The traveler watched the older Monteleone Golden vampire retreat. He’d given the man two days to get an invite to the Monteleones in California. That would give him enough time to follow-up on the name he’d been provided, obtain nourishment, and then catch up on his sleep.
He wondered what would happen if some day mortals reigned supreme over their vampire brethren. He knew that the Book of Spawn was his ticket to not only immortality but a way of controlling the most powerful families in the world. He knew that if he could eradicate them the world might be a safer place for people like him. And he knew the world would be doomed for the dark coven lords. As long as enough of them were allowed to remain, mortals like himself could rule the world.
Carmine Monteleone was a useful idiot in that plan. He didn’t know that he was contributing to the assured destruction of all the Golden vampires. It wasn’t important that he see the train coming. It was just important that the train came at all, and that he lived to see the balance of power shift.
He held his palm on the table, fingers splayed to the sides. It was time for the immortals of the world to understand their days were numbered. It was time for the mortals of the world to embrace their immortality.
Chapter 7
Phoebe had gotten acquainted with Marcus and Anne’s staff and the new young attendant who would be taking care of her. As promised, she toured the vineyards with Marcus one afternoon. It brought up lots of questions.
“Cousin Marcus, so Lionel has never seen your estate in the daytime?” she asked.
Phoebe could see he was pensive. He parked the SUV and then shut off the motor. Their windows were left open. A large hawk was calling in the distance while smaller birds chirped together socially in oak trees that lined the working line road.
She could smell the dirt, the budding vines and even the mustard flowers with their sour scent, growing between the rows. The blue sky against the dark earth and green grasses was a stunning contrast and was every bit as beautiful as the pictures and paintings she’d seen. It did look like Tuscany, but with more light. And it was bigger.
Marcus slowly turned in the seat and regarded her carefully. “Lionel is a rare breed, Phoebe, as I’m sure you’ve discovered. I often think to myself how sad it is that the brothers have never seen this magnificent property in the full light of day. But they do remember what it was like to be mortal as they were before their turning. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. But I have never heard them complain. Not once. I wonder, if, given the same situation, I wouldn’t pine for those warm summer afternoons that I remember as a mortal child.”
“But if I turned—if I turned dark, would I be able to see daytime still?”
“No, dear Phoebe. If you were turned dark, then you would have all the traits that Lionel possesses. You would forever remain a creature of the night, cousin. I’m not sure that is even a choice for you, thankfully.”
“My understanding is from my parents that Lionel and Hugh and Jeb were all turned by a dark coven Lord that your family trusted. Why weren’t they turned by a Golden?”
“That was my mother’s and father’s decision to make. It was a very difficult situation. All three brothers were left for dead. It was hoped that they would serve the Monteleone family in exchange for their gift of immortality. But they were never asked for the choice.”
“I understand the elders in Tuscany were consulted?”
“Well, they tried, from what my mother tells me, but, frankly, there was no time to really sort it out. Without the Council’s approval, and it was deemed likely they wouldn’t approve, the family could save their lives, but only if they were made dark.”
“And they’ve given their lives to the Family.”
“Without a whimper. I like to think our family has treated them well.”
She knew Lionel felt like one of the family himself, but she wanted to hear it from Marcus. “You’ve treated them as any other family member. For, are they not family, in your opinion?”
“By blood, no. But by their duty and honor, their loyalty, yes. I have always felt a kinship with the Jett brothers. I have trusted my own offspring to their care, stemming back to the days when I was made to believe I’d fathered Lucius.”
“Which is why you were keen to the idea of allowing Lionel to marry me, to be my protector.”
Marcus looked thoughtful before he answered. “Yes, I suppose that is part of it. We have a peculiar hierarchy, this symbiotic relationship between the brothers and ourselves.”
“You and Lionel are going to do some research, he’s told me.”
“Yes. I’ve recently acquired a body of work that has left me with more questions than answers. I’ve asked Lionel to help me with my study, and he’s agreed.”
“Has your family turned others?”
“The answer to that is I don’t know, but probably. I’ve only turned one. I am Anne’s maker and in doing so, I violated several rules.”
“Rules?” She asked.
“We are to obtain permission before we can add additional Goldens to our bloodline. We also need permission before we turn Goldens who come of age. It is usually performed by a member of the Directorate. We don’t turn children, we don’t turn young people until they are at or past puberty. We give them the decision, the choice. Anne was not given that choice. I made it for her, and I nearly paid for it with my life.”
“Yes, my mother told me you had risked much. But I didn’t understand it was because of Anne’s origins. But it all makes sense now, cousin.” She paused, ready to get to the crux of her question. “So, about my marriage, my relationship with Lionel—and he has shared this with you I believe, is that correct?”
“Yes, Phoebe he has.”
“This relationship with him I feel is some natural selection process. It may not be the same kind of fating as you had with Anne, but I feel it is something growing—something like a fating. Could it be that something about either myself or Lionel is incomplete and if it were completed, we would experience a true bond?”
“The bond happens during the blood mating ritual. The fating is what makes the bond possible. It attracts the male and female together with such a strong desire that one cannot live without the other. It takes over one’s entire life. It becomes air and water and food to the Golden who is part of this ritual. I am told it is the same for those of Lionel’s clan.”
“Marcus, did you ever have strong feelings for anyone else other than Anne?”
Marcus tapped on the steering wheel with his fingers and searched through the windshield as if looking for a face in a crowd somewhere. “In three hundred years, Phoebe, I never met my fated mate until I met Anne. I had dalliances, I had affairs and I enjoyed my mortal years as a young man in society way back then, but I was always searching for that special woman, and I never sensed her presence, until I met Anne that night in the chapel in Tuscany.”
“The chapel where we wed, correct?”
“That very one.”
“So how do you explain this experience that Lionel and I have?”
Marcus shook his head and then smiled at her. He was such a kind, understanding man, Phoebe thought, so honorable, handsome, and always wise. She knew he would always tell her the truth.
“I can’t. I wish I had answers for you, Phoebe, but I can’t. I just don’t know how to explain it at all.”
Phoebe thought long and hard about what it must be like to never see the sun or lie in the early morning hours and allow the warm air to caress her flesh. If she turned to the dark side and joined Lionel, if that was even possible, or allowed, would she regret the life she could’ve lived as a Golden vampire? She tried to live by evening and sleep by day as was Lionel’s routine, just to be supportive of him, but would she in time tire of this?
And though they were married, if she took a dark turn, would she be able to bear him children? These were things that weighed heavily on her mind.
She would keep asking questions until she got answers that resonated
with her. Until then, she knew, no matter what she felt, that she would have to wait. She knew she could count on Lionel to be discreet, but she did not know if she could count on herself. It was the only thing she worried about now.
Arrangements were made for a large party at the Monteleone estate as they received news that several of their Tuscan relatives were to be arriving in California for a visit. Her parents were among the guests. She worked with Anne to create a menu that would not make her turned relatives sick but would also please the younger unturned members who were coming.
“They practically live on macaroni and cheese,” she said to her cousin. Phoebe had been discussing her brothers.
“I still sneak a taste now and then, remembering how I loved it so. We’ll make sure there is enough so they can consume it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!” said Anne.
“How do you nourish yourself?” Phoebe asked her.
“Bone broth is my favorite, though I sometimes have lean, raw beef.”
“Bone broth?” Phoebe scrunched up her nose. “That sounds disgusting. You do mean raw, is that right?”
“Not at all. It’s warm and extremely nutritious for us. Made from the bones of large cattle.” She paused. “But fated mates can give each other nourishment which can last them for centuries. You’ll find one day when you turn, after the initial period, your need for sustenance dwindles greatly.”
Ian was playing in the corner of the dining room, where the two women sat. They continued searching through recipes and making seating plans. The baby had become fascinated with pots and pans, or anything that made noise from the kitchen.
One of the sisters, Amalia, appeared as soon as Ian began to fuss.
“Ma’am, let me give him a bath and feed him, yes?”
“Thank you, sweetie. Phoebe and I are nearly finished, but that would be a great help.” She smiled across the table. “I never thought I’d get used to having servants. Now I can’t understand how I ever lived without them.”
Phoebe had never known a time when the house didn’t employ servants. “What was it like, Anne, growing up?”
She rolled her eyes. “I worked hard. I had a job I loved. I was responsible. I got up early. I often worked all day without a break. I went to bed late. I took care of everything. I didn’t have anyone to cook or clean or do laundry. Honestly, as a mortal woman I understand how difficult it can be. How people age. We are so lucky you and I.”
“What was it like, your turning?”
“Well I didn’t know what had happened to me. I was one day at my wedding—”
Phoebe leaned forward, shocked. “Your wedding?”
“Yes. I’m not exactly proud of it, but I did get engaged to a mortal man who would’ve made and actually did make a terrible husband. Honestly, the guy couldn’t keep his pants on. I caught him in the bathroom with my maid of honor at our reception. After the reception, I took my trip, which was to have been our honeymoon, in Tuscany. Since I paid for it with my own money, I decided to go anyway without Robert, my husband. I intended to divorce him as soon as I came home.”
“I never knew you were married once before. Once to a moral man and now to Marcus?”
“There’s absolutely no comparison. Marcus was always the man I was destined to marry. He saved me from a life of hell. He saved me in every way possible Phoebe.”
She was touched with Anne’s story. “And so how did you eventually meet Marcus?”
Anne stood, pacing the floor back-and-forth, and then continued. “I stumbled upon the little chapel where you and Lionel were married. I decided to say a prayer, to forgive my husband and to beg for a miracle. I hardly noticed the three people sitting in the front of the church discussing something. I would find out later that it was Marcus consulting a priest with a woman he was being forced to marry.”
“I can’t see Marcus doing anything he didn’t have to.”
“She’d told him Lucius was his, when in reality, Paulo was the real father. I left the chapel thinking that I did all I could. I prayed about it, I made a donation and lit a red candle. I’d sent my wish up to Heaven. And within minutes, as I was trying to find my way back to my hotel, this vampire female attacked me and I felt my life’s blood drain out on the cobblestone streets. I died that evening, Phoebe. She stole my mortal life from me.”
Anne sat back down at the table and grabbed Phoebe’s hands in both of hers. “For you, the path is different. You were always destined to be who you are, a Golden female. I, on the other hand, had a different destiny. It was altered. I didn’t recognize the fating nor did I even know about vampires or vampire society or the two species of vampires. I knew absolutely nothing of this world.”
“So, how did you deal with all this?”
“I didn’t know what had happened to me. I wandered along the South of France, into Spain. I knew that something had changed, but I didn’t know what. I thought I was losing my mind. I felt so helpless and confused.”
“How horrifying!”
“It was. I can see why they make so many rules about this. I was very vulnerable, or at least felt vulnerable. But in reality, I had Marcus there, invisibly guiding me the whole way. After we met, I fell in love with him and in the beginning, it was Marcus who helped me bridge the gap. They have this rule that if a new Golden being is created that the maker cannot contact that person for thirty days. Marcus abided by it carefully, but he followed me. He protected me, as it turned out. And on the 30th day he appeared to me, finally.”
“Would you let me ask you a question?”
“Ask away.”
“Did you feel fated to Marcus?”
“There was something there Phoebe. Yes. It took me awhile to understand what was going on, but I have to say, yes, I knew immediately that whomever he was, this dark male nearly stalking me, was my ticket out. I felt the intensity of his love right away. I trusted him. For the first time in my life, I belonged somewhere, and that was right at his side. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I think I do.”
“It was dangerous. But he made me feel like I’ve never felt before. And it didn’t take long before in his presence I completely changed. My whole outlook changed. I embraced it, Phoebe. I brought Marcus into my life and I’ve never regretted it.”
Phoebe knew Lionel would be awakening soon. She slipped inside the bedroom and nestled next to him, watching him sleep. When he reached for her, she allowed his fingers to undress her carefully, peeling her free from the bonds of her clothes so that her flesh could awaken to his touch. She allowed his lips to trace and bless all her private parts.
She remembered Anne’s words that had been spoken to her just minutes before. And she knew, just as strongly as she felt the way her body responded to her husband, that Anne had felt the fating, and that it grew within her just like it was growing within Phoebe tonight.
Each time he showered her with kisses and spoke to her inner soul with those Latin incantations, she was molded into his woman step by glorious step, along with that tug on her womb that wanted to bear him a child. It was more than passion. It was a persistent pull to be consumed in the flames of his love. She was submitting to his will, transforming, just like a real turning.
But it wasn’t a dark future she saw. She saw bright sunshine, and light filtering through his hair as he leaned down and kissed her. She saw herself giving Lionel her whole body in the middle of a sunny day, his shaft entering her needy sex, spilling seed and lining her insides with a pleasure so exquisite, she burst into tears. In her fantasy, they lay in plain view, under the Heavens, a picnic in a vineyard. Their love making was long and arduous, tender and fierce. When at last she was fully spent, she lay her head against his chest and they watched the clouds drift through the bright blue sky together.
Lionel arched up, interrupting her pleasant vision.
“What are you showing me?” He had stopped, demanding an answer.
“I see our future.”
Chapter 8
Marcus
’ study was quiet except for the crackling fire in the fireplace. He shared his reading table with Lionel. The Book of Spawn was opened to a section in the first third of the tome. They’d been pouring over a particular passage.
“So, it says there was a disturbance amongst the population during the time of Vinkus.” Marcus looked up at him. “I’m not exactly sure what year that is but if I’m not mistaken the Vinkus dynasties began in the second and third centuries in India. A great king came into power, and he led the people on a crusade to populate. It’s even written in history books I’ve studied from England and France,” said Marcus.
“I think they refer to it sometimes as the second coming?” added Lionel.
“Exactly. It was an Age of Enlightenment for India and the surrounding Hindu areas. In the West we don’t study this but explorers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries uncovered temples long buried under jungle foliage that depict sexual acts of every form. I guess it was considered a variation of the Christian theme of a God of love.”
Lionel leaned back in the leather armchair and tapped his fingers to his lips. “So you are thinking that this great ruler during the dynasty of Vinkus was actually a vampire?”
“The book is unclear. See what it says here, ‘and the God of Vinkus gave onto his people the art of love.’ What they are saying here is that this particular ruler lead them on a sexual journey I guess is the best way to put it.” Marcus grinned. “It refers to the years preceding the emergence of this ruler is the years of despair.”
Lionel leaned over and read for himself a passage that directed the reader to another passage in the book of sorrows. “Where is this book of sorrows?”
Marcus examined the script. “I’ve never seen that before. Good job, Lionel. Let me see, because I wasn’t aware there was a Book of Sorrows, but you’re right.” He flipped from the index and re-opened the book to nearly the end.
“It’s here in the back.” Marcus turned several pages forward and then back and came to a chapter in the last third. “Here it is.”
Midnight Bite Page 6