twenty four. Okay man?”

  “Make sure it is.” He tapped end call.

  Then he took a long draw on his cigarette and called Jax.

  “Hey boss, how goes it in Madrid?” Jax's deep English accent assaulted his ear.

  “Fine, just fine. So, tell me my friend, now you've had them for a week, how's things coming along in our mercenary training camp?”

  “Good, very good in fact. They're enthusiastic and possess a high degree of natural aggression and ability. I feel very positive so far. When are you sending the gear?”

  “Tomorrow some time.”

  “Cool. Hopefully it will all be suitable. We should get together soon and discuss strategy.”

  “That's what I'm paying you to do. I'll go along with your recommendations. I'm not a soldier like you Jax. But I will be coming to Rome again in a week anyhow, just gotta get this race out of the way. It's a major event.”

  “Right. I have some things in mind, but I need to see the target first.”

  “I'll send you the address in a moment. It's in Tivoli, not far from your base. Do your recon before I get there.”

  “Okay, in a few days when the team is tooled up and a little more practised with live ammo.”

  “Keep me informed how it goes anyway.”

  “Will do Rico... Later then...” He ended the call and Rico sat thinking to himself, yet again. Despite being determined and committed to carry through with his plan, he felt uneasy about what he intended to do. Mass murder was a lot to have on your conscience. Many would be innocent of any crime other than who they associated with. In fact he had no idea who was to blame for his mother and father's deaths. No idea at all. He put it out of his head for the moment. What the fuck did it matter anyway. They were just a bunch of pathetic soft Giannis. The world would be better without them.

  Chapter 5

  With a deep breath and a pounding heart, Enrico unlocked the door and turned the knob.

  He had been putting this off for months and months. Dealing with his mother's estate. But he had finally plucked up the courage and had the time to do it. As he had to visit Italy anyway, it had been the perfect opportunity. He was now here, in Naples, and ready to conclude this part of his life.

  He opened the door and entered, standing in the hallway with Anna standing firmly at his side.

  “It's a lovely house inside, despite the location,” Anna said encouragingly, looking at the hallway and up the stairs.

  “Let's have a good look around, shall we?” He took her hand and squeezed it, and together they began their trail around the rooms in a solemn mood.

  They stood in the dining room and he picked up a pack of cards from several sitting on the table. He examined them with interest. He didn't know anything about the subject, but these were Tarot cards. He knew that much.

  So, my mother was into that stuff, was she?

  He wondered how deeply. He put them down again carefully and neatly on the dusty table, in their exact position, and Anna and he silently looked around. His heart ached at the sight of all her things, paintings, beautiful pieces of furniture, and an antique grandfather clock.

  They made their way into the kitchen and he paused by the wine rack, and her substantial wine stock, picking up a bottle and fingering the quality vintage label with approval. Anna was looking sadly at some plants on her windowsill which had withered and died due to lack of water. Anna was plant mad. He'd never met a vampire like her. Their place in Madrid was like a jungle inside. But he found it quite cute to be truthful. Her orchids were his favourite. He obviously had a soft streak inside his hard Ristorian heart.

  He progressed through the kitchen and opened a large door at the end. To his complete shock, there inside the small room sat a huge cake. He stepped inside and stared at it.

  “Anna, look at this!” She came rushing to his side and gasped out loud.

  “Oh my goodness Rico, that is so amazingly beautiful!”

  They stood and gaped at the black and white piece of cake artwork in front of them. He knew his mother had an artistic side to her nature, but never in a million years did he imagine she was so good at it. He removed the perfect black sugar rose that sat on the top and gave it to Anna. Then he noticed a white business card on the counter top and picked it up and read it aloud.

  “Cakes by Portia. Unusual, beautiful, and exotic designs for your special occasion.” He suddenly burne
d inside with hate. Hatred for those who had snatched her away from him and hatred for himself for being so distant for so long. He threw the card away in a snarling rage, his fangs shooting down in anguish. Taking Anna's hand again, he left the kitchen quickly, making his way upstairs.

  If the cake had burned a hole in his heart, the sight of her bedroom finished him off. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried, he was as hard as nails in that respect, but his throat caught with emotion and his eyes stung madly. His chest heaved suddenly with his strangled heart and a loud sob broke free from his mouth. He clutched Anna tightly to him as he looked around in mental agony.

  “Oh baby, I know, I know, let it out... ” she said as she stroked his head, trying to comfort him. Another sob escaped and then another until he was sobbing openly on her shoulder. He took in a deep, deep breath and tried to pull himself together. A minute later he was composed and able to look at things properly without his eyes stinging with the need to shed tears he didn't possess.

  Her bedroom was littered with photographs, some of his father Raffaele, some of her, and some of himself as a young boy and young man. The one that really touched his heart was the one of her and Raffaele holding him as a child, perhaps when he was two or three years of age. They were both so young and beautiful and there was so much love in that one picture he was fit to burst looking at it. He picked it up and gave it to Anna and after studying it silently for a moment, she slipped it carefully inside her handbag. It seemed his mother had also known about his career in the Formula One world, as she had a small collage of his successes framed and mounted on the wall.

  Anna poked around in her jewellery box and admired a ring she found. “She has some lovely rings. May I have this one Rico?”

  “Take whatever you want my darling. It's yours. In fact have the whole fucking box.”

  His eyes were drawn to a deep red cushion on her white satin covered bed. It was embroidered with the initials P, R & E in gold thread. He picked it up and held it to his chest. This was his family. Despite their incestuous relationship, it was still his family and now it was gone. He thrust the cushion at Anna. "I want this and some more of her things. Let's bring the car to the door."

  After Naples, they drove to Rome, to their hotel, and to arrange their meet with Jax. He had promised Anna a short sightseeing trip afterwards and some shopping. He was feeling flush and generous at the moment. He had won the Spanish Grand Prix, which had swelled his bank account substantially, and he also had his mother's house and her other assets to add to that. Not that she had many assets. A few thousand euros in savings, her jewellery which was worth possibly another ten thousand and which he had given in its entirety to Anna. She was so thrilled with it too. He was sure his mother would have been very proud if she knew her jewellery was being put on display on such a beauty as her. The house was definitely worth a good sum and he planned to dispose of that and the furniture. He had arranged with the solicitor for all of that to be appraised and auctioned on his behalf. He didn't intend to go there again. He had taken all that he wanted of her.

  The porter brought their cases up to their suite at the hotel and Rico sat on the sofa and rang Jax to inform him they had arrived.

  “Hey Boss...” Jax answered with his usual loud grunt.

  “We're here, at the Astoria,” Rico announced.

  “Do you want to come to me, or shall I come to you?”

  “I'll come to you, I want to see them. Our bloodthirsty army of Ristorian retribution. I'm bringing Anna, so warn them to be on their best behaviour.”

  “Right, I'm sending you the location in a minute. It's approximately forty minutes from where you are.”

  “Give me a couple of hours. I want to relax with my woman first.”

  “If only I could relax like that. The men here are starting to look attractive to me. That's worrying me a lot!” Jax laughed heartily.

  “You should go find some of those pretty little ferals and bring them in, have some fun in the camp,” Rico suggested.

  “No, I have extremely high standards. With everything I do. The men have been whoring every day of course. That's their style. But it's not my thing. I have someone of my own, someone special. I'll wait until I get back to Manchester.”

  “And who's the lucky lady waiting for you in Manchester?”

  “Chantelle.”

  “That's a beautiful name.”

  “Oh yes, and she's beautiful all right. But still, I'm looking forward to meeting your Anna! It'll be a welcome diversion from this testosterone driven bunch of wild animals. Don't be too long 'relaxing'...”

  “Later then...” Rico ended the call and went to find Anna. He stopped at the entrance to their bedroom. There she was, sitting on their bed waiting for him. His own beautiful pre-raphaelite goddess, wearing a smile on her face and nothing else. He smiled back, his bite descending rapidly in anticipation. He took an enthusiastic leap, landing astride her legs carefully. Leaning forward, he kissed her divine little pout of a mouth over and over, as she purred against him. He wrapped his wrists in her long red curls as she wrestled off his clothes. He sighed with love and desire.

  “Anna my love. You are just so, so....”

  “Fuckable?”

  “That's the word.”

  * * *

  Severina sat in her hotel room studying the photographs of Enrico Fernandez in the racing magazine she had just bought. He had won the Spanish Grand Prix and his extremely handsome dark face was plastered across the cover. How had she not seen this likeness before? In fact, she was sure he had been at a few functions she had attended in the past with Saba, although she had never spoken to or been introduced to him. He was an exact clone of him. Short, modern hair, but everything else screamed Raffaele. He was his father, she just knew it.

  She woke Miche up from his after feed nap.

  “Look. This is him,” She said thrusting the magazine under his nose. He took it from her hand and looked at it closely with bleary eyes. “Remind you of anyone, does he?” she prompted.

  “Portia, oddly enough.” He yawned and stretched out his long body fully.

  “Anyone else...? Think about it.”

  “Raffaele springs to mind. But then he would, wouldn't he? He was her brother and they looked so alike.”

  “Yes, and d'you know what I think? Raffaele was his father.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes, that's why they were estranged, Portia and Enrico. He knew he was an incestuous child.”

  “You're guessing.”

  “No I'm not guessing, it's called intuition, and oh boy, am I getting vibes about this. He's feeling guilty in some way as he alienated himself from his parents because of who he was and now he's taking it out on those responsible for their deaths. Us.”

  “So he wants to wipe us out, like the Giannis did to his family?”

  “Exactly my love.”

  She took a photo of the magazine cover with her phone and sent it to Cali with her theory in short.

  Her phone rang a half a minute later.

  “Yes, it all fits, doesn't it?” Cali agreed with a gush of enthusiasm. “When are you coming? I want to talk about it some more?”

  “Tomorrow. Miche has an assignment today, one that he can't get out of.”

  “Sevi, why are you in Paris with him anyway?”

  “It's a long story. I'll tell you when I see you. How's the safehouse?”

  “Old and dusty, full of bored women. I miss the villa and Nico so much my heart is bleeding. I've not been apart from him for one day since I met him. It's doing my head in.”

  “It's better than having your head blown off by some vampire on a blood rampage.”

  “Mine might be safe, but his isn't, is it?”

  “Well I'm sure I'll feel the same soon, when Miche and Saba are there too. We can fret and do some heart bleeding together.”

  “Say hello to Saba for me.”

  “When I see him.”

  “Isn't he with you, in
Paris?”

  “No, he's in New York of course.”

  “Right... So when's he coming?”

  “I don't know. I explained the situation to him two days ago, but I've not heard from him since.”

  “Why am I getting odd feelings about this, Sevi?”

  “Because things are very odd. Now stop picking at me for information. I'll explain later, when we arrive in Tivoli. I must go. I'm busy. See you soon.” She ended the call quickly and sighed as the subject of her husband clouded her mind.

  The phone call to Saba had been absolutely dreadful. First she had to deliver the news about the army and his presence being required in Tivoli, in what was most likely to be a very dangerous situation, and then the fact that she was staying with Miche in France at the moment. Her mind swam with the hurt she felt during the raging row with Saba that had followed her news. The names he had called her still stung. He had such double standards as far as infidelity was concerned. Apparently fucking around with whores didn't count as being unfaithful. But Miche, well, he was something completely different.

  Actually, she had to agree. In this case he was right. Miche was different. Wonderfully life changing different. She was following her instincts and they were calling very loudly and clearly to her to follow him.

  Miche had been watching her and listening thoughtfully. As she looked into his eyes she felt swamped with a massive flood of mixed up feelings. He seemed to sense her concern and inner turmoil.

  “Don't worry. Things will be all right,” he said, pulling her towards him, taking her hand in his, and rubbing it with his thumb affectionately.

  “How can you be so sure?” She rested her head against his chest, listening to the slow reassuring beat of his heart.

  “I'm an eternal optimist.”

  “But everything is so messy just now. Saba, Mercedes, where we live, our work. Not to mention the people who hate us and want to wipe us out with heavy firepower.”

  “We have each other.”

  “Yes, I know we do.”