Moonshade (Vampire Conclave: Book 1)

by S. J. West

  “Well, I just want you to feel at home while you’re here. Maybe if this visit goes well, you’ll be more likely to visit again sometime soon.”

  He smiles at me hopefully, but doesn’t seem to expect me to reply.

  “Listen, why don’t you go ahead and put your swimsuit on underneath your clothes while I finish packing up our lunch? The boat leaves the dock at noon. We’ll need to go as soon as you’re ready if we’re going to make it.”

  Gage goes back into the main house while I change. I set out food and water bowls for Viktor in the kitchen before I leave to find Gage.

  “I’ll be back soon,” I tell Viktor. “Don’t worry about me while I’m gone.”

  Viktor meows softly and hops onto the bed in the bedroom, curling up to take a nap. Cats sure do seem to sleep a lot.

  I find Gage packing up a large bamboo picnic basket in the kitchen. The room is outfitted with custom-built cherry wood cabinetry and black silver-speckled marble countertops. A long kitchen island stands in the middle of the room with a bar and four white cushioned swivel stools.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask, coming to stand next to him. All I see are a bunch of Tupperware bowls.

  “No, I think I have everything packed. Do you like to drink wine?”

  I shake my head. “I’m not much of an alcohol drinker to be honest. Sorry.”

  “No problem. I have a backup.” He walks around me and pulls out a bottle of sparkling apple cider from the stainless steel fridge.

  After he has everything he wants to take packed, we get into his red Porsche Cayenne SUV and head down to the docks to catch the ferryboat. By the time we get our tickets and board the boat, it’s twelve o’clock.

  “It takes an hour to get there and an hour to get back,” Gage informs me after we take a couple of seats inside the ferry by the windows.

  I nod and look out at a group of seagulls begging for food from some of the passengers standing out by the side rails.

  “So, was Julian ok with you coming over here and spending the night?” he asks me, drawing my attention back to him.

  “He doesn’t know I’m here,” I say, feeling zero guilt about the fact. “He had to go out of town unexpectedly. He said he wouldn’t be back for a few days.”

  “Really?” Gage says in surprise. “I didn’t think the two of you could be away from each other for that long. I was always told there was some pain involved if you weren’t physically close to one another.”

  “There is. It was horrible when we first bonded, but now I just feel a dull ache in my chest that won’t go away.”

  “Doesn’t he need to feed daily?”

  “He can go a while without needing to do that.”

  I’m not sure if I’m revealing too much or not. Obviously, Gage hasn’t been told about the intricacies involved in being a vampire’s companion. Am I not supposed to tell him certain things? It isn’t as if I was given a handbook on human companion protocol. As far as I know, there isn’t an etiquette class available to teach me right from wrong when talking with an outsider about my new station in life.

  Just to stay on the safe side, though, I decide to change the subject and start asking him questions about his hobbies. I learn that we have at least one thing in common. We both love to watch movies. He confesses to love the Godfather movies. So typically male. And I confess I totally geek out for anything supernatural.

  Gage confesses to me that he’s a terrible cook and never does it unless there’s absolutely no other recourse. He has mastered the art of making a respectable grilled cheese sandwich but that’s about it.

  “Who made all that food in the picnic basket?” I ask.

  “I picked most of it up at a little deli not far from my house. I wasn’t about to scare you away on our first date with my cooking,” he laughs.

  I didn’t consider this outing a date and wonder if I should correct his assumption. It seems rude to do such a thing, but I definitely don’t want him to get the wrong idea about where our acquaintance is heading.

  Before I can say anything about it, the boat pulls alongside the dock on the island and we get in line to disembark.

  The pier leads up to the old Fort of Massachusetts that’s still on the island. I assume Gage must have been there before because he quickly stakes out one of the few trees on the beach in a secluded spot for us.

  He unfolds the blue blanket that is strapped to the outside of the picnic basket and motions for me to sit down on it. He then proceeds to open the basket and starts setting out at least ten medium-sized Tupperware bowls in front of me.

  “I wasn’t sure what you would like so I got a little bit of everything,” he tells me.

  The fare is what you might expect to get from a deli: cubed cheeses, slices of meat, chicken salad, tuna salad, crackers, chips, finger sandwiches, freshly cut vegetables with a side of ranch dipping sauce, pecan tarts, and chocolate chip cookies.

  “Wow, you shouldn’t have spent so much money on just lunch.”

  “Not too worried about it. I plan to go cheap on dinner. We’re going to the Beau Rivage’s all-you-can-eat buffet. They usually serve crab legs and shrimp on the weekend. I thought you might like it.”

  I feel an endearing warmth fill my heart because of Gage’s thoughtfulness. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite strong enough to overpower the ache I feel from Julian’s absence, both physically and emotionally. If Julian wasn’t in my life, I could easily see myself giving Gage a real chance, but as things stand now, I’m afraid that’s just an impossibility.

  As we bask in the heat of a southern sun, Gage tells me more about himself. I learn he’s a real estate agent, just like Kaylee’s parents.

  “I should probably put my own home on the market,” he says. “It’s way too big for me, unless I can find someone who wants to have a half-dozen kids.”

  I smile as a vision of Gage chasing down six children in his house forms in my mind. “Why did you buy something so large?”

  “I didn’t. It used to belong to my parents, but they gave it to me when they decided to retire in Florida. It’s hard to give it up. It’s the only home I’ve ever known.”

  “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

  “Two of each. They’re scattered all over the world, though. I’m the only one who didn’t want to leave home.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay in the town you grew up in. That’s what I did.”

  Gage reaches out, grabs a pecan tart from one of the Tupperware bowls, and deftly pops it out of its miniature aluminum pie dish.

  I follow his lead, but stop just before picking one of the sweet treats up.

  I feel a sharp sense of foreboding fall over me like a shadow, and I immediately know something’s wrong with Julian. It’s a sixth sense, just like I had in New Orleans when he was injured.

  “We need to go,” I say, quickly standing up as my heart begins to race with worry. “I need to find Julian.”

  Gage looks up at me in surprise. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know?” he asks, looking confused by my certainty.

  “I just do!” I snap impatiently. “We need to go!”

  Gage stands up and begins to pack up what’s left of our lunch.

  “It’s going to be a while before the ferry boat returns to the island,” he tells me. “It should be back here in about an hour, but then we’ll have to wait another thirty minutes for people to board before it heads into port.”

  “We can’t leave here until 2:30?” I ask in disbelief, desperate to return to the mainland.

  “I’m sorry,” Gage says apologetically, “but that’s the ferry’s schedule.”

  If we don’t leave until 2:30, that means we won’t get back to shore until 3:30, at the earliest.

  “Is there any other way we can get back earlier?” I ask anxiously.

  “Not that I know of. Even if we could,” Gage asks cautiously, “where are you going to g
o? I thought you told me you don’t know where Julian is this weekend.”

  “I don’t,” I say, fretting over the situation I find myself having to deal with. I pull out my phone from my back pocket, but of course we’re too far away from civilization for me to get a signal. “Damn it!” I say in frustration, tapping the top edge of my phone against my forehead as I try to think of a way out of my predicament. As far as I can tell, there isn’t one.

  “Can you always sense if he’s in trouble?” Gage asks, sounding interested in my companion ability. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “I guess I can,” I say. “I didn’t really think to ask anyone about it the first time it happened. I was too upset to think about anything but getting to Julian then, and after he was all right it didn’t seem important to ask anymore. Are you sure there isn’t another way off this island?”

  “I’m sorry,” Gage says sympathetically, “there isn’t. But, let’s go wait on the dock so we can get on the boat as soon as it gets here. Maybe we can put our heads together to figure out a way to find Julian once we get back on shore.”

  As Gage and I wait for the ferry’s arrival, we discuss various alternatives to find Julian. I don’t tell him what it is my vampire companion is trying to discover speaking to Dorka’s descendant. It seems like information I should keep to myself for now. The only other person who might be able to help me is Helen. She knows Julian’s world better than anyone else. If anyone can help me, she can.

  By the time the boat arrives, I’m a nervous wreck. My insides are tied in a knot so tight all I can feel is an anxiousness that I fear will never go away completely. It was stupid of me to come here today with Gage. I thought it would be good and provide me with the distraction I needed, but all it’s done is cause me more turmoil. It’s almost as if my life will never truly be my own again.

  Gage and I are the first ones on the boat and the first ones off when we make it back to Gulfport. As we’re walking down the pier back to Gage’s car I call Julian’s cell phone first, but it goes directly to his voicemail. I suspected as much, but I had to try. If he’s in trouble, he either can’t reach his phone or whoever is harming him has taken it away from him. Helen is the next person I call.

  “Oh dear,” she says worriedly after I tell her what I’m feeling. “I have no idea how to find him, Sarah. He didn’t tell me where he was going.”

  I sigh disappointedly. “I know what city he’s in but Destin is huge. There’s no way I’ll be able to find him there on my own.”

  “Wait a moment,” Helen says, sounding like she has an idea, “Julian was supposed to be meeting Petru, right?”

  “Yes. Do you have Petru’s phone number? Maybe he knows what’s going on.”

  “I have both Petru and his companion’s numbers on my phone. Let me text them to you so you can call them directly. Please let me know what you find out, and if you need my help in any way.”

  “Ok. I will,” I promise. “Right now, it’s probably better if you stay there at the house in case Julian tries to return home. If my gut feeling is right, he won’t be in good shape.”

  “Find him, Sarah,” Helen entreats me. I can hear the strain in her voice as she holds back tears. “He’s as stubborn as the days are long, but he’s my oldest and dearest friend. I can’t imagine life without him or you.”

  Her subtle reminder that my life is connected to Julian’s isn’t lost on me.

  “I’ll find him,” I pledge. “And I’ll bring him home.”

  When I get off the phone with Helen I call Petru’s number first, but I’m sent directly to his voicemail, too. I quickly end the call and dial Nathaniel’s number.

  After the first ring, I hear his youthful voice on the other end of the line.

  “Thank God!” Nathaniel says, his voice filled with relief. “I had no idea how to get in touch with you, Sarah. Do you feel it, too?”

  It’s then that I know both Julian and Petru are in mortal danger.

  “Do you know where they went?” I ask Nathaniel, assuming if he were with Petru he would have said so.

  “Petru didn’t want me to know where he was going,” he tells me, making my heart sink deeper inside my chest with despair. “But I snuck a peek at the address he was going to meet Julian at.”

  “Please tell me you remember it,” I say, feeling my heart surge with hope.

  “I have a memory like a steel trap,” Nathaniel declares proudly.

  “Where are you now?” I ask hurriedly.

  “I’m still in Waveland.”

  “Come to Gulfport.” I briefly tell him how to get to Gage’s house so he can meet up with us. I want to grab Viktor just in case he can be of any help. “We’ll all go to Destin together,” I say, looking up at Gage to confirm that he’s willing to go with us.

  Gage nods. It can’t hurt to take a level-ten warlock, right? I figure the more firepower we have on hand the better.

  I don’t know what kind of trouble Julian is in, but I am certain of one thing.

  I’m going to get my man, and if I find out someone is responsible for the distress he’s in, God’s the only power in the universe who might be able to keep me from killing them.

  As soon as we return to Gage’s home, I run into the guesthouse to get Viktor. I’m still explaining the situation to my cat when I go inside the main house to wait with Gage for Nathaniel’s arrival. I notice the odd look on my host’s face as I continue to describe what I’m feeling to Viktor. If times were different I might worry that Gage thinks I’ve completely lost my mind, but Viktor needs to fully understand what’s going on. I’m not sure if he can help us or not, but if he can I need to know.

  I debate on whether I should mention that Julian and Petru were going to talk to a descendant of Dorka, Bathory’s witch friend. If Viktor and I were alone I wouldn’t hesitate in telling him, but telling Gage is a completely different matter. I feel as though I would be betraying Julian’s confidence if I let him in on the secret.

  On the other hand, if this woman is a witch, like her ancestor, she’s probably a powerful one, and I should probably warn Gage that we might be walking into a trap. Yet, what if the situation isn’t what I fear at all, and I end up divulging information to him that I don’t need to? I’m not even sure Julian told Helen what he was doing since she has yet to mention the specifics of his quest to me.

  “I have a question about your magic,” I say to Gage. “Do you need a wand or potions to use it?”

  Gage’s eyebrows lower and I can tell he’s trying to figure out the reasoning behind my question. “No. I don’t need anything but myself. Why do you ask?”

  “I just wanted to make sure you don’t need to take any supplies, you know, just in case we need your magic,” I say vaguely.

  A series of rapid knocks and a couple of urgent presses of the doorbell signal Nathaniel’s arrival. Viktor leaps from my arms and onto the floor. I run out of the living room and into the foyer to yank open the front door.

  “Are you ready?” Nathaniel asks straightaway in lieu of a greeting. The urgency plastered on his face is probably a mirror of my own. We both know our companions are in dire straits and time is running out.

  “I’m ready to go if the two of you are,” Gage says, walking up behind me with the keys to his SUV in his hand.

  We all get into Gage’s vehicle and head towards Destin. As soon as we get on I-10, I know it will take at least another three hours for us to reach our destination. Even with Gage driving well over the speed limit, it’ll still take us a good two and a half hours to arrive at the address Nathaniel surreptitiously got from Petru.

  While we’re driving, I decide to use my phone to look at a satellite image of the home in question. It’s a four-story mansion built directly on the beach in Destin. It’s flanked by two similar homes with barely enough room to walk in between them, so the location isn’t an isolated one.

  “What should we do when we get there?” I ask the guys. “Just go up to the front door and
demand to see Julian and Petru?”

  “I have an idea,” Viktor says unexpectedly from his spot in the back seat beside Nathaniel.

  “What the…” Gage says in shock, having to jerk the steering wheel back into place before we veer off the interstate. Apparently, the surprise of Viktor’s sudden transformation caused him to let go of it for a second or two. He glances in his rearview mirror to look at Viktor’s smiling face.

  “Oh, come now,” Viktor says to Gage. “You know how powerful alfar magic can be. Is it really that big of a surprise that I can transform into a human?”

  Gage thinks about this for a moment before admitting, “No. It isn’t. You just caught me off guard is all.”

  “Well, it wasn’t as if I could warn you beforehand,” Viktor says before looking over at a startled Nathaniel. “Are you all right, boy?”

  “I…you’re…what…” Nathaniel stutters, his eyes grow huge as he continues to stare at Viktor in all his naked glory. It’s amusingly obvious that he’s at a complete loss for words since he’s having trouble piecing a simple sentence together. “I…”

  Viktor holds up a hand, palm forward to stop Nathaniel from saying another word.

  “Please,” Viktor begs, “I’m fully aware that my magnificence has befuddled your little human brain, but maybe it would be better if you just remained silent for a moment while Sarah and I discuss things.”

  Nathaniel snaps his gaping mouth shut, seemingly not offended by Viktor’s suggestion.

  “Now,” Viktor says, returning his attention to me, “I have an idea.”

  “Which is?” I prompt.

  “Let me call Shael and have her send in a tactical squad,” he proposes. “The alfar guard can infiltrate the house and secure it for you.”

  It sounds like a good plan to me. “How long would it take them to do that?”

  “As far as I know, the closest unit is still in New Orleans.”

  “You can call and arrange for them to meet us there,” I say, “but I’m not going to wait for them to arrive. If we can’t handle things on our own, then at least we’ll have back-up on the way.”