Josh held out his bandaged hand to the doctor. The bandages were red all the way through. Dr. Rowe carefully unwrapped his hand. “Hmm,” he said, looking at Melanie. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a vampire and healing yourself quite quickly.”
Bernard stepped forward as Melanie and Josh both looked at the unbandaged hand. There were two red lines across his palm, one about an inch across and the other about a quarter inch, but the wounds looked two weeks old and almost completely healed.
Bernard stuttered, “But...but...this morning...”
Dr. Rowe looked from Bernard to Josh then said, “Been biting vampires lately?”
“Uh no,” Josh said.
“Well...I don’t know what to say, you certainly don’t need my services. It looks fine. No infection. At this rate, by tomorrow you won’t know you had a cut at all. Quite remarkable for a human. The only explanation I can come up with is that you were in contact with a ‘healer,’” Dr. Rowe said.
“A healer?” Melanie asked.
“Yes. They are quite rare - the real ones that is. There’s a ton of charlatans out there but the real thing can be quite miraculous. I’ve only met one in my long career,” Dr. Rowe explained. “Well, since you won’t be needing my services, I guess I will look in on Dominic and say my hello’s,” he said, packing up his stuff.
Bernard said, still stunned, “Thank you, Dr. Rowe, for coming. I’ll show you to Master Dominic.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Brenner, Ms. Harper,” the doctor said.
“Goodbye, Dr. Rowe,” they said in stereo.
With both Bernard and Dr. Rowe gone, Melanie stretched up as high as she could and kissed Josh’s chin.
He looked down at her adoringly. “Guess your kiss healed me earlier,” he said proudly.
She eyed him skeptically. “It is kind of weird, don’t you think?”
“I’ve always been a fast healer. Maybe that is due to the vampire blood that runs through my Larsen veins.” He bared his teeth and pretended to bite her neck, but instead pummeled it with kisses.
She giggled. When he pulled away, she said, “Maybe you should talk to Dominic about this. I mean, you practically killed my door knob and now you’re healing fast. Maybe your vampire genes are kicking in all of a sudden for some reason.”
“Your door knob was probably already broken when I grabbed it and the other stuff, it’s just a coincidence,” Josh said.
“So you’re not concerned?” Melanie asked.
He wrapped his arms around her loosely and said, “Not at all.” He kissed her on the forehead then said, “Now then, you and I need to score a car and go to town.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I want you to look at rings and show me what you like and don’t like so that I can get you something you’ll want to wear forever,” Josh answered. “Plus, we need to talk about how you want to do this. Are you a big wedding gal, little wedding gal? Do you want to go formal? Informal? You know...I want to know what I’m getting myself into here.”
She smiled from ear to ear.
“Of course, if I have to sell my house to get you the ring you want, we may have to go smallish on the wedding and live in your tiny apartment or we could crash at the Larsen mansion. Which brings up another question, we should probably discuss whether you want to go back to the west coast or stay on the east coast.”
“I guess we do have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” Melanie smiled as they headed out of the room and in search of a car they could borrow for the afternoon.
*****
“Well, it does pretty much describe Josh’s arrival, if the ‘four’ are cousins,” Blake said.
“Yes, it does and if it is about us, that is our biggest advantage right now,” Devon said.
Darby said, “This destruction of ‘one’s heart’ quadruples our powers for our good deeds? That doesn’t sound like a good deed - destroying one’s heart.”
“That’s true, Darby. You’re such a sweetheart to notice that. But if you look at the parchment, ‘one’s heart’ is in a different color ink, as if it’s special or means more than one thing,” Dominic pointed out.
“You’re right, green. Why would she use green? If I was using a color to describe a heart I’d use red,” Darby thought out loud.
“Exactly, which means that the color change is significant,” Blake stated.
“The Bloodstone Heart was green,” said Josh. “Green with little speckles of red.”
“Of course. The old crone was giving us a clue. She was the one that made the bloodstone heart, remember? To protect her love from her sister, Margarite. She knew one day it would fall into the wrong hands and have to be destroyed so she bestowed a thank you to those who kept it from evil,” Dominic explained.
After the conversation died down a bit, Dominic said, “Well, kids...let me go over this some more. We’ve certainly made some amazing discoveries this evening. Mark here is going to be helping me with some of the leg work. He’s going to be staying on here, as is Alyssa. I’m not sure what all your plans are. You know you are all welcome to stay for as long as you like. There’s plenty of room and Bernard and I love having the house full.”
Dominic grabbed the artifact and all its contents and headed off to the study like a little kid at Christmas.
*****
Bernard knocked on the study door and opened it. “Master Dominic? Dr. Rowe to see you.”
“Michael!” Dominic said as he closed the drawer of his desk and turned towards the door. “To what do I owe the pleasure, my old friend?”
“Bernard called me this morning and said that your guest, Mr. Brenner, need some medical attention,” the doctor said.
“Really? What for?” Dominic asked.
“Apparently he had cut his hand this morning on a broken jar and Bernard seemed to think it needed some looking at,” Dr. Rowe explained.
“Is Josh okay?” Dominic inquired.
“Well, the wound was pretty much healed when I saw it. If I hadn’t known better I would have assumed he was a vampire,” the doctor answered.
Dominic chuckled. “You wouldn’t be too far from the truth.”
Dr. Rowe chuckled along with Dominic, but interjected, “What do you mean?”
“That’s right. I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone. The DNA test I had you run for me for Josh’s father, well, it seems that vampire blood does run through his blood. My hair was the sample I sent you for the possible father’s DNA. And well, you know the outcome,” Dominic said.
Michael was stunned. “You mean, Josh, is...your son?”
“Oh, don’t look so surprised, Michael. I’m certainly capable,” Dominic joked.
Dr. Rowe smiled, “But of course you are, I’m just….surprised.”
“You and me both. And Josh for that matter. I’ll tell you it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, explaining to him that he had a vampire father, let alone me. I’ve grown very fond of the boy; so has Anton. Then to find that he was…well…family, it was quite a shock for all of us.”
“And how is Anton taking the news?” Dr. Rowe asked.
“Are you kidding? He’s thrilled. He told me that if he could hand pick his own brother, it would be Josh. They’ve really bonded, and well the rest of the family, Devon and Blake, liked him from the get go.
“I can’t tell you, dear friend, how wonderful it has been to have these kids and their friends in our lives. I’ve grown so attached to all of them. For so long, Michael, I mourned Sophia and let loneliness rule my life, but I feel awakened again. Full of hope and life. Sophia would have been so happy to have such a houseful. She had always wanted as many children as she could have. At the time I had no appreciation for what she obviously knew all along was so important, but I do now.”
“I’m so happy for you, Dominic. Another son. Do tell me how this all came to be.”
“Well, I don’t know if you remember me traveling to Minnesota almost thirty years ago? I filled in for Professor Ha
dley for a semester. I know I told you this,” Dominic said.
“No...I think I would have remembered this story,” Dr. Rowe said.
“Well, I met this incredible young woman - beautiful, amazingly bright, and so strong-headed. It had been so long since I had let myself feel anything towards another woman, but she took my breath away from the instant I saw her.
“That entire semester we had a very passionate love affair, but you know how I was brought up. Father always said that Larsens should never muddy their blood with outsiders. This woman though, Michael, I would have muddied a thousand bloodlines for, but I loved her too much. She was human and I thought introducing her into a world of vampires was too selfish of me to change her life so. I also felt as if I was betraying Sophia and Anton somehow.
“So when the semester was over I walked away from the girl and the life we might have had. I had no idea that in the time we had been together, we had conceived Josh.
“Poor thing. I wasn’t there to tell her that a human/vampire pregnancy would be much longer than a normal pregnancy and she couldn’t explain to those around her who the father was, when the child was conceived, or any of it. Apparently, her family had her put away into an institution and when Josh was born, they took him from her and put him up for adoption.
“Luckily, he was adopted by some very loving humans, but they couldn’t possibly help him with the abilities he had or teach him how to control them.
“If only I’d known, Michael. Think how different our lives would have been. I could have known love and fatherhood again. Josh wouldn’t have grown up so tortured about himself. Anton would have had a brother. But I guess, better late than never, right?” Dominic explained.
“I can’t believe you never told me about this love affair,” Dr. Rowe said.
“I couldn’t, Michael. I thought of her so often, that if I submitted to talking about her, I would not have been able to let her be. Stupid, I suppose. If I had, maybe I would have gone back for her and...well, things would have been different, but I was stubborn...and I felt I was doing the right thing.”
“You’re a lucky man, Dominic. You’ve known love not once, but twice, and you have two sons to prove it,” Dr. Rowe said.
“Oh, Michael. How insensitive of me. I know you and Margaret tried for so long...I didn’t mean....” Dominic started.
“Don’t give it another thought, Dominic, but I should get a move on. I have some things to do this afternoon, and I will most definitely be late for them, but I’ve enjoyed our chat. I’ll let myself out,” the doctor said.
“You’re sure you are okay? You seem...I don’t know... annoyed,” Dominic noticed.
“Not at all, dear friend. I had just forgotten my obligations and you know how I hate when my memory fails me. I’ll see you soon,” Dr. Rowe said as he left the study.
Chapter Five
Anton was headed toward the garage when he ran in to a giggling Josh and Melanie.
“Anton...any chance we can score a car to go to town?” Josh asked.
“Well, I’m heading out myself, but here,” he pulled his keys from his pocket and took a key off the chain and tossed it to them. “Take the red one. It was Libby’s. Enjoy,” Anton offered.
Josh said, “Thanks. Where are you off to in such a good mood?”
“Got a date!” Anton said.
“Not with the girl who ditched you at Darby and Devon’s party?” Josh scolded.
“The very one, but this time I brought rope and handcuffs,” he said, laughing.
As Anton got into the silver Audi coupe, Melanie said, “He was joking, wasn’t he?”
Josh shrugged his shoulders as he unlocked the door for her and said, “How should I know? Maybe vampires like it like that.”
“You’re joking right?” she asked.
“Yes. Anton’s too much of a gentleman to be into S&M. Besides, from what I can tell, he REALLY likes this gal, despite her leaving him without an explanation at the party.” Josh started the sporty red car and pulled out of the garage, following Anton out to the main road and into town.
*****
Much to Anton’s disappointment, Jules held him to his promise to make the date much more casual than their first to Darby and Devon’s engagement party. So much so, that she insisted on meeting him at the little Italian restaurant instead of allowing him to pick her up.
To conform to her casual request, he wore jeans and a light blue linen shirt. He checked the rear view mirror before he got out of the car, raking his hands through his dark blonde buzzed hair. Looked the same as when he left the house - no surprise. When your hair is that short, it doesn’t get too messed up unless you’re in a tornado, and even then, not really.
He popped a mint in his mouth and proceeded to the restaurant entrance. He was used to women checking him out, and he had to admit he liked the attention. When he and Devon were younger and in school, Devon often accused him of being awful cocky about his looks. He knew he could come off a little arrogant, but he never cared much how others perceived him. But tonight, he didn’t want to leave that impression on Jules. She had made him work for this date, like no other woman had, and he was determined to win her over.
He spoke to the hostess, who he could see was trying to flirt with him. He smiled at her attempts, but kept a watchful eye on the door for Jules. Being handsome does have its advantages; he did get his pick of tables and he picked one in a corner where he and Jules could have a bit of privacy.
He ordered a bottle of Chianti while he waited. He was doted on by his waitress, Brandi (with an ‘i’), and the hostess kept peeking at him as the time ticked on. He checked his watch a couple of times. No sign of her yet and it was half past when they were scheduled to meet.
Has she stood me up? he wondered. He had been persistent at pushing her into this date; he wondered if maybe he had pushed too hard too soon. He thought though, he himself had sometimes gotten tied up at the gallery and been late sometimes as much as an hour. It could be that she simply lost track of the time. He would give her another half hour before he headed home.
The time moved much slower the second half hour and when the hour was up, he had drank most of the bottle of Chianti. Good thing alcohol didn’t affect vampires the same as humans, or he might not be able to drive, but it would take a huge amount of wine to intoxicate him. Feeling Jules would not show, he raised his hand to Brandi as she passed, letting her know he was ready for his bill. She brought it to him promptly and he paid and left.
He sat in his car for a while deciding what to do now that his plans had changed. He decided he wasn’t quite ready to give up on the evening. He made a quick call to Jules’s office to see if she was there, but no one answered. His last ditch effort was to see if she was home, so he drove the several miles to her house. Her car was in the driveway and the lights were on. She either forgot about their plans or had chickened out.
He had brought a bottle of blood wine with him in case the end of the evening called for it. Blood wine was found in Malaysia, one of the only things that could intoxicate a vampire. Made from a rare ‘blood berry,’ to humans it doesn’t taste much different than an earthy cabernet. It is fermented much like a wine, but it is these rare berries that have an effect on a vampire much the way brandy might have on a human. A glass, he was hoping, might loosen Jules up and let him into her world.
He parked, grabbed the blood wine, and headed for the door. He knocked and a few minutes later, Jules opened it.
“Anton.” She looked embarrassed at his being there.
“Am I interrupting anything?” He had both of his hands behind him holding the bottle of blood wine.
“No,” she said quietly with her ever so slight British accent.
“I suppose I pushed too hard for the date you missed.”
“I’m sorry, Anton...I just...”
“I brought a bottle of blood wine. Best stock in my father’s wine cellar. I thought maybe we could talk - no date, just talk.”
/> She looked at the bottle he presented to her and he could tell that she was thinking of reasons to send him away, but Anton realized that though she often turned him down on the phone, he had been successful once before in person. He hoped by standing in front of her, this would be the case again.
She looked up at him after a moment. She even ran her fingers over the label on the bottle. Then she stepped backwards, widening the doorway, and said, “Sure.”
She was in jeans that fit her perfectly, accentuating every lovely curve. She wore a tight fitting T-shirt that revealed the tiniest bit of skin between her jeans and shirt. She was barefoot and it looked as if she had just recently had a pedicure with blood red nail polish applied.
Her house was tastefully decorated and though it had many nice and expensive things in it, it felt comfortable. He followed her into the living room where she had a book open on the couch upside down, as if she had set it down to open the door but didn’t want to lose her place.
She set the wine down on the coffee table and asked him to sit and make himself comfortable. She headed for what he presumed was the kitchen and came back carrying two wine glasses and a wine opener. She handed the opener to him and said, “Will you do the honors?”
“Sure,” he said. He grabbed the bottle and started twisting the corkscrew into the top of the cork after taking the foiled seal off. When it was down as far as it would go, he pulled what looked like rabbit ears down and the cork make a small pop noise as air rushed into the bottle. He poured some blood wine into each of the glasses and handed one to her.
“A toast?” he asked.
“To what?” she asked, her sapphire blue eyes looking to him for an answer.
“To friendship,” he said. He felt this was safe and noncommittal, which seemed to be what she wanted.
“Okay. To friendship.” She said then took a sip as did he, but, she never took her eyes off of him.
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