Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

In Whixton Park all was peaceful and quiet. A soft wind blew, caressing the grass and making the bare branches of the trees shudder. The lamps along the asphalt pathway hummed as they washed the surrounding area in gentle light that fought viciously against the darkness.

In a secluded part of the park two figures were using the shadows as cover for a private meeting. One was casually leaning against a tree while the other paced back and forth in front of the first. Not a sound was made, but the air crackled with such tension the very air quivered.

Ethan wanted to sigh, but he didn’t dare and swallowed the desire instead. It always made him uneasy to see his sire pace – nothing good ever came from that pacing – and it was all Ethan could do to keep from sweating. He figured he only had a few minutes left of the agonizing wait until Conrad decided to tear into him. It came faster than expected

“Well?” Conrad asked, coming to an abrupt stop in front of his child.

“Well, what?” Ethan replied flippantly. He could see the subtle twitch of Conrad’s eye at his impudence.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” the older vampire specified.

“Simple. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Nothing wrong? Ethan, you are a smart man, something I know you try not to show on occasion, but this…this is by far one of the stupidest things you have ever done and you think you have done nothing wrong?”

Ethan answered with one word,

“Nope.”

Conrad stood motionless and the only hint of his mounting anger was the slight clench of his jaw.

“Please explain to me the reason you think this foolish decision of yours is a good idea, let alone one that I would agree with.”

“Sheesh, how many people are going to ask me that tonight?” Ethan mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Look, Conrad, I knew from the beginning that you weren’t going to agree with my method of going about things, but I’m not doing this to please you, I’m doing it to try and get results.”

“Results?” Conrad sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before addressing Ethan again. “Ethan, I was pleased beyond all measure when you took an interest in our search for the Hearts, but this? Bringing some human boy into this, telling him of our existence, telling him our secrets…you violated my trust.” Then Conrad came very close to his fledgling until their faces were just mere centimeters apart.

“I thought you learned from what happened last time you pulled something like this,” Conrad said in a low hiss, his steel eyes holding a penetrating gaze that threatened to rip away all of Ethan’s nerve and will.

Instead of being submissive, though, Ethan’s eyes hardened into a glare and boiling anger could be seen brewing underneath the teal pools.

“This is a completely different situation,” he said, his voice as harsh as an artic wind. “I’m not doing this out of pure fancy. Nicoli is an experiment that I need to work out my theory.”

“Theory? What theory could you possibly have that has the Hearts and that boy in the same vicinity, let alone the same breath?” Conrad asked.

Ethan matched his father’s question with one of his own.

“Have you been to The Underground lately?”

“What?”

“Have you been to The Underground lately?” Ethan repeated.

“Of course, I haven’t,” Conrad answered, finding the question absurd. “Why?” he then questioned tentatively.

A half smirk appeared on Ethan’s face. That look always meant Ethan had something to be smug about and the gesture both flamed Conrad’s irritation as well as his interest.

“No big reason,” the younger vampire said nonchalantly. “It’s just that if you had you would have heard the most delicious rumor that I couldn’t help but gobble up,” Ethan purred.

“Rumor? Oh no. No. No. No. Do not tell me you formulated this ludicrous plan based on the gossip of some gutter trash bloodlings,” Conrad said, becoming more frustrated with Ethan’s explanation rather than appeased.

“Don’t get ahead of me, Father, and don’t be so rude. There are some decent vampires who frequent The Underground, Mr. High-And-Mighty,” Ethan said, flirting with danger by chiding his sire.

“Just hear me out,” Ethan said before Conrad could snap at him. “There’s been talk going around that maybe the only way to get the Hearts is if a human is the one to take them from where they rest.” He hoped his words would spark some kind of interest in Conrad, but the man didn’t look impressed.

“I’ll tell you now that I’m on the verge of either laughing in your face or tearing it off,” Conrad said in a long, drawn out sigh.

“It may sound ridiculous to you, but I think it makes sense,” Ethan said defensively. “Think about it. We all know the stories of the vampires that found the Hearts and died the moment they touched them. Last Hope was the ones that hid the Hearts and they were all humans. Why is it so farfetched to think that whatever protective wards they have can be breached by another human?”

“Because, Ethan, vampires are stronger both mentally and physically and even spiritually. If we can’t get the Hearts I doubt any other being on Earth can,” Conrad replied.

“Yeah, yeah. “Whatever you can do I can do better.” I know the song, but what’s the harm in just trying it this way?” Ethan asked, becoming increasingly frustrated with his father’s stubbornness and narrow-minded views.

There was a pause from Conrad as he thought of an answer that would put a stop to Ethan’s defiant desires. He knew there wasn’t one.

“So, tell me then, what is this boy to you?” Conrad asked, deciding to prod into the subject of Nicoli rather than Ethan’s plan as a whole.

The answer came swifter than Conrad had anticipated.

“A tool.”

Conrad’s brow arched as he studied his fledgling’s face to see if there was any deception, but Ethan’s features only showed that of complete seriousness.

“A tool? Hmmm…is that all?” Conrad asked.

“Of course, what else would he be? In order to try out my theory we need a human and Nicoli just happened to wander across my path. And you’ve taught me to always take an opportunity when it’s staring me in the face. And look at it this way, if we use Nicoli there’s less danger to us.”

“How do you mean?” Conrad inquired.

“If the Heart really is in Whixton and we find it there’s a high probability that whoever tries to take it will die and the Heart will just warp to another location. We lose a kinsman and the Heart in one fell swoop. But if we use Nicoli one of two things will happen. On one hand if Nicoli succeeds we get the Heart and we are very well on our way to the others. On the other hand if he fails he’ll dies and the Heart will be transported somewhere else. The bright side is we can always find it again and Nicoli will be the one to die instead of someone from our family. You see what I mean? It’s a win-win situation for us,” Ethan explained.

He smiled when he saw the gears turning in Conrad’s head. It meant the man was considering his idea. With him on the ropes, Ethan tried to drive the point home.

“And if it’s his loyalty you’re worried about, I already have that taken care of.”

At that Conrad’s cloud of doubt returned and Ethan inwardly grimaced. It was not the reaction he was hoping for.

“Yes, because it looked like you had the boy completely wrapped around your little finger earlier,” Conrad scoffed.

Ethan simply smiled knowingly and leaned back against the tree behind him.

“Don’t let that little display deter you,” he said, unfazed by his sire’s jab. “One thing you have to learn about Nicoli is that he likes to be in control and made to feel like he has actual ground under his footing. Allowing him to go off on his little immature tantrums and yell at me as he pleases just makes him feel more at ease, which, in turn, makes it that much easier for me to control him. It’s a bit of a psychological mind game, but it’s been working splendidly for me thus far.”

Conrad’s skepticism did not diminish and he shook his head at his child.

“That’s a rather unreliable course of action, even for you. At any point in time he could change his mind and the information he has and will obtain is in danger of being leaked to our enemies. And if that were to happen, my dear child,” Conrad said in a soft tone as he tool Ethan’s chin between his fingers with such force it would have completely shattered a humans jaw. “You will be held fully responsible.”

Ethan didn’t flinch or cower under the show of dominance. He stared Conrad square in the eye as he reached up and began gently stroking his sire’s hand with his own.

“Easy, Father, easy. No need for such threats,” he cooed as he took the man’s hand and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles. “Like I said, I have it taken care of.”

Conrad studied his fledgling with a calculating gaze before grazing Ethan’s lips with his thumb.

“And how, might I ask, do you have it ‘taken care of?’” Conrad questioned.

A smile peeked out underneath the elder vampire’s digit.

“Another lesson I’ve learned from you is to cover all of my bases and, well, let’s just say I have Nicoli completely covered. I will leave no room for him to “change his mind” and his innermost secrets will be kept under lock and key for as long as I stand.”

The two men stood as still as statues as Ethan’s words hung in the air and clung to Conrad’s ears like a persistent gnat. It took a moment for those words to sink into the vampire’s buzzing mind and even longer for them to be deciphered.

When Conrad finally comprehended the true meaning underneath the statement shock hit his system and, if his body had needed the essential air, his breath would have been lost.

“No.” The word was so soft and meager and was filled to the brim with disbelief. “You…You’ve performed the mind link on the boy, haven’t you?” he asked. The smile that spread across Ethan’s face was answer enough.

“It was the only way,” Ethan said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “I knew you wouldn’t even consider having Nicoli tag along unless I took an extreme security measure. But now his mind is under lock and key and I’m the only one who has access to it. So you have no reason to fret.”

Conrad saw it differently, though. There were still many reasons to fret as far as he was concerned.

“That’s all very well and good, but his mind isn’t all that concerns me. His mouth is still a liability,” he pointed out.

Ethan simply chuckled and, to Conrad, it almost sounded dark.

“Oh, Father, you must try to see the bigger picture. With our minds joined together there is an overabundance of things I can do. Nicoli mind is guarded from others, but it also makes him vulnerable to me. I can do what ever I want, whether it be to slip ideas into his head that he thinks are his own or controlling him mind, body, and soul and, above all, making him keep his mouth shut. So, you see, even if he tries to change his mind and back out on us, I won’t let him. If I so choose I can render him into little more than my own personal puppet.”

Conrad was taken aback. His young fledgling had always been relaxed and easy going, with no ill intentions in any fiber of his being, but the plan Ethan had come up with for the boy was almost…cruel. It wasn’t like him. It was more something along the lines of what Conrad himself would do, but not Ethan. Had the year long journey the young vampire had taken away from his family changed him that much?

Conrad simply shrugged it off as personal growth. Besides, in the dealings his family was neck deep in, sometimes cruelty was a necessity and if Ethan had finally learned that, then it was all the better. Instead, Conrad turned to a different concern he had.

“I’m proud of you for thinking this over so carefully, but, as usual, you haven’t thought this all the way through,” he said critically.

Ethan arched a quizzical brow.

“I haven’t?”

“No, you haven’t. The mind link can have some severe repercussions on you. His mind may be a playground for you now, but don’t forget that it works both ways. He can start playing mind games with you as well, without you even realizing it. And the longer the bond between you two stays intact the stronger it will become over time. Soon you will be in tune with not only his thoughts, but his feelings as well. In the end, he may be the one controlling you.”

The consequence of the mind link hung in the air like an ominous cloud and Conrad prayed his child would heed his words seriously. But, in typical Ethan fashion, the young vampire just laughed.

“Conrad, you underestimate me far too much,” the Ethan said. “That has crossed my mind more than once and I have taken it into account.” That was when Ethan moved toward Conrad. He grazed his sire’s cold lips with his own and left the lightest of butterfly kisses down the man’s strong jaw until they settled on his throat while Ethan’s arms wrapped Conrad in a loving embrace.

“That’s exactly why I have called you and the others down here. Not only to help me solve the riddle of the mysterious book we found, but also to help me keep my head straight. I know you would never let me get caught up in a mortal’s seductive emotions. Because, like you said, I have learned my lesson…”

Conrad remained silent as he let Ethan whisper words into his neck. It was true; Conrad would do anything to protect his child. He would give his life in order to save Ethan from the suffering he had been through already.

Sensing the softness that had overcome Conrad, Ethan decided now was his chance and he had to take it before it was lost. He raised his head to look pleadingly into Conrad’s eyes.

“So, with that in mind, I’ll ask you this as childishly as I can, since I know you love me when I’m childish,” Ethan said impishly. “Can I keep him?”

Hesitance gripped every inch of Conrad’s body and something in the back of his mind screamed at him to refuse. That’s when Ethan said something that cut right into Conrad’s heart.

“Please, Father, this will work, I promise you. I…I don’t want to lose anyone else, especially not to this Heart. I want to protect our family as much as I can, and this is the only safe way I can think of. Please.”

The sincerity in Ethan’s voice made Conrad want to weep. That was the gentle child he knew. That was the Ethan he had made and loved. Conrad pressed a tender kiss to Ethan’s forehead and pulled the young vampire’s head down to rest on Conrad’s shoulder as he held him tightly. No, Conrad wouldn’t be able to bear losing anymore of his family either. The entire clan had already suffered so much. With that thought, it was much more appealing to put an expendable human in the line of danger rather than his loved ones.

“All right, Ethan, you win,” Conrad said in defeat as he released his fledgling. “I’ll allow you to use this boy anyway you see fit. Under my watchful eye, of course.”

A Cheshire sized grin broke out on Ethan’s face and he was jumping for joy on the inside. He amazed even himself for convincing Conrad to go along with his idea. He had just accomplished the impossible.

“But only on one condition.”

And just like that, a typhoon rained on Ethan’s parade.

“What condition?” Ethan asked, disappointment clear in his voice.

“If this boy really is the key to getting the Hearts, which I doubt, then after all of this is said and done, and we have the Hearts in our possession, I want him terminated.”

Ethan’s eyes widened in alarm. It was something he hadn’t expected, not even in a million years would he have dreamed of his father asking such a thing.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Conrad said, and smiled deviously for catching Ethan so off guard. “You said this boy was nothing but a tool. If that’s true, then you’ll have no problem getting rid of him afterwards. When a tool outlives its usefulness you throw it away, don’t you?”

Ethan cleared his throat as he tried to regain his composure.

“Yes, but...isn’t that a little extreme?” he asked.

“Perhaps, but it may become necessary. After the Hearts are ours maybe he’ll get greedy and want them for himself. No creature is above betraying another. Don’t worry. I’ll carry out the deed myself. There will be no blood on your hands, but know that this will be the only way I’ll allow your little tool to come with us. So what do you say? Yes or no?”

Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but had to close it when nothing came out. What could he say? His sire was giving him only one option if he accepted. Either the Heart better kill Nicoli or the elder vampire would. Finally, Ethan said the only thing he could.

“Fine. If Nicoli succeeds in getting us all the Hearts then you can kill him,” Ethan said as he straightened his posture and kept his voice strong. “No sense in keeping around a tool that has no use. Right?”

Conrad smiled and the faintest of chuckles issued from him as he clapped a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

“That’s my boy. You’ll see it’s for the best in the end. I assure you,” Conrad said, very pleased by Ethan’s decision.

“Of course, you always know what’s best for the clan,” Ethan said, not looking at his sire.

“That I do. Now, come, let us join the others. I’m sure that little boy is having a heart attack being in their presence,” Conrad said as he and Ethan began making their way back.

Though Conrad was pleased, an inner turmoil was writhing in Ethan’s chest. He had already come to terms if the plan failed and Nicoli was killed by the Heart, but now what would happen if they were victorious loomed over his head. In pushing for what he wanted most he had personally signed Nicoli’s death warrant in blood.

**************************************************************

Meanwhile, back at the clearing, Nicoli was nursing his wound while stationed at the base of a nearby tree, far away from the vampires. They were in a huddled group whispering to each other and Nicoli could see them glancing at him from time to time. His body was incredibly tense and he felt like he was going to tremble right out of his skin. How did he get himself into these situations?

“You have no one but yourself to blame, you know.”

Nicoli looked up at Felix who was hovering just a few feet away. He wondered why the ghost chose to be close to him rather than the vampires, though, secretly, Nicoli was glad to have someone he knew near him, even if it was someone as irritating as Felix.

“Ha. That’s a laugh. Why would I blame myself?” Nicoli asked as he went back to tending to himself. The sleeve of his jacket was now stained red from blood, so he used it to try and apply pressure to the wound.

“If you hadn’t of come bursting out of nowhere and shell-shocked the others, I’m sure they would have accepted you better, but now you’ve just made it awkward for everyone,” Felix said simply.

“And I wholly agree, but I’m hardly to blame. If that little vampire squirt hadn’t of attacked me I wouldn’t have come running over here like an idiot.”

“You’re an idiot no matter what you do,” Felix muttered and stuck out his tongue when Nicoli glared at him. “Well, bottom line is, Ethan’s in hot water now thanks to you. Let’s just hope Conrad feels generous and doesn’t disembowel him.”

“Pfft it’s the bastards own fault,” Nicoli scoffed as he began licking his thumb and rubbing at some of the blood that had dried onto his skin to try and get it off. “I’m still pissed at him so I hope Mr. Big-and-Scary tears him a new one.”

“Yes, my brother can be rather inconsiderate sometimes.”

“I know! It’s like he only has room in that big, empty head of his to just think…of…himself…” Nicoli trailed off when he realized it hadn’t been Felix who had replied. His head whipped around and a shriek escaped him when he saw who was standing next to him.

“Holy shit!” he screeched as he lunged away as far as his sitting position would allow.

The little girl from the jungle gym giggled and had the most innocent of smiles on her face as she looked up at Felix.

“He’s an excitable one, isn’t he?” she asked.

“He’s a lot of things that I’ll refrain from saying aloud,” the ghost replied before swooping down and hugging her. “God, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Faith,” he muttered happily.

A kind, loving smile appeared from his words as Faith hugged him back.

“I’ve missed you, too. It’s so good to see you again,” she said. After pulling away from Felix she turned her attention back to Nicoli, who was currently peeking at her from behind the tree. “I’m terribly sorry. You must not think highly of me at the moment,” she said as she took a cautious step towards the human.

“Y-You stay away from me you-you demon child, you!” Nicoli snapped at her, but it was evident from his voice that it was only out of fear.

“I hope your mother didn’t teach you to talk that way to women,” a woman’s voice said.

Nicoli jolted away again as the blond woman Cora appeared beside him and gave him a rather disapproving look.

“Ah! Will you people stop sneaking up on me like that!?” he yelled angrily as he sat up. He froze when a slight breeze swept over his back and he turned only to find the stunning man with the eye patch lying on his side right behind the boy.

“It’s not sneaking. You’re just not paying attention,” Andre said with a devilish smile as he tapped Nicoli’s nose with his finger.

Nicoli made to scramble away, but quick arms encircled his torso and locked him against a firm chest. He thrashed and struggled against his restraints, but to no avail.

“Hey! Let me go! Get off!” Nicoli cried out as he kept up his efforts.

Andre simply chuckled as he kept his moderately tight hold on the little human.

“Ooh a feisty little spitfire, this one is. Ethan really knows how to pick them. And his heart is beating so deliciously fast,” he purred as he placed one hand on Nicoli’s chest and nuzzled his face into the side of Nicoli’s neck.

In turn Nicoli froze and bristled like a spooked cat.

“Okay. Nooo! Away from the neck! Off!” Nicoli frantically bent his arms back and tried to push the man’s face away from his jugular.

“Andre. Enough,” a stern, deep voice commanded.

Andre let his head fall back and casually looked up at the form of Gavin, who had come up beside the seated man.

“Oh, Gavin, you always ruin my fun. I’m just trying to be friendly with Ethan’s new human,” he said innocently, while ignoring the desperate fingers that tried to find purchase in any crevice to yank him off.

“You are causing him to be far too loud. We don’t want anyone unnecessary discovering our presence,” Gavin said. His frown deepened when his warning went unheeded and the raven haired vampire continued to harass Nicoli.

“Andre, please stop,” Faith chimed in with her sweet, gentle voice. “You’re scaring him more than he already is. At least when I scared him I had a good reason.”

That made Nicoli stop his struggling with Andre and stare at the little vampire like she had just said she was Satan incarnate.

“What good reason could you possibly have for attacking me?” he demanded. “There is no good in that at all. None!”

Faith simply gave him a cherubic smile and tucked her dress underneath her as she kneeled down in front of Nicoli.

The dark haired youth immediately dug his feet into the ground to push away from her, which only pressed him into Andre, who was only more than happy to envelope the boy further into his arms.

“I’m terribly sorry for the stress I’ve put you through. I really am,” Faith apologized sincerely. “It’s just that when I saw you with Ethan earlier and realized that you were actually with him as a sort of accomplice, I just had to see what type of person you were, especially after I witnessed how you put my brother in his place after finding out he hadn’t told us about you.”

“What type of person I am?” Nicoli muttered, perplexed by the statement. “And you figured you could find that out by scaring me to death?”

“Well, no, that came as a last, split second decision,” Faith admitted. “After I saw how sweet you were to me when you thought I was just a lost little girl, I had to see how you would react when you found out what I truly was. I wanted to know if my brother had recruited a young human, who knew how to defend himself against a sudden attack by an enemy, which is preferred, given the types of things we come across at times.”

Faith then giggled and Nicoli could see an amused twinkle in her eye.

“Imagine my surprise when I made my move and instead of being ready for any sort of danger, you shrieked and fled as fast as you could. It was as if you were a terrified fawn running to go find your mother.”

A flustered Nicoli tried to shrink into oblivion as the others laughed at his expense. It didn’t help that he could actually feel the rumble from Andre’s chest in his back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t meet your expectations, but I really don’t find anything funny about your methods, you little squirt,” Nicoli growled through clenched teeth.

“Hey, you might want to be careful who you’re calling squirt, Meatbag,” Felix said as he settled in the grass next to Faith. “She may look like a little girl, but the truth is out of the whole clan, she’s one of the oldest and strongest of us all, so I’d watch what you say because she can royally fu–” Felix stopped when Faith sent him a severe look for the word he was about to use. “Er, mess you up. And don’t you forget that,” the ghost finished with a meaningful point of his finger.

Nicoli stared at the little girl in front of him and tried to comprehend what he was just told. She was a vampire, so he knew that she would be stronger than him in every way possible, but he never imagined that she could be far older than the other vampires that currently surrounded him. Not only that, but she looked like such a fragile little thing, it was hard for him to imagine her being more powerful than someone like Ethan or the man that held him now.

But as he studied her, he realized that it was possible that she was more than her little girl façade. Now that she wasn’t pretending anymore, he could see the mature features set into her face, and her brilliant green eyes held far more wisdom than the oldest man in the world could possibly contain. She really was a woman underneath her childlike appearance.

“I’m sorry, we got off on the wrong foot,” Faith said, interrupting Nicoli’s deep contemplation as she stood up to address him properly. “My name is Faith, and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she introduced herself, with a small curtsey.

“Um, hi, I’m Nicoli,” he said, deciding he had to try and make up for his earlier actions and be civil. It appeared Faith trying to be friendly now, so he might as well. His eyes flickered further up when the other women came up beside the little vampire and beamed down at Nicoli. She was much more stunning when she smiled rather than scowled.

“I’m Cora. You may be a little crude, but I can understand this night hasn’t exactly been easy for you, so I’m sure you actually are a sweet young man.” She blinked at Felix when the spirit abruptly snorted. “Er, right, well, the man that currently has a vice grip on you would be my Blood Father Andre. Sorry about him, he’s a bit eccentric, but he’s harmless.”

“Blood Father? Wait, then that means he’s your…”

“Sire, that’s right,” Andre finished for him. “Cora is my only, darling little baby girl,” he preened like the proud father that he was, which caused the woman to look away in embarrassment.

Now Nicoli understood why Ethan was the way he was. His family was nuts! Nicoli craned his neck to get a better look at the man and it was at just that moment that Andre peered down at him.

A gasp tore out of Nicoli before he could stop it. The eye that peered back at him was a mesmerizing golden hue. He had only seen that color in one other eye and for the merest of seconds, he felt like he was staring into Omen’s ruthless face.

“Is something the matter?” Andre asked when Nicoli quickly looked away from him. He also couldn’t ignore the sudden sent of fear that wafted into his nostrils.

“No, no, everything’s cool,” Nicoli muttered as he stared down at the dirt. He couldn’t explain the terror that just shot through him. He assumed that he was scarred forever on the color yellow.

Andre considered the boy’s odd behavior a bit longer before deciding to drop the matter and move on.

“Anyways, last, but certainly not least, is our rock of the family,” Andre said as he reached over and grabbed Gavin’s pant leg and pulled him closer. “This is Gavin. He keeps the rest of us in line and our fit firmly planted on the ground, don’t you big guy?” Andre asked with a cheeky grin and Gavin only grunted in reply.

Nicoli looked up at the tall, dark skinned man. He was impressive, that was for sure. Nicoli got the feeling that he would never want to be in a tangle with the man. Imminent death would be the only result.

“…hi,” was all Nicoli was able to get out. The man’s very presence radiated what power lay underneath flesh and bone and, for a moment, the human thought Gavin seemed stronger than even Conrad.

Gavin did not offer a hello or even uttered a single word. Instead, he gave a half bow from the waist and as he did his piercing artic eyes seemed to peer straight into Nicoli’s soul. When the man straightened he looked past the boy to Andre.

“He is of the purest innocence and harbors no ill intent towards us. He offers no lies or deceit that I can sense.”

Andre laughed and patted Nicoli’s chest, as though in congratulations.

“Good, good. That’s always nice to know.”

Nicoli blinked up at Gavin and couldn’t help the confused look he sported.

“Uh, excuse me?” he asked.

“Well, since we are all acquainted now,” Faith cut in, abruptly changing the subject. “Let me offer a token of friendship.” She kneeled once more and held her hand out to Nicoli. “Can I see the hand that I afflicted the wound on?”

Gavin’s strange words were wiped clear from Nicoli’s mind and distrust immediately swelled in his chest. All he could think was that she was going to bite him again. With great difficulty he pushed those feelings down and tentatively reached out his bloodied hand. If he was going to work with these people he had to make the effort to show that he was willing to trust them.

Faith slowly took his hand in hers, so as not to spook him and that he could see everything she was doing. She rolled back the sleeve of his jacket to show the bite mark. Nicoli silently thanked God that it had been a quick attack. Her teeth had barely been imbedded in his flesh for more than a second and because it was so fast it offered no chance for Nicoli’s F.L.S to kick in, which was the last thing he needed to happen.

Faith looked over the wound carefully before raising her thumb to her mouth. Before Nicoli’s eyes he saw her canines lengthen into fangs and, just like Ethan had done before, Faith slit her thumb across one of them so a cut was made into the pad. She then held the digit over the puncture wounds.

Drip.Drip.

Beads of blood were pulled down by gravity and splattered onto Nicoli’s injured wrist. When she pulled her hand away the human watched in morbid fascination as the holes began to close and the skin repaired itself like new.

“Wow…” Nicoli breathed in appreciation. It was an incredible phenomenon to watch. “Um, thank you, very much.”

“There, now we’re all friends,” Andre said and held Nicoli tighter to him, much to Nicoli’s displeasure. “Awe, Ethan always picks up the cutest strays.”

Nicoli was able to ignore the violation of space by the odd statement.

“Stray?” he said in confusion while trying to look back at Andre. “Who the hell are you calling a stray?”

Andre made a perplexed noise in the back of his throat.

“Are you meaning to tell me that you’re not a stray?” he asked.

“Well, what exactly do you mean by stray?” Nicoli rebuked.

“Do you have a family?” He received a nod. “A home?” Another nod. His brows furrowed. “How odd.” He turned his attention to Felix, who already looked unhappy by the line of questioning. “Has Ethan’s tastes changed, Kitten?” he asked the spirit.

Felix made no effort to reply, but Nicoli didn’t hesitate in voicing his bewilderment.

“What is he talking about, Felix…and did he just call you ‘Kitten?’ ”

“He’s not talking about anything,” Felix said through clenched teeth while glaring at the eye patched man, but Andre paid him no mind.

“Why has he not told you the circumstances of how he and Ethan me–”

“That’s it!”

The next second it felt like a great wave of frigid energy washed over Nicoli and Andre was wrenched from him and thrown back several feet. Nicoli sat there stunned for several moments until he heard yelps coming from behind him. He turned to see Andre on his back trying to fight off a very angry Felix who was currently on top of him and wailing on him with all of his ghostly might.

“Ah! Wait! Kitten, let’s talk about this!” Andre yelled as he tried to fend off the pissed off spirit, but it was hard when he couldn’t physically grab onto his assailant.

Nicoli’s eyes were torn away from the scene when Cora sighed and shook her head.

“I’m not going to say you don’t deserve that, Andre,” she chided before looking down at the boy with a sheepish smile. “I’m sure you’ve learned by now that Felix is rather…touchy about his past.”

“Um, yeah, that is something I’ve noticed,” Nicoli murmured as he looked over just in time to see Felix rubbing Andre’s face into the dirt. It was then he realized how lucky he’d been that Felix didn’t turn on him when Nicoli had innocently prodded about the ghost’s death. He made a mental note never to ask again.

He turned back to Cora when the woman took a seat beside him.

“Nicoli, may I ask you a question?” she asked.

“Um, sure, shoot.”

“Why is it that I can’t read your thoughts? It’s been bothering me. The entire time you’ve been here I haven’t been able to get a whisper from you. Why is that?” Cora asked.

Nicoli was surprised. He had forgotten that the whole reason behind establishing the mind link was to keep out other vampires from his thoughts. Now Cora’s question proved that it had been a success. But before he could open his mouth to tell her the reason, Faith answered for him.

“It’s because his and Ethan’s minds are linked. Isn’t that right, Nicoli?”

The boy couldn’t help the shocked look that he gave the little girl.

“How…How did you know that?” he asked and Faith smiled sweetly at him.

“Because, when I was watching the both of you earlier…well, I guess you can say I could feel it. There is a strong bond that is connecting you two and that’s the only thing I can think of that can create that strong of a bond. That and I suppose you can say Ethan is a bit predictable. A mind link with you for precaution would be the only way Father would even listen to what Ethan has to say.”

“That’s exactly right, Faith.”

Everyone twisted around to find the new voice that had spoken from the darkness. Conrad and Ethan had returned.

“Father!” Faith said enthusiastically and she ran to her sire, who scooped her up into his arms. After a quick, affectionate hug she clambered over into Ethan’s arms to give him an overdue welcome.

Conrad then looked to each of his family members and for a moment his steely gaze landed on Nicoli, who shivered involuntarily under it. Then the man straightened to his full height as he addressed the clan.

“Everyone, on your feet. Andre, Felix, stop your foolishness. We are leaving now to go examine the artifact Ethan has uncovered,” he said and everyone did as they were told.

“Sir,” Gavin said softly as he went to Conrad’s side. “What about the boy? Are you…agreeing with him coming along?”

Nicoli felt a lump form in his throat as Conrad looked him over critically. It seemed an eternity before the head vampire replied.

“Yes, as of now he is Ethan’s companion on this expedition, so I will allow him to accompany us for the time being.” Without another word he set off to leave the park with the clan following close behind.

Nicoli let out a great sigh of relief and when Ethan walked up to him – with Faith still in his arms – the human turned to smile widely at him. However, the smile died away when he saw that not a trace of joy was on the vampire’s face. He looked almost deadpan. Ethan wouldn’t even look at Nicoli as he walked right past the boy.

“Ethan?” he said, but the vampire didn’t acknowledge him and Faith looked over her brother’s shoulder at the boy, appearing just as confused.

Nicoli didn’t understand. Ethan had somehow convinced his sire to have Nicoli tag along, so why did he look so…sad? Before he was left behind Nicoli followed the clan in a jog, but something just didn’t feel right.

Without Ethan’s exuberant smile and charming laughter the victory seemed…hollow.

====================================Ch. 23 End