He offers us an out. “Merci, Mme Gérard. Mais je dois retourner la fourgonnette maintenant et Anna et je ai un rendez-vous avec le chef de police de la ville.”
Dad whispers the translation, recognizing that I caught only a few words. Something about returning the van and an appointment with the Lorgues Chief of Police.
“You go, honey,” he says. “I’ll stay. Trish and I will see you at home later.”
The Gerards are just as gracious in bidding us goodbye. Cecily approaches with Trish.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she says. There is no suspicion or timidity in her voice. She hugs us one at a time. Trish, her eyes brimming with tears, whispers over her head. “Thank you, Aunt Anna.”
I hug my niece, and watch as the two stroll arm in arm into the house.
We did good, indeed.
Vlad backs the van out of the driveway.
“I should have known this wasn’t your van,” I say. “Definitely not your style.”
He laughs. “It belongs to a friend of mine.” He shoots me a sly smile. “A soccer-mom.”
I grin back. “I was right. What about the other? Do we really have an appointment with the Chief of Police?”
“Well, that part wasn’t exactly true,” he concedes. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing from the authorities before the case goes to trial, but not this afternoon.”
The “soccer-mom” turns out to be human, an attractive thirty-something living on the edge of Lourges. I can tell by her demeanor with Vlad that they are more than just friends. I wonder if she is a host but her polite friendliness to me gives nothing away. We leave on Vlad’s Ducati.
After he whispers something in her ear that makes the color rise in her cheeks.
“Heavy date?” I ask when we’ve pulled away.
He shrugs. “I owe her for the use of the van. I told her I’d be back tonight to pay.”
His thoughts reflect the method of payment he has in mind until I forcefully shut them down. He chuckles.
Vlad drops me off at the estate with the promise to call in the morning after he talks with Amélie and Alexander. I wave him off and go inside.
The house is quiet without Dad and Trish. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and head out to check the old wine press. It takes me a while to find the path, but once I do, it’s easy going.
I pass workers in the vineyards on my way. They look up as I go, some raise a hand in greeting. I know immigrant workers are a political hot potato in many countries, but France seems to have a dangerously radical faction who thinks blaming them for the murder of innocent children is an acceptable solution.
The press is in an old stone building, probably hundreds of years old. It is as tall as a two-story building, but the windows on three sides are all about five feet from the ground and narrow slits that would allow little light inside. The door is an opening, nothing more, with a ragged leather curtain hung from wooden pegs. I push it aside and go in.
It smells mainly of dirt and decay. The press itself has long gone to ruin, only rotted timbers piled in the center remain. The wood is stained purple, and there is the lingering odor of fruit to remind one of the decades of grape pressing that went on here. Puffs of dust rise from my footfalls. I think it’s a possibility that no one has been in here since the original owner, another vampire—my maker, in fact, trod these floors.
The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Avery was an evil bastard who fooled me not once, but twice.
He’s gone now. Of that, I’m certain.
I shake away the gloom and walk back outside.
I was right in offering this place to Vlad. There is only one way in and one way out. In the dark, it won’t be easy to conceal myself in a field not yet budded. But my eyes go to the roof. I scale the walls with ease. It is flat up here with a six-inch parapet behind which three vampires can easily conceal themselves. People looking for an ambush usually look everywhere but up. Plus, there is a pipe that extends down into the building; maybe to allow fresh air inside, I’m not sure. But it would make listening to what’s going on inside effortless—especially for a vampire.
I go back to the house to await the return of my father and Trish. But the celebration at the Gerards must go on until well past midnight, and I’m fast asleep by then.
Chapter Ten
The mood at breakfast is celebratory. Trish, even after not getting a great deal of sleep last night (I heard them come in at one in the morning) is beaming. She eats a hearty breakfast, thanking me again and again until I shoo her off to the school bus. It is such a relief to have things back to normal.
My dad goes off to the vineyards, and I’m left to await Vlad’s call. Instead of that, though, he appears in the driveway, the Ducati announcing his arrival as surely as if he had blown an air horn. I greet him with coffee, which he takes with an appreciative smile.
“This is early for you, isn’t it?” I ask.
“Good God, yes,” he replies. “But since it may be my last day on this earth, I decided not to waste a moment of it.” He takes a sip and rolls his eyes. “Heaven. Speaking of which, how is Trish?”
But I’m caught off guard by his first remark. “I thought it was to be a one-on-one meeting?”
He shrugs. “My informants tell me there is talk of an ambush.”
“But you suspected as much. Are you really afraid of these vampires?”
He lifts a shoulder noncommittally. “I don't want to underestimate them. They are firm in their resolve to have their way and resentful that I killed their leader in such a public way.”
“You sound resigned. I don’t know if I like that.”
Vlad waves a hand. “You know how long I have lived. Maybe it’s time to pass the torch.”
His remarks send a shudder through me. “What are you saying? Who could possibly take your place?”
He looks at me over the rim of his coffee cup as he drinks and says nothing.
The silence, however, speaks volumes.
My temper flares. “You can’t be serious. What happened to you have no say in what happens here, Anna? Or, remember you have no power here. The European vampires don’t even recognize me as the Chosen One. How do you think they’d respond to you making me their leader?”
“They wouldn’t have a choice, would they?”
“Well, I do,” I snap quickly. “And the answer is no. Once I go back to the states, I have no idea what I’ll be dealing with there. I’m not about to take on anything else.”
Vlad raises his eyebrows but doesn’t respond.
Again.
I rage on, “If you’re intent on stepping down, what about naming Amélie and Alexander your successors as you did Steffan? They are strong vampires, loyal to you.” I take a step closer. “And anyway, nothing is going to happen to you tonight. I have a plan. One vampire or six, it will make no difference. Did you call Amélie and Alexander?”
Vlad has finished his coffee. He hands the mug back to me. “Yes. They are willing to help.”
“Then let’s take a walk. I’ll show you what I have in mind.”
Vlad and I start out across the vineyards to the old press. I show him the building and demonstrate how easily we can conceal ourselves on the roof, all the while listening to what goes on inside. “If there’s any hint of ambush, we can be inside before Steffan’s toadies know what hit them. Four against six are certainly better odds than one against six.”
“You are very sure of yourself,” Vlad remarks.
“And you very unsure.” I take his arm. “What is it? This is so unlike you.”
He leans against the parapet and gazes out at the vineyards. “What happened to Trish’s friend made me aware of a fact I’ve long avoided. I have no interest in what happens to humans around me, even when innocents are murdered in my own backyard. I know I accused you of doing the same thing, but I also know you’ve put your life on the line for those humans you love again and again. No one can save the world. But we should be willing to s
ave the little corner we occupy. You do.”
“And you can, too. You proved it. Now all you need do is not cloister yourself so. Stepping down or getting yourself killed is not an answer. Shutting down the fanatics that think mortals have no purpose save to be blood bags or servants is.”
Vlad doesn’t speak for a long moment. He’s shut me out of his thoughts effectively leaving me alone with mine. Have I said too much or too little?
After several moments, Vlad straightens. “You know, there is another alternative,” he says.
“To what?”
He keeps his gaze focused on the horizon. “You and I could rule together.”
His answer takes me so by surprise, I gasp, “I don’t understand.” But even as I say the words, I know it’s untrue. I understand very well.
Vlad knows it, too.
He turns and takes my chin, tilting my face toward him. “From the moment I saw you, I knew. Since my wife centuries ago, you are the first woman whom I could love as an equal.”
I twist away. “You also know that’s impossible.”
“Because of Frey?” Vlad spits his name like a curse.
His venom is as unexpected as it is cruel. “I owe you for saving Trish’s friend,” I say slowly. “I owe you for helping me in the dark time with my mother. I owe you for allowing me to live in your country as a vampire. But I do not owe you my heart.”
His eyes bore into mine before he breaks the spell and looks away. “I don’t apologize for speaking my mind,” he says.
“As I don’t apologize for speaking mine,” I reply.
He nods. “We should go to Amélie’s. That is, if you still wish to help me.”
“I wish to help your community,” I say. “Both human and vampire.”
He doesn’t look at me as we depart. I have the feeling he may never look at me again.
Chapter Eleven
I drive my own car to Amélie and Alexander’s. It makes the most sense since Vlad needs to be at home for the car that will bring him to the meeting. He and the leader of the conspiracy, a vampire named Renaldo, would come together. Presumably as an effort to thwart an attack. Vlad would choose the driver.
As I follow the Ducati into the countryside, I keep replaying the scene between Vlad and me on the roof. Everything about him this morning was odd. From his apparent resignation to being killed to his wanting to give up his position as vampire ruler to his abrupt proposal that we rule together. For the first time since we met, he was a stranger.
The vampire couple is waiting for us. Amélie greets me like an old friend, introducing Alexander as he had been in his study when I came to feed. He is not at all what I expected—portly where Amélie is thin, with the bearing of a jolly monk, a face open and friendly, a head balding on top, a mouth made for laughter. His eyes twinkle when he takes my hand.
I see why Vlad is so taken with you, he says.
He means it as a compliment but it makes me uneasy. What has Vlad been telling them?
Amélie senses my apprehension. Enough, my love, she says. You are embarrassing Anna. And I told you, she is a very happily married woman.
Alexander raises an eyebrow but doesn’t reply. He looks at Vlad who shifts nervously and refuses to meet his eyes.
Once again, Amélie breaks the uneasy silence. Anna, Vlad tells us you have a plan for tonight. It’s important that we rid ourselves of these dissenters once and for all. This evening, when they are all together, may be the only chance to strike that blow.
Her words catch me unawares. You misunderstand. I was under the impression we were going to act only if there was an attack on Vlad.
Puzzled glances between husband and wife make me realize I was the one who misunderstood. Or who was led to misunderstand.
Vlad and I must talk, I say. Will you excuse us?
I lead Vlad outside. Anger bubbles like a hot springs inside me, threatening to erupt. I swallow it back, hard, and temper my voice when I can trust myself to speak.
You are planning to kill the dissenters tonight?
Do you not think they deserve to die? I told them what would happen if they came back to the continent. And brazenly, they disobeyed.
His tone is that of ruler once again. Abrupt, decisive.
Why have you brought me into this? I ask. You have many loyal followers who would have gladly help you vanquish these vampires.
Did you not supplicate that they be allowed to live? Was it not at your urging that I did not strike them down along with Steffan?
Everything he is saying is true, yet the forbidding chill in his voice, the rigidness of his bearing, makes my own blood run cold. This is a Vlad I have never seen before. The Vlad of old that made his enemies quake with fear.
You do not need me to make this happen, I say. You have two excellent collaborators inside who await your bidding. You know the plan. The three of you could handle a dozen vampires on your own.
Vlad crosses the ground between us before I can say another word. You will not fight for us?
I was willing to fight for you, I snap back. You lied to me about your intentions from the start. I am not a part of this battle, Vlad. If I become involved, I become a part of your family. I can’t do that. I told you.
And what of the debt you owe me? Vlad whispers. I saved Frey for you from Steffan. I brought your niece’s friend home. I have let you live as a vampire among us. Do you not owe me something?
I knew no matter how I answered, it would not satisfy Vlad. I also knew I would have lost Fray had Vlad not saved him from Steffan’s attack. That Trish might be home now crying over a lost friend if Vlad had not intervened. That the entire human race might be lost if this plan of Steffan’s supporters was not stopped now.
I search his face. If I do this, I say at last. It will be the last thing I can do for you. It will mean the end of our friendship. And it can never be known that I was with you when the six are vanquished. You must promise me.
For a long moment, I think that Vlad might not have heard me. He is staring off again, his eyes clouded, his lips turned down in a frown. When his face clears, he squares his shoulders and steps back from me.
I accept your terms. Your part will remain a secret between the four of us. I will instruct Amélie and Alexander to never speak of it. I will also instruct them that they are to be at your service if you need anything while you remain in France. They will be protectors of you and your family…
His voice drops and I sense something left unsaid. You are abdicating to them?
His eyes lock with mine. There is no longer any reason I should stay in France. After tonight, I will be gone. You yourself said they would make excellent leaders. They have the compassion and human touch that I lack. It makes sense.
It’s almost as if Vlad is talking as much to himself as to me. When he is done, he turns abruptly and goes back into the house. I don’t follow him. I have a feeling he is telling Amélie and Alexander the same things he just told me.
When they emerge a few moments later, there is an air of solemnity about the couple that wasn’t there before.
They have accepted Vlad’s proposal.
He mounts his Ducati and rides away. The three of us go back to the house to await the arrival of the six who would change the world.
Chapter Twelve
The night is cloudless and crystal clear. There is no moon to break the darkness that swallows up the vineyard or to cast even the faintest shadow on the road. Amélie, Alexander, and I are in place on the roof, lying flat, relying on our senses to alert us to anything approaching.
We have been here an hour. After thirty minutes, others arrive. They are using the moonless night to shield themselves among the vines. But we know they are here. The five who would plot to kill Vlad. They are not so powerful as Vlad, or even the three of us, because they have no awareness of our presence while we know exactly where each is located.
We don’t communicate among ourselves, keeping our thoughts tightly locked away. My blood
sings with anticipation. Now that I have committed to the fight, I am ready. It’s been a long time since I tasted the blood of another vampire. Years. Back to the time when I worked as an enforcer for The Watchers and one of my duties was to execute rogues.
It was not a duty that I enjoyed, but this, in its way, is no different. Protecting humanity sometimes necessitates drastic action. I am armed tonight as I was then, with only a knife and my blood lust.
The car arrived a few minutes after midnight, a big off-road vehicle that plowed through my dad’s vineyards, mowing down rows of old-growth grape vines in its path.
I wondered what my father would think when he saw it. I rage at myself for not thinking it through when I offered the old wine press building as a meeting place. It was remote, true, but the fact that at least two of the vampires would be approaching in a car rather than walking as the rest of us had done never crossed my mind.
Car doors opened. Vlad got out on the front passenger side. Renaldo opened the left rear passenger door and stepped out. The driver reversed the car and pulled back the way he had come, incurring even more damage. I gritted my teeth as I watched.
Vlad and Renaldo approached the building. From the roof, I watched with Amélie and Alexander for any sign of movement from the vampires hiding in the vineyard.
There was none.
We listened as the conversation drifted upward to us from the ventilation pipe.
Vlad spoke first. “I am here, Renaldo. As you requested. But I must warn you, I can think of nothing you can say that will change my mind about you. Or make me accede to your plan.”
Renaldo clucked his tongue. “How unfair of you. To dismiss us out of hand. You were once a feared warrior, brutal in the defense of those under your command. But now, when you command the most fearsome creatures to walk the earth, you are content to let us dwell in the shadows. To live as scavengers when we should all be living as kings.”
“And how long would those kingdoms last? Once you subjugated mortals, what would come next? Vampires are a lazy lot, content to take mortal pleasures. Those pleasures would die away with the humans.”
Anna and the Vampire Prince Page 5