Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

Nicoli sighed as he began to wake up. He was so tired and his entire body ached. He wanted nothing more than to go right back to sleep, but his attention was directed elsewhere. Something was running through his hair. Fingers. They were gentle fingers he soon realized and when he became more aware of his surroundings, with his eyes still closed, he felt that he was not lying on a bed, but leaned back against another person.

He sighed again, but this time it was in content. The contact was pleasurable and soothed him greatly, making all of his muscles relax. His head tilted towards the hand and it left his hair to start stroking his face.

“That feels good,” he muttered as he nuzzled the hand. His first thought was that it was Ethan holding him. He knew of no one else that would touch him so tenderly.

“I’m glad.”

Nicoli’s brows furrowed. That didn’t sound like Ethan’s voice. His eyes blinked open and he tilted his head back to look at Ethan. The teal eyes he was expecting were instead grey and the blond, wavy hair was replaced with sleek black. Definitely not Ethan.

“Fucking shit!” Nicoli yelled as he tried to jump from the bed, but Dimitri’s arms were faster and held him to a firm chest.

“Ah, ah, ah, I think it’s best if you calm down,” Dimitri said softly, almost in a coo.

Nicoli disregarded the suggestion and continued to kick and thrash. He even went so far as to try and claw Dimitri’s face, but his hands were soon caught and held to him to prevent that. Vulgarities and curses were thrown, but Dimitri was immune to all of them and soon Nicoli had to stop fighting, not because he wanted to, but because he was so tired and his struggling wasn’t helping.

“There that’s much better,” Dimitri said as Nicoli lied back against him panting.

Nicoli flinched and turned his face away when Dimitri’s nose rubbed against his ear in a sort of nuzzle. He was shuddering involuntarily. Why wouldn’t Dimitri stop touching him? It was worse than the kind words.

“You had me very worried there for a bit, you know,” Dimitri said, his hand going back to stroking Nicoli’s head as the other arm held him firm.

“Stop it,” Nicoli ordered and nearly snapped at the hand when it wouldn’t leave. “Worried about what?” he then asked when it finally settled around him with the other.

“About the way you had passed out.”

Nicoli fully stopped moving as he absorbed that statement.

“Passed out? I passed out?” he asked, turning his head back enough to look at Dimitri.

“Yes, you don’t remember? I was simply talking to you about my brother when you started yelling and screaming and clutching your head. It was as if you were having a severe panic attack and then you collapsed. You nearly hit the floor, but I was able to catch you just in time.”

Nicoli ignored the last part. He’d rather hit the ground a hundred miles per hour than be held by the despicable man. Instead he tried to think back on what happened. He remembered Dimitri and him talking, but he couldn’t recall going into some panic attack and certainly not passing out. One second he had been talking and the next he had woken up in the bed with Dimitri. There was no in between.

“Pfft you’re lying,” Nicoli finally said. “You probably did some sort of voodoo mind trick on me or something just so you could get me here.” He gestured to their current state with as much movement of his arms as he could muster. Dimitri had a hold like a vice.

In Nicoli’s mind it was easier to just take everything Dimitri told him as a lie. If he didn’t remember freaking out like a crazy person than passing out then it obviously never actually happened. End of story.

“Now how could I do a mind trick on you when your mind is protected by the mind link?” Dimitri asked.

“How the hell should I know?” Nicoli asked. “I don’t know what you’re capable of. You could probably do a lot of things that can skate across the mind link.”

“I assure you I didn’t. So you’re saying you don’t have these fits often?” Dimitri asked.

“I didn’t have a fit. You did something,” Nicoli snapped. He would not be moved from this mind set, no matter how many flowery, deceiving words Dimitri threw at him.

“You truly believe that?”

“Yes, I do. Now are you going to let go of me?” Nicoli asked, wanting to get as far away from the deceptively comforting arms.

“I suppose,” Dimitri said with a sigh. “But I don’t understand why you won’t listen to reason.

Dimitri released the other and the second Nicoli was free he sprang to the end of the bed like a jack rabbit. He hugged his legs to himself as he glared at Dimitri.

“Now don’t touch me ever again,” he hissed. Again he had the urge to punch Dimitri. He just sat against the headboard with an insufferably smug smile. Nicoli was really beginning to hate that smile.

“Now I don’t think I’ll be able to keep that promise, but I’ll try to refrain,” Dimitri told him, crossing his legs to sit up straighter. “You look tired.”

Nicoli grunted and rolled his eyes.

“Will you stop pretending to be so concerned about my heath? You’re not fooling anybody. It’s getting to the point that you just look stupid.”

“Now why do you think I’m pretending?” Dimitri asked. “I’m being nothing but sincere.”

“Suuuuure if you were being sincere you wouldn’t have kidnapped me and be holding me hostage in the first place.”

“Now, really, are you going to be holding that against me?” Dimitri asked.

“Do I even have to dignify that with a response?” Nicoli retorted. “You’re fake kindness is even more grating than Conrad’s blatant dislike of me and I’m being serious.” He vaguely remembered speaking with Dimitri about the way he was treated by Conrad, but only barely.

“Really? Now that’s something I didn’t expect. So he really does not like you, does he?” he asked.

Nicoli wanted to whack himself. He had perfectly set himself up for that.

“Oh what? Now you’re going to go all “supportive fatherly figure” and tell me its okay, he doesn’t mean it and that you truly understand me and what I’m going through?” he asked.

“…you are a master of sarcasm,” Dimitri said with a light chuckle.

“I’ve had practice.”

“And it shows. No, that was not my intention. Actually I understand perfectly why he treats you the way that he does and I could never fault him for it. In fact I was thinking that I could reveal to you the reason Conrad has such an attitude towards humans. If you’re interested, that is.”

Interested? Nicoli was more than interested. That very question had plagued him since the day he met Conrad. Why did he hate humans so much? Now the answer was being presented to Nicoli on a silver platter. All he had to do was take it. Of course, there was always the possibility that what Dimitri would tell him was a lie. Maybe it was a chance he had to take, but he wasn’t about to be stupid.

“So, what? I tell you what you want to know and you tell me about Conrad?” he asked. “Sorry, but none doing. I’m not that curious.”

“No, no,” Dimitri said with a wag of his finger. “This information will come completely free of charge. It would pain me for you to have the wrong idea about my little brother. I feel that if you had the whole truth that you could possibly understand his motivations.”

That threw Nicoli for a loop.

“Since when do you care about any aspect of your brother?”

Dimitri simply chuckled, but Nicoli swore that his smile seemed almost sad. Were Nicoli’s eyes playing tricks on him? There was no way Dimitri still cared about Conrad in any sort of way. Not after everything he had done.

“You’re right, of course, those were a poor choice of words,” Dimitri said, scratching an itch on his chin.

Nicoli couldn’t hear any truth behind the words and couldn’t help but wonder, once more, what Dimitri’s deal was. There was just no way to figure him out and Nicoli was sure he would get a migraine if he tried.

“So, would you like to hear what I have to say?” Dimitri asked.

Nicoli was more than curious. He had to hold back from fidgeting from how much he wanted to know, but he couldn’t let Dimitri be aware of his want. So, he simply shrugged.

“It’s not like I have the choice to just get up and leave. So if you want to start talking I can’t do much but sit here and listen.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dimitri said with a throaty chuckle. “It all goes way, way back to when my brothers and I were human’s ourselves. We had a more…privileged life than most back then, which continued on into our vampire days, if you think about it, but that did not mean we did not have our own set of troubles.

“Our birth father was a very strict man that demanded nothing but the best from us. We were his sons and that meant that we had to be strong and fearless in ever aspect of our lives and he absolutely loathed weakness. Sadly for Conrad the odds were stacked against him from the very beginning.”

Dimitri sighed at that point and leaned back against the headboard. Nicoli wanted to say something, anything that would usher the story along, but that meant he’d have to show that he was interested. Instead he sat still and kept his mouth shut.

“Conrad was born with a heart condition,” Dimitri finally said after a pause.

“He was?” Nicoli asked in surprise and immediately clapped a hand over his mouth. He silently cursed himself as Dimitri laughed at him.

“Yes, he was. It crippled him greatly in what he could really do. If he exerted too much effort in even the simplest tasks he would become sickly. He always described it as his heart racing as fast as a hummingbirds wings and if he had a strong attack he would be bedridden for days. Back then we had nothing to relieve his pain or correct the problem so he lived with it his whole life. I was surprised he even reached adulthood, let alone to the age of thirty-eight.

“Because of the man our father was he despised Conrad for being so weak. He would remind Conrad of how worthless he was daily and would make him feel that he didn’t even deserve the life he had been given. Of course the heart condition wasn’t Conrad’s fault. It was how he was born. I tried to make light of that to our father countless times only to get a good beating for my efforts. In the end all I or Isaak could do was protect our younger brother from our father’s hateful ways to the best of our abilities.”

Nicoli tried to picture what kind of life that would be, to grow up with such a debilitating illness and to be hated for it by your own father. Now he was beginning to see why Conrad was such a cold man.

“It was a blessing the day we were reborn into the creatures we are now,” Dimitri said, drawing Nicoli out of his thoughts. “With the powerful vampiric blood running through Conrad’s body his heart was mended and he was finally able to show his worth not only to the world, but to himself. To see him so healthy and vibrant…it was the best day in my life.”

Nicoli’s brows rose. There he went again, talking as if he cared for Conrad. His words were so full of warm nostalgia that Nicoli almost forgot the monster Dimitri was and saw him as a caring, loving older brother. He quickly shook that out of his head. He was not going to be fooled by Dimitri’s act. He wasn’t.

“Sadly, our father’s ways had more of an effect on Conrad than I had anticipated,” Dimitri continued, not fazed by Nicoli’s silence. “Now that he was the strong person he had always wanted to be he saw the whole human race in a new light. In his eyes they were weak, pathetic creatures that couldn’t rise above their own shortcomings and through the years he was a witness to their cruelty, greed and hatred that have left an everlasting impression in his mind that has lasted till this day.”

“If humans are so disgusting to him then why did he turn Faith and Ethan?” Nicoli asked. It didn’t make any sense to him. “They were human once so how was he able to see past their “weaknesses” in order to make them one of you?”

Nicoli wasn’t going to lie; Conrad’s reasons for looking down on humans bothered him. He felt sympathy for what Conrad had to go through while growing up with a father like that, but to turn around and do the exact same thing to other people made absolutely no sense. Perhaps Conrad’s hatred of his own weakness could just never be erased after he was turned and had to be directed somewhere else, but it still pissed Nicoli off slightly.

“Ah, Faith was a very, very special case, I guess you can say. For you see, she was also born with a heart condition similar to Conrad’s.”

Nicoli’s jaw dropped. Faith had also suffered complications of the heart? He truly didn’t see that coming.

“But, wait. If she also had something like that wouldn’t that make Conrad dislike her more? If he sees humans weak in general then wouldn’t someone like Faith be even lower on the pedestal or whatever?” Nicoli asked. He couldn’t act disinterested anymore and he knew Dimitri was aware of this, too. That was one point to Dimitri.

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Dimitri said. “I’ve never known what Conrad saw in Faith, I never saw their interactions when she was human. He must have seen something in her and that little girl touched his heart that he had barricaded from everyone but Isaak and myself. It was an astounding occurrence that I was grateful for.”

“Was her heart condition the reason she was turned so young?” Nicoli asked. The pieces were slowly falling into place and he blanched at the picture they revealed.

“Sadly, yes,” Dimitri said with a grave nod. “When I and Isaak became aware of Conrad’s interactions with little Faith we knew it was inevitable that he would turn her and bring her into our family. What we never expected was for him to come home one day, wailing and biting out wretched sobs as he cradled a fair haired, little girl’s body in his arms. By then he had already done the deed and she had been turned, but had not yet awakened from the process.

“Conrad explained to us that she had suffered an attack so severe that she was going to die. In a moment of panic and a desperate desire to save her he turned her without even thinking. In the years that followed Faith’s madness…you do know of the afflictions we suffer that we call Blood Rage, don’t you?” Dimitri abruptly asked.

“Uh, yeah, it’s been explained to me,” Nicoli said meekly, being jerked out of the story.

“Ah, good, in the years following Faith’s madness due to the Blood Rage Conrad was tormented day and night. Seeing her go through such an ordeal made him regret his decision and he confided in me that he often thought of just putting her out of her misery, but he didn’t have the heart to.

“I’m glad he didn’t because when she finally fought through that horrible madness she became Conrad’s whole world and made him so very happy. I think those years he took care of her during her Blood Rage only strengthened the love he had already developed for her and from that day on she was truly his daughter.”

Nicoli wasn’t sure what to say. He had run through countless scenarios of why Faith was turned as a child, but his hypothesis didn’t live up to the real account. He almost couldn’t believe that the powerful, cold leader he had come to know had saved Faith from the brink of death because he couldn’t bear to lose her. That he had lost his rational mind and turned her without a thought to the consequences. It seemed even more impossible that a human, a little girl at that, had made Conrad do something so impulsive.

Nicoli wished he knew the circumstances of how they had met and what led to their friendship. He could have asked Dimitri, but the man had already said he never saw the interactions between the two when Faith was human, so he most likely didn’t know. There was still someone else he wanted to know more about, though.

“What about Ethan then?” he asked after going over his thoughts. He was surprised that Dimitri had sat in silence to reflect on the story that was told, but then again he wasn’t surprised at all. “What was it about Ethan that made Conrad turn him? He didn’t have a heart condition too, did he?” That seemed to be the common denominator in all of these accounts.

Dimitri chuckled and shook his head.

“No, no, nothing of the sort,” he said with a wave of his hand. He then studied Nicoli curiously. “You really don’t know the truth behind Ethan’s turning?” he asked.

“Truth?” Nicoli said. “You’re making it sound like it was some secretive thing. No, I just know Conrad turned him.”

“While that is true,” Dimitri said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. “It was not Conrad’s decision to turn him.”

“…what?” Nicoli stared at Dimitri as if he was speaking some foreign language. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He was beginning to realize that he really didn’t know a lot about the clan.

“The one who wanted to have Ethan turned was, in fact, Faith. So, if you really think on it, Faith is Ethan’s true sire.”

Nicoli felt as if he had been blind sided with an eighteen wheeler. Faith was the one that wanted Ethan turned into a vampire? Not Conrad?

“Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense. If Faith wanted to turn Ethan then why didn’t she do it herself? Why did she have Conrad do it?” he asked.

“Because she simply isn’t able to,” Dimitri told him. “It’s one of the downfalls of being turned as a child. Since you know of the Blood Rage I assume you know how vampires are made.”

Nicoli nodded, eager for Dimitri to continue.

“Good, you see, when the turning process is in motion the vampire must extract a good amount of the human’s blood in order for it to work, but what needs to happen is that the vampire must in turn give the same amount of their own blood to the human. Because of Faith’s physical stature she is unable to fulfill that requirement without putting herself in grave danger of losing all of her blood. A lesson she learned in the harshest of ways.”

“You mean she tried it once?” Nicoli asked, feeling sick. He knew what happened if a turning went wrong and from what Dimitri was describing there was a one hundred percent chance of Faith turning somebody going wrong.

“Yes, and the results struck a blow to her conscience that I’m sure she feels even today. Everyone knew that the only way Faith would ever have a chance of turning someone successfully is if she tried on a child like herself. That was something that Faith was unwilling to do, what with the trials and struggles she had to endure. She would never put another child through that.”

“Then how did Ethan enter the picture?” Nicoli asked.

“I’m not quite sure on the exact details,” Dimitri said with a shrug. “I’m sure you know by then I was quite out of the picture of being in Conrad’s life. All I know is Faith found Ethan and wanted to turn him. Conrad had promised after Faith’s failure that if there was anyone that she wanted that he would do the turning for her and that is how Ethan came to be.”

“Then Conrad doesn’t care for Ethan like he does Faith,” Nicoli asked. That knowledge almost made him sad.

“Conrad doesn’t care for anyone like he does Faith,” Dimitri corrected him. “But he does care for Ethan, don’t get me wrong. It was most likely for Faith that he overcame his initial prejudices early and grew to love Ethan that much quicker.”

“Jesus Christ, I didn’t know everyone’s pasts were so complicated,” Nicoli muttered, putting his elbows on his crossed knees and his chin in his hands. Conrad and Faith’s pasts astounded him and he was blown away by the fact that it was Faith that had wanted Ethan to become a vampire, not Conrad.

“Everyone is complicated in their own way,” Dimitri said softly. His head tilted as he then regarded Nicoli silently.

It sent chills up Nicoli’s spine the way he was being stared at. What scared him more was that he had no clue as to what Dimitri was thinking.

“What?” he finally asked.

“So…there’s no one else you’d like to ask about?” Dimitri inquired.

“…like who?” he asked. The question was odd. He knew Dimitri was driving at something specific, but he just couldn’t tell what. “I’m sure I could ask about Andre or Gavin, but I don’t think I could cram anymore surprises into my head.”

There was a slight raise to Dimitri’s brows, but then he just smiled and shook his head.

“I didn’t mean anyone in particular. I just wanted to know if I could quench anymore of your curiosity,” he said and it was the first time in a while since they started speaking that Nicoli detected a lie. Before he could call him on it, Dimitri changed the subject.

“Now I have a question for you,” he said.

“I already told you that I’m not answering any of your damn questions and you said what you told me came free of charge,” Nicoli snapped. He really should have known better than to trust Dimitri on his word.

“No, no, you mistake my intention,” Dimitri said with a pleasant laugh. “I was not going to ask about my brother or any of that. I was going to ask about you.”

“About me?” Nicoli asked, taken aback. “What about me?”

“I’m curious how you ended up in this situation.”

“Uh, you kidnapped me, remember.” Nicoli jumped slightly when Dimitri released a full laugh. A much louder sound than his mere chuckles and it was one of those laughs that were so enjoyable that it was contagious. Nicoli even found himself almost smiling, but quickly wiped it away.

“No, no, I meant how did you find yourself associating with the likes of Ethan and my brother in the first place?” Dimitri asked once his laughter had died down. “How did such a young man with an average life come to have vampires for friends?”

Nicoli hmphed. He had to treat this question carefully. If he gave too much information he could inadvertently answer one of Dimitri’s other questions that he had asked about the clan. Then he’d be screwed. Of course he didn’t have to answer anything, but he felt that he should throw Dimitri some sort of bone. There was a chance it would cool Dimitri’s jets about wanting to know anything of the clan.

“I was just a guy at the wrong place at the wrong time and followed some people into the woods that I really shouldn’t have,” he said in one long, drawn out breath. He then just sat there, waiting for Dimitri’s reaction. What he got was another laugh that he was beginning to hate just as much as that smile.

“That was vague,” Dimitri said.

“You didn’t ask for non-vague,” Nicoli shot back.

“I suppose that’s true. Now, tell me, what are they offering you that’s keeping you with them?”

Nicoli’s brows drew down and his head tilted.

“What makes you think they’re offering me anything?” he asked.

“There has to be something. They must have promised you something in order for you to put yourself in such a dangerous predicament. Whatever it is your helping them with couldn’t have come at a free price.” A new smile appeared on Dimitri’s face. It was sly and cunning and for the first time Dimitri almost looked vicious. Nicoli was wrong, he liked nicey-nice Dimitri a lot better.

“I know,” Dimitri said, his voice coming out as a purr. “They offered to change you into one of them. To give you immortality. That’s an offer almost no one can refuse, but you know, Nicoli.”

Nicoli jumped and backed up to the very end of the bed when Dimitri disappeared completely. He was really beginning to hate how vampires could do that. Really, really hate it. He gasped and tensed when fingers were in his hair and brushed against his throat.

“I can also give you immortality and I would be happy to do it. I love all of my children and am always ready to welcome another into my family,” Dimitri whispered in his ear. His voice was sultry and caressed Nicoli in such a way he was reduced to a mass of shivers. “Just ask and I can give you everything your heart desires. Money, power…even love.”

Nicoli let out a shuddering breath when those lips pressed against his ear. They trailed down to his neck and pressed against his pulse as arms encircled his shoulders and chest, holding him in a tight, loving embrace.

“I just want to make you happy. You’ll be very happy with me.” His hand slid down Nicoli’s side and rested on his hip and slowly slipped into his lap.

Nicoli’s breathing had become heavy and his head felt completely smothered by Dimitri’s words and soft touches. He had been so scared, angry, hungry and tired that his body was welcoming Dimitri’s gentle hands before his mind could rationalize what was going on.

A gasp morphed into a moan when that hand cradled his groin and delicately massaged him through his jeans. Nicoli found himself pressing back into Dimitri and tilting his head to let those lips caress more of his throat.

No, this was wrong. Everything was wrong. What was happening to him? Why was he letting Dimitri do this? His brain just could not get him to snap out of his blissful, hazy delirium as the other hand found its way up his shirt and began touching the hidden skin it found.

“So this is all that you want. To be touched and loved,” Dimitri said, lightly kissing Nicoli’s cheek as his hands worked. “A basic need for any creature. Just say yes and I will treasure and love you for all eternity. You will always be cared for and all of your needs quenched and satisfied.”

To Nicoli’s horror his lips began to move and he could feel his tongue begin to roll out the one word that Dimitri wanted to hear. It was when sharp teeth pressed against the skin of his neck that cold reality crashed over his head.

There was a flurry of horrified cries and limbs as Nicoli ripped himself from Dimitri’s embrace and found sanctuary at the other end of the bed. He fought to catch his breath as he stared at Dimitri with wide, terrified eyes.

Anger and shame rushed into him, replacing the fear and he glared with pure hatred.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” he screamed, his voice higher than he intended it to be. “What kind of mind fuck did you just put on me? No, I don’t even want to hear it from you, you sick fuck,” he snarled when Dimitri was about to answer. “Just get the hell out! Oh, and for your information I would never want to be a vampire and if I did I certainly wouldn’t want to be turned by you. Now get the fuck out!” He grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at Dimitri as hard as he could.

It bounced off the vampire harmlessly and Dimitri stared at Nicoli, disappointment clearly on his face.

“I see that I have crossed a line. I’m sorry. I will do as you ask and leave you for now. I will return when you have had a chance to calm down. Sleep should help you.”

Dimitri collected the tray with the empty bowl that had been placed on the floor at some point and with a nod he left the room without another word.

When he was gone Nicoli curled over his legs, covered his head with his arms and screamed as loud as he could. He couldn’t believe what had just happened and that he had let Dimitri get that far. The level of manipulation Dimitri could wield was terrifying and there was no telling how long Nicoli stood a chance against it.

“They have to come get me. They just have to,” Nicoli said as his body shook. He wondered what was taking them so long. They had to know he was gone by now and had to be looking for him. They just had to be.

“Ethan, hurry.”

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

Dimitri stood outside the door for a few seconds, listening to Nicoli cry and scream. A part of him felt pity for the boy and what he was putting him through, but all was fair in love and war.

He set the tray on the floor next to the door, deciding to deal with it later, then made his way back to his den to give himself time to regroup and collect his thoughts. As he traveled a large shadow emerged from an adjacent hallway and fell in step beside him.

“So, I’m assuming you weren’t able to get very far,” Seth said, his black eyes glancing back at the boy’s prison.

“Further than I had first thought, but not far enough to be note worthy,” Dimitri replied, running his hand over his stiff neck to try and ease it. “He’s a literal time bomb, I never know when he’s about to go off. Maybe that’s what my nephew finds so interesting about him.”

“Pffeh, I’d be able to find far more interesting things to do with him,” Seth murmured. “What do you plan on doing now, Master? It’s only a matter of time before those pathetic whelps find us and try and get him back.”

Dimitri came to a stop and Seth followed suit. His mind went over every option at his disposal of what to do with Nicoli before his brother inevitably found them.

“If I keep going the route that I’m on and try and gain his trust we will surely run out of time. I could do it, but not with such precious hours slipping through our fingers. I’ll have to go for a new course of action.”

“Which means what?”

Seth was being good at looking indifferent, but Dimitri saw a glimmer of hope spark in his eyes.

“He thinks my kindness is verging onto “stupid”, as he so put it.” The devious smile returned and for a moment Dimitri appeared more lethal than Seth. “Let’s see what happens when he is exposed to pure fear. I’m sure he would be much more accepting of my kindness then.”

The hope in Seth’s eyes grew into a supernova. He clasped his hands together and bent down enough to be eye level with Dimitri, which was quite a ways.

“Does that mean what I think it means? Please let it mean that, Master.”

Dimitri chuckled. Seth was so easy to please and could become excitable fairly quickly. Maybe that’s what he loved most about him.

“Yes, Seth, I will let you play with him.”

Dimitri quickly threw out his arm and caught Seth around the waist as he made a dash for Nicoli’s room.

“Ah, ah, ah, Seth. You can play with him, but not right now.”

Seth grumbled and slumped forward onto Dimitri’s supporting arm.

“Then when?” he asked impatiently.

“Soon, just let him calm down from our discussion. It may even be more preferable if you wait until he’s asleep,” Dimitri said as he pushed Seth upright.

“What if he doesn’t go to sleep?” Seth asked, sticking his bottom lip out like a child.

Dimitri could not help but lean upward to nip it.

“He will, trust me,” he said with a pat to Seth’s chest. He spun the other around and they both continued to the den. “He’s exhausted emotionally, so it’s only a matter of time before he succumbs to sleep. And before you get ahead of yourself I want to make it quite clear that you are to restrain yourself when with him,” he said, his voice firm to show Seth that he was serious.

“Restrain? But that’s no fun.”

“I know, I know, but I just need you to scare him a little. Do not turn him into one of your masterpieces. Do I make myself clear?”

Seth crossed his arms and slouched, his face showing great displeasure.

“Yes, Master.”

“Good.” They walked on in silence until Dimitri remembered a peculiar event in his discussion with Nicoli. “Oh, this may make you less grouchy.”

“What?” Seth asked, not sounding interested at all.

“I don’t believe Nicoli knows about my little flower.”

“What?” Seth said again, but this time he sounded very interested.

“Yes, we were discussing why Conrad turned Faith and Ethan, but Nicoli showed no curiosity whatsoever in Conrad’s third child. I’m quite sure Nicoli isn’t even aware of his existence.”

Seth stared at Dimitri in disbelief. A low laugh sounded from his throat that grew louder until his head was tilted back into a full laugh.

“They didn’t tell him?” he asked. “Oh, that’s just priceless.”

“Indeed, and I think we can use that to our full advantage, but I’ll want to play that card when I have nothing left in my hand, so you or no one else is to tell Nicoli of that little detail.”

“I can’t wait. Seeing his crushed face at being kept in the dark will be just delicious,” Seth said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Dimitri quietly agreed. To have such an advantage was very pleasing indeed. Now he had to pick the right time to use it and with the clock running out that was going to take skill indeed.

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

Cora was glued to the window. She couldn’t help herself. She would take a few steps away to pace, but then would immediately come back to stare out the glass pane. All she could think about was what was happening out there with the others.

The sun had set long ago leaving the sky an inky black. The kidnapping had taken place hours before now and there was no telling what had happened to poor Nicoli in that length of time. She didn’t pretend that she knew what kind of man Dimitri was. Like Ethan she had never come into a great amount of contact with him, let alone sat down and had a full length conversation with him.

All she had to go on was what she had heard about Dimitri and his actions. She knew what he was capable of and while she had never really met him, he had been able to hurt her in the worse way possible. He had taken away the one thing she valued and loved the most in an instant, and without a thought.

Conrad was right to make her stay behind. If she had the opportunity she would go after Dimitri herself. She would use all of her power and rage to make him pay, but in the end there was no doubt she would be helpless against the clan leader and meet the same fate as her brethren. That was possibly the one truth that angered her most.

To take her mind off of her depressing thoughts she turned to study the other occupants in the room. She had been left alone with four of the Fairbrooke’s. That little detail made her uneasy, but they had posed no threat to her so far.

Cecile and Amelia were on the couch. The younger Fairbrooke was lying down with her head in her mother’s lap as fingers stroked her hair. Tabitha and her son were sitting on the floor across from each other. The map was splayed out on the floor between them and the crystal hung from its string that was dangling from the clasped hands of mother and son. The video camera was nestled in Tabitha’s lap and Nicoli’s jacket was in Preston’s.

The two had been settled like that for over an hour now. Cora had to admire their willpower to stay in a position like that for so long while keeping up their concentration. She worried, though. Was it normally supposed to take so long? She thought the crystal would be able to locate Nicoli almost immediately, but it hadn’t. Were they just wasting their time?

Finally, unable to stand the silence and her own thoughts, Cora wandered over to the couch on the side Cecile was sitting on.

“Um, Mrs. Fairbrooke?” she said. She was surprised how meek her voice sounded. She was much older than the witch that she addressed, but somehow she felt like a small child asking for permission to speak.

“Yes? Cora, isn’t it?” Cecile asked, her eyes sliding over to rest on Cora’s face.

“That’s right. Is it all right if I ask a question?”

“Of course, go right ahead.”

The smile Cecile gave her eased the tension in her shoulders and she found herself not nervous to speak with the woman at all.

“How long does it usually take scrying to work?” she asked. “They’ve been trying for a while now, not that I’m questioning their abilities, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just curious.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not an offensive question,” Cecile said, her fingers lacing through Amelia’s hair, who looked half asleep. “It ranges, really. Sometimes it can take only a few minutes, while at other times it can take hours. Its effectiveness comes down to the abilities of the witches trying to perform it and the magical energy of the world. If the energy is willing it will show the way that much faster. Unfortunately for us it’s proving turbulent today, so Tabitha and Preston are having a harder time.”

“Of course that would be our luck,” Cora murmured, looking back toward her window, but resisting the urge to occupy it once more. Amelia’s voice saved her from the inevitable trip.

“Hey, now I have a question for you, Blondie,” the youngest red head said as she sat up.

“Manners, Amelia,” Cecile chided her. “I know you’re upset, but that doesn’t mean you can take it out on others.”

“Sorry,” Amelia muttered before looking up at Cora. “Do you know what this Dimitri guy is going to do to Nicoli? Is he going to really hurt him or is he…” Amelia trailed off and averted her eyes, not able to finish her sentence.

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Cora said as he fingers unconsciously rubbed together. “I’m sorry I can’t give you any sort of answer. Doing harm to Nicoli is well within his power, but whether he’ll execute it or not, I’m not sure. All we can do is pray that he only took Nicoli to shake the rest of us up and has no real malice within him to inflict on Nicoli.”

Cora had gone back to looking out the window, her eyes distant. Many scenario’s flitted through her mind. There were a number of things Dimitri could do to Nicoli. They were countless and it shook her to her very core to think of little Nicoli at the mercy of Dimitri’s whims.

Red locks slid from shoulders as Amelia tilted her head. Cora noticed Amelia was staring at her intently, scrutinizing every part of her.

“You…actually sound like you care about Nicoli,” Amelia finally said. Her voice was neither harsh nor sarcastic. She was making a genuine observation with no biased animosity.

“I do,” Cora admitted, tearing her eyes away from the darkened window fully. “I may have not known him for long, but it’s long enough that I can say I care for his well being and would be devastated if anything happened to him.”

Amelia said nothing, but her expression told Cora that she was surprised by the answer given to her. Cecile’s chiming laughter broke Cora’s and Amelia’s stare.

“Don’t be so shocked, my little dear,” Cecile said, her hand cupping Amelia’s cheek. “Even if they don’t beat, vampires still have hearts.”

“I guess,” Amelia murmured, a vacant blinking of eyes her only real comeback. “I just thought you guys were doing something bad to Nicoli, even though I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t think any of you actually…cared for him. I’m just a little taken aback by it.”

“Trust me when I say we never wanted any harm to come to him,” Cora assured her. “I know it may seem strange that vampires can like humans in any way, but sometimes it’s hard not to.” Cora mustered up her best smile for Amelia. “In Nicoli’s case, with his false bravado and endearingly sweet nature, it’s hard not to like him.”

Another vacant stare from Amelia slowly turned into a small smile. That smile then released a light giggle. It was half-hearted at best, but a laugh nevertheless.

“You’re okay,” she said.

Cora could actually feel the last bit of distain drain out of Amelia as she gave a very sweet, real smile. Cora could not help but smile back and was beginning to see just why this girl and Nicoli were friends.

The moment of understanding was disturbed when there was an audible thunk. The three turned their heads to see that the glittering crystal was placed firmly down on the map, the string taunt as it pulled on its own.

Cora’s skin prickled as Amelia shot up to her feet. Both of them stared at the crystal as if waiting for it to be some sort of trick. Cecile rose to her feet as both Tabitha and Preston stirred for the first time in ages.

“Oh thank God,” Preston said as he released his mother’s hands and rolled his shoulders. “I didn’t know how much longer I could stay like that.”

“You did very well,” Tabitha praised, still holding the end of the string in her hand.

“Did you really find him, Aunt Tabby?” Amelia asked, her entire body nearly shaking.

“Yes, I believe we have.”

“Where?” Cecile asked, stepping closer to her sister to look at the map.

Tabitha lifted the crystal from its spot and underneath it was a dot labeled with the name Tree Valley.

“Tree Valley?” Preston said, as both Amelia and Cora came over for a better look. “That’s only two towns over. Would they really set up their hideout that close? Maybe we got it wrong.”

“No, that sounds exactly like something Dimitri would do,” Cora said. “It’s like kidnapping Nicoli right underneath our noses; for them to be stationed that close would just be another way to damage our pride.”

“I may not know the man, but I think she’s onto something,” Tabitha said, then reached over and flicked Preston’s nose. “And never doubt the crystal or your magic. I taught you better than that.”

“Ow, okay, sorry,” Preston grumbled, rubbing his reddened nose.

“You’re amazing, Aunt Tabitha! I knew you could find him!” Amelia cried excitedly as she tackled Tabitha with a hug.

“Thank you, my dear, but this is only the smallest hurdle in our task,” Tabitha said.

“She’s right, we may know where Nicoli is, but now we have to find a way to get him out safe and unharmed,” Cecile said in agreement.

“Yes, I’ll alert the others right now. Then we can regroup and formulate a plan,” Cora said, containing her own excitement that could rival Amelia’s. With a nod of approval from Cecile Cora set out to tell the rest of her family what they had found.

Her spirits were now soaring. It may have been one small step, but it was a step closer in saving Nicoli. Everything was falling into place. Now they just had to save Nicoli before it was too late.

===============================Ch. 49 End