“What were you instructed to do,” I asked her through clenched teeth, struggling to maintain my anger.
“Papa had said to stand out in the meadow, to help any strangers who passed by on the road at the bottom of the hill. I didn’t know I’d end up in the Dark Place. But when I did, you were there and I thought you could help me. I thought maybe I could escape and maybe I’d find this demon along the way. Then that transformation happened after I drank your blood and…”
“Your father, King Lividius told you to go to the meadow?”
“Yes,” she replied. Her eyes wide and alert. “Why?”
“That’s where my father found you. In the meadow?”
“Yes. I don’t understand what that means.”
“It was a trap. You’ve read stories of demons roaming meadows looking for virgins, haven’t you?”
She shook her head as she wiped away her tears. “No, that can’t be right. If Papa told your father then that means he led us all to be slaughtered.”
I sighed. “I can’t say for sure, but I’d suspect your father has gone dark. I’m sorry, Emily. He’s probably been in league with my father for some time.”
“Then I have no home to return to,” she muttered in between sniffles. “Oh Vincent, this can’t be. My pack is lost.” She fell into my arms overwhelmed again by grief. I let her cry it out as she rested her head on my shoulder.
***
When Emily finally fell asleep on the bench I had made for her, I looked for more wood which was scarce. The fire was low and only a soft glow of coals remained. Now and then Emily mumbled in her sleep and I’d check on her. Her angelic features radiated in the dying firelight. She was the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen. My heart jerked and I felt a dull ache of foreboding. Did I want to send her home, back to the Golden Kingdom now? What if my hunch was right? As I took my shirt off and draped it over Emily’s shoulders, I decided I should try to contact my mother. The suggestion Emily had made that I should call to her from the Beyond was a smart idea. Why had I not thought of it before?
I dug a six inch wide trench in the shape of a circle around Emily and where the previous fire had been. I lit the sand on fire and watched the flames chase around the dug trench, each forming a circle that stacked on top of the other until it created a dome above us. As I retrieved my sword and stabbed it into the ground in the most center point of the circle, I called upon the Moon Goddess, the one entity I knew who could find my mother.
“Al di là, al di là, la dea della Luna, fatemelo sapere di mia madre. Al di là, al di là, la dea della Luna, fatemelo sapere di mia madre.”
I called out with all my might, stabbing the sword again and again into the ground. Leaving the tip in the sand, I whirled the blade in a circle left, and then right. “To the beyond, to the beyond,” I said again, “Moon goddess, bring me word of my mother.”
Suddenly a large gust of wind from the South blew out the flaming dome of fire. My vision adjusted as I noted how completely dark the night had become. Emily whimpered in her sleep. I went to her and placed my fingertips on her wrist. She still has a pulse and breathing evenly. She’s fine, I thought. I looked out across the water to where the strong wind had surfaced. The waters were calm like all life in the sea had stopped. Something was wrong. I glanced out at the end of the pier, thinking I wouldn’t see anyone, but I did. The moonlight appeared, bathing the figure in light. The person retreated and sat down in the hammock, looking my way beckoning me to join him or her, then reclining in the hammock, rocked back and forth, whistling. I remained frozen, closing my eyes temporarily, so I could focus on the sound. Did I know the tune? I could hear the song floating over the breeze. Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
My throat tightened and my legs lurched forward. Could it be? My mother had sung that lullaby to me when I was a child. Could it be her? Cautiously I made my way out along the pier, hoping against hope it was my mother. When I approached the figure, I realized she was a woman. She wore a white chiffon dress that hovered and moved around her. The dress sparkled with gems that had been woven throughout the sleeves and upper bodice.
Taking a moment to stand, the woman tossed her gray hair away from her face and over her shoulder, just the way my mother did. I recognized the gesture immediately. Her face, I did not recognize. But her eyes. Her eyes I recognized. Tranquil pools of blue love gazing up at me.
“Vincent, my son.”
“Mother?” I ventured. It had to be her.
“Yes, my son,” she said. “Don’t let my appearance concern you. It is me.”
“What happened?” I asked as I took her feeble hand in mine and guided her along the pier towards the beach. I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid I’d break her in half. She was so gaunt and frail.
“The last token of love from your father before he banished me. He took my looks. Since then, I’ve aged more learning my magic. The previous Moon Goddess retired and handed things over to me. I have some big shoes to fill.”
I halted in my tracks, glancing down at my black boots, and then at her. “You are the Moon Goddess?”
She simply winked at me, a hint of calculating knowledge crossing her features.
“This is wonderful!” I exclaimed.
In response, a grin beamed on her face. “You were always such a good student. You understand, yes?”
“I think so.”
“Let me look at you,” she stated, again changing the subject. “You are so tall, so well-defined, Vincent. My goodness. So unlike your father.” She stifled a thin giggle. “Do I look that old to you, my son? Too old to hug? Oh what am I saying? That doesn’t matter, let me look at you. You sent for me. That IS what matter! I’m so happy to see you!”
It was indeed my mother! Her constant chatter. Her changing subjects often. It was indeed her. When we made it to the end of the wooden pier, she whirled me around and fastened both her hands on my elbows like clamps. There was no mistaking. She may look old, but her grip was strong and firm. Her strength had increased, not diminished. Her magic probably had as well. It would have to if she was now the Moon Goddess. Her nails dug into my flesh and I quietly cringed, pretending I felt no pain.
“It’s been so long,” I said, wrapping my arms around her waist as I hugged her. Delicately, I cradled her bony frame in my hands and foregoing the formalities, I planted a huge kiss on each of her wrinkled cheeks which seemed to delight her.
It seemed Father had drained the very life source from her. I felt enraged. A wave of anger flashed across my face and I was sure my mother had seen it. I’ll kill him for this.
Immediately, she turned my attention to the beach. “Are you alone?”
“No,” I replied, patting her hand like she was a hundred years old and I was but a boy. “I want to meet this woman I saved.” I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the moonlight seemed to follow us, shining a spotlight on us.
“She is close to your heart, yes? I feel this radiance permeating from you.”
“Yes, Mother. I think I…” I paused, not daring to utter the words my heart already knew. “I think I love her,” I finally admitted. Feeling ashamed, I quickly shut down and blurted out. “I saved her from Father’s clutches and that’s all that matters.”
She contemplated me, never once believing my hesitation. My mother could always see through any of my charades. She ran her fingers slowly over her lips in a circle, listening intensely to me, but thinking at the same time as she carefully composed her next statement. It was a habit that drove my father nuts. However it was a habit that served her well in the Dark Place until that one day she couldn’t hold her tongue anymore. “Have you told her, Vincent?”
“No, she has said the words, but I have not. What if I can’t protect her? I didn’t protect her family. They are dead because of me. I did nothing. I looked away. I don’t deserve Emily’s love. I know that, but I want her safe. I’ll give my life if I have to.”
Mother pr
essed her index and middle fingers to her lips. Her light blue eyes darted about as she thought. Then she heaved a great sigh. “Hush that silly talk, my son. You act like you don’t deserve happiness. Sweetheart, we all deserve happiness if our hearts are pure. Just because you are the child of a demon does not mean you should deny yourself love, not the kind of love your father and I had, but the kind of love that is real. True love. You must seek it out always and if you have already found it, then you must hold on to it and never let it go. I can tell by the look in your eyes, Vincent. You have found it. I’m not going to let that shit of a father of yours rob you of it. Remember you are the son of a goddess, not the son of a demon. Stop letting him control you. Those burdens you hold on to. Set them down. Great things are in store for you, my divine warrior.” She chuckled softly which was a laugh of hers I loved to hear. It was a quiet sound that lodged in the back of her throat when she knew she risked all by vocalizing a response in front of my father or one of his brothers, but she did it just the same. The sweetest of threats.
My heart soared. Perhaps Emily and I did have a chance. She patted me on the hand, as I had done to hear previously, almost in a mocking manner. Perhaps it contained motherly love with the advice only a caring parent could give, but her tone reminded me of the elite air of a god, something she maybe already possessed and it made me immediately understand that I did not completely know this side of my mother. This old woman before me was a source of unknown power like all the celestial goddesses.
“Amore. I couldn’t wish anything more for you, my son. I’m so pleased. You’ve done very well, Vincent,” my mother mused.
Once we made it to the sands of the beach, she paused for a moment as she looked at her feet. “I miss the beach,” she muttered. “It’s been too long.”
I stood by, collecting my thoughts as my mother danced about in the sand. The moonlight’s rays reflected the gems lined in her dress and she sparkled amid the night. Visions of her past beauty haunted me. A savage desire to kill my father rose up in me again.
My mother reached out and took my hand in hers. “Vincent, my son, you must move on.”
“I’m sorry? What do you mean?”
“You can’t keep hating your father. He’s angered the gods. He will pay. I have it on good authority. You will have your revenge, but it will not be by your hand.”
Throwing my head back in a roar of laughter, I let my voice reach to the heavens and then listened as the echo returned to us from across the water. Finally I asked my mother in a low, thunderous voice, “I’ll stop hating him when he’s dead and gone. What do you mean I will not have revenge? He will pay for what he has done to you, what he’s done to us. He will pay.” I clenched my fists over and over, glaring down at her, forgetting the small creature in front of me had given birth to me, not as a man, but as a vampire.
I felt a soft and familiar warm touch on my elbow. Emily.
“Vincent,” she whispered.
I recovered and, like a statue, I introduced the women, getting the distinct impression they already knew one another.
“Let us sit down.” Emily motioned for me to escort my mother to the wooden bench under the palm trees. Gently Emily touched my arm and my angry mood lifted. “Who will have revenge on the demon of the Dark Place, Moon Goddess?” She uttered, directing her question to my mother after the ladies had settled on the bench and I stood nearby. The moon bathed us all in its light.
When my mother answered her, I nearly fell to my feet.
“You know the answer to that, Emily,” she began. “You’ve already tasted Alichino’ blood. It flows in my son’s veins. And you have tasted Vincent’s blood, have you not?”
Emily nodded.
“Then you know the rest. I can inform you that you will be allowed to seek revenge for the deaths of your pack. There are more than just your immediate family members unfortunately. If you are strong enough, my dear, then you will have your revenge.”
I watched stunned as Emily faced my mother, the Moon Goddess, her angelic features almost turning to stone. Fear suddenly took hold of Emily. The color drained from her tanned face.
“No, Mother. You can’t do this. I’ll go. I’ll go instead,” I argued.
“I see love has found you as well, my dear.” She motioned to Emily, reached out, and wiped her face. Emily was crying. I knelt by her and gathered her hands in mine. “I won’t let you go back. I’ll go instead. Mother, Emily is not going back. You can’t do this!”
“Vincent?” My mother addressed me as Emily looked at me.
Suddenly Emily’s face was gloriously radiant and refreshed in the moonlight as if my mother’s touch had taken away all her discomfort. Her eyes glowed with a new life, a brilliant fire.
I struggled to fully understand the events unfolding before me. My own fear and anger threatened to consume me. The earlier conversation with my father hit me square in the face. His words flew through my head and I realized their full impact. I realized Emily’s destiny. I saw it unfold before my eyes. If she’s a Livonian werewolf, Father, that means she’s bound to the Moon Goddess and she’s a threat to us. Do you really want the Moon Goddess showing up and blasting us away or exiling us to the Land of Intolerables?
My mother’s voice turned my blood cold. “My dear husband, Alichino has invited a Livonian wolf into the Dark Place and by Zeus’ law he must face the consequences. If Emily finds her courage, you both will have your day of reckoning, Vincent. No force can stop a Livonian wolf in its true werewolf form. And you have seen only a glimpse of this jewel’s real Wolfen magic. Heaven help your father and his brothers.” Her laughter returned.
Emily squeezed my hand and brought me back to my senses. The glow of her werewolf amber eyes mesmerized me and she smiled at me with an expression of confidence and defiance that I wanted to claim as my very own. But didn’t she understand? The Dark Place was not like going to a garden party.
“We’ll face challenges you can’t begin to imagine. Do you understand that, my love?”
The moment I said ‘my love’ her face changed. Tears brimmed in her eyes and spilled forth. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked back with a questioning glance at my mother, the Moon Goddess.
The words of my friend, Michel filtered into my head and I found my courage again, the real courage to take back my life instead of going through the motions as I had done for so long. Going into battle is scary enough. Knowing you’re not going in alone, that’s key to victory.
“I want you with me, Emily,” I announced. “Not just now, but forever. If we don’t survive the wrath of my father and his brothers, I want to do this now.”
My mother and Emily both eased in and looked at me intently. I had their attention.
I bent down into the sand on my left knee. I held my right hand to Emily.
She took my hand.
“Emily, with the Moon Goddess as my witness, will you be my bride?”
Seeing Emily’s emphatic nods as new tears of happiness streamed down her face and hearing my mother’s screams of delight as she danced around the palm trees like she was twenty-nine-years old reminded me of the one thing I had been searching my entire existence to find, that of a soul-mate, a partner, someone to share every moment of my life with, good or bad. And here she was, this ex-virgin, the woman who had inflamed my undead vampire heart, my werewolf bride who would help me rain Holy Hell down upon my asshole of a father, the dark lord Alichino.
###
Coming Soon
Emily and Vincent’s story continues in Vampire Moon (A Werewolf/Vampire Romance #2).
Italian to English Translations
The following are English translations for any words spoken in the language of the Lunar world which is very similar to modern day Italian. Each is organized by chapter.
Chapter 1 – Vincent’s New Pet
Una bellezza come nessun altro. Così bella. Calmati. Calmatevi, mio dolce. Io non ho intenzione di permettere a nessuno di farti del male. = A beaut
y like no other. So beautiful. Calm yourself. Calm yourself, my sweet. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.
Chapter 3 – Vincent’s Idea
Con la luna e le stelle, deve essere così testardo mia bellezza? Cosa c'è di qualche goccia di sangue tra amici. Siamo amici. Non siamo? = By the moon and stars, must you be so stubborn my beauty? What's a few drops of blood among friends. We are friends. Are we not?
Chapter 4 – Emily’s New Experience
Riesci a capirmi? = Can you understand me?
Sì, posso capire. = Yes, I can understand you.
Dimmi di nuovo nella tua lingua. Sei un lupo mannaro o no? = Tell me again in your language. Are you a werewolf or not?
Mia bella lupo. = My lovely wolf.
Chapter 5 – Vincent’s Confession
Al di là, al di là, la dea della Luna, fatemelo sapere di mia madre. = To the beyond, to the beyond, Moon goddess, bring me word of my mother.
###
About the Author
Ally Thomas loves writing paranormal books that showcase vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. Her Vampire from Hell series has been on the Top 100 bestsellers list in Fantasy at Amazon since 2011.
Ally is currently working on the next installment of her popular paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell as well as exploring her passion for vampire romance. Learn more at http://allythomas.wordpress.com/about/contact-me/
Books by Ally Thomas
To see what is currently available in ebook and paperback, visit allythomas.com
The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) - The Beginning
The Vampire from Hell (Part 2) - A Vampire among Angels
The Vampire from Hell (Part 3) – A Vampire on Vacation
The Vampire from Hell Revamped (1st Anniversary Edition)
Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) Page 86