Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

Nicoli watched as his legs wavered and wiggled like jelly. The distortion was mildly amusing, but Nicoli couldn’t get himself to smile at it. He slapped his hand against the surface of water that covered his bottom half and his legs moved violently about underneath.

The heat from the bath water seeped into his body and caused tense muscles to relax and the steam was helping his head. The scent of lilacs also tickled his nose and he could faintly see the oil still clinging to the surface. Hand it to Dimitri to have a good idea.

The head vampire had been doing everything in his power to make Nicoli feel more at ease after what had happened. He brought Nicoli more food, which was nibbled on then went untouched. He had tried to hold Nicoli to give comfort, but the embrace was rejected. After he had had his crying fit, Nicoli didn’t want to be touched by anyone. After several more attempts Dimitri had suggested the bath and Nicoli agreed since it meant he could be alone.

It was working for the most part. He felt better to a certain degree, but there was just one problem. He could still feel Seth’s hands on him. Those long, spindly fingers glided across his skin and the sharp, untrimmed nails bit into his flesh. Nicoli looked down at his body for the hundredth time. His skin was completely unmarred. Dimitri had healed the minor wounds Seth had caused and Nicoli had washed off the blood that had been smeared on him in the bath. To anyone he would appear untouched, but Nicoli felt defiled and unclean.

He took the wash cloth that he had placed on the side of the bathtub and began to scrub at his skin again, attempting to wash the ghostly fingers off. He rubbed vigorously at his sides where Seth had dug his nails in, puncturing the skin. It revolted him to think of any part of Seth inside of him whether it be his nails, tongue or…

Nicoli quickly shook his head. No, he wouldn’t think of it. He wouldn’t think of what Seth was about to do to him. What Seth had come so close to doing. Nicoli had gone from the experience relatively unharmed and he wouldn’t think about the “what if’s.” Not if he wanted to keep his sanity at least.

“Are you feeling better?”

The water splashed and lapped at the sides of the tub as Nicoli jumped slightly, not expecting Dimitri’s voice. He had forgotten that Dimitri was on the other side of the door, still in the room, waiting like some worried friend.

Nicoli snorted at that thought. Worried friend. In most ways Dimitri was a great guy. Attentive, caring, gentle, but then Nicoli had to remind himself that it was Dimitri that had put him in this position in the first place; the person that took him away, the person that was keeping him in that house, the person that had fallen asleep allowing Seth time to attack him. With all of that in mind he both appreciated and was disgusted by Dimitri’s concern.

To show this he didn’t answer the inquiry and simply kept washing himself with the cloth. Soon his skin was a bright pink and was becoming sore from the intense washing, but he kept going. When he tried to reach the back of his neck he stopped when he felt the collar. He tensed considerably and his eyes lowered to his submerged state. He was wearing a shock collar while sitting in a bathtub full of water. Uh oh.

“Uh, Dimitri?” Nicoli called out.

“Yes, is something wrong?” Dimitri asked, and it was evident he had come towards the bathroom door by the way his voice had increased in volume.

“Quite possibly. This collar thing isn’t going to electrify me to death if I get it wet, will it?” He was already sweating since the wash cloth had come in contact with it. His brows rose when he heard laughter on the other side of the door. He very quickly glared at it. He was in no mood for laughter and at that moment it sounded like the most horrible noise in the world.

“No, Nicoli, it won’t. Do you really think I would suggest a bath if I knew it would react badly with the collar?” Dimitri asked. Again Nicoli offered no reply, so Dimitri continued. “The collar is entirely water proof. You could completely submerge it and it would not damage it in anyway.”

Nicoli glanced down at the water and tilted his head curiously. He wondered if that were true. If it didn’t electrocute him putting the collar underwater could short circuit it at least. The washcloth was abandoned over the side of the tube and, after taking in a gulp of air, Nicoli disappeared under the water.

It felt nice, almost freeing, to be incased in the warm liquid. To be separated from the world while still being in it. He wanted to open his eyes to gaze upon his new sanctuary, but the bath oil that had merged with the water would not be kind to him. Instead he just felt. Felt how the water held him gently and how it pressed against his ears, deafening the unwanted sounds of the outside world. His hair floated upward like dark seaweed reaching towards the surface. The hair brushed against his face, feeling like soft threads of silk. He wished he could stay down there forever.

A few stray air bubbles escaped his mouth, rising to the surface only to burst once they reached their goal. Finally it was too much for his lungs and Nicoli sat up, taking in deep gulps of air that his body craved.

He coughed mildly and rubbed at his eyes. His hair was now wet and plastered to his face as he looked around the bathroom and felt dejected. Still in his God forsaken hellhole. He wanted to reemerge and find himself somewhere else, somewhere safe.

Nicoli played with the shock collar. It still felt the same. It didn’t spark or crackle as if the water had seeped in and drowned its circuitry. He thought he could test it and try and contact Ethan. With a sigh he put that thought away. He was done with any sort of pain, just done with it.

He leaned down and pressed his cheek against the edge of bathtub. Even though it was brimming with hot water the tub felt strangely cool. It was nice. Nicoli’s skin was so hot that the chill soothed him somewhat. The heat made him feel good, yet horrible at the same time.

Maybe he was coming down with something then. He laughed bitterly. That would be the last thing he needed. Succumb to some kind of fever while in Dimitri’s possession. What would Dimitri do then? Would he take care of Nicoli like he was doing now? Or would he see it as too much trouble and just end him?

To Nicoli’s great reluctance memories were dredged up from long ago. From the times he was a kid and how his mother would make such a fuss over him when he got sick. She refused to let him out of bed and buried him in a thousand blankets. She would be by his bedside every second with some kind of juice, or her homemade chicken soup. Nicoli loved that chicken soup. His mouth watered just thinking of it.

It annoyed Nicoli greatly to be restrained so when he was sick, but now he missed it terribly. He missed his mother’s warm smile as she tended to him and her gentle hand against his forehead to check if his fever had gone down. Why did he resist his mother’s loving care so? Was he really just that stubborn?

He never resisted his father, though. In those days when sickness would take him, and he was confined to that blasted bed, his father would come home and go into his room to keep him company. Then there was the greatest moment between them. His father would grab a book, something that sounded entertaining, and climb into the bed with him. He remembered being cuddled up against his father’s side, a protective arm around him, and simply listening to his father’s voice. That voice that resonated inside him and soothed him, making the stuffy nose just bearable, the coughing settle, and his breathing ease between his chapped lips.

The water shifted as Nicoli sat up, taking his cheek away from the cool tub. He sat there for a moment or two until he heard an odd sound.

Drip. Drip

Nicoli looked down to see small ripples had been formed in the water. As he stared at them curiously he saw a drop of water fall from some unknown place and collect in the tub with the rest. With great bewilderment he touched his fingers to his cheek and felt it wet and slick, and it wasn’t from his recent plunge into the water. He was crying again.

Nicoli raised his knees and nestled his head on them then wrapped his arms around his legs. It was funny, he thought he had used up all of his tears before, but apparently he still had plenty to spare.

He missed his parent’s, he missed Beethoven, he missed his home – the same place he vowed he would never call home –, he missed Amelia, he missed Ethan and his family…he even missed the snarky ghost. What made his body shake harder, and his silent sobs harder to control was that he knew he wouldn’t see any of them again.

The feeling of emptiness and hopelessness that he had felt after Seth’s attack was still with him, buried deep within his chest. He felt there was no possible way he’d leave the house alive. He didn’t want to die, he wanted to fight that with all of his might, but there were little to no other options for him that he could see. Death that had been pursuing him throughout his little journey would finally have him and he resented it.

“Nicoli, are you quite all right?” Dimitri’s voice sounded through the door.

Nicoli’s cries stopped with an odd hiccup and he roughly rubbed at his eyes and tried to still his quivering lip. No, he didn’t want Dimitri to know he was crying. He never wanted to let Dimitri see him cry again.

“Of course I’m not all right,” Nicoli snapped. “How can I be all right?”

“Yes, of course. You must still be shaken up after what –”

“I’m not talking about that!” Nicoli shouted, becoming increasingly furious with the man in the other room. “I’m talking about all of this. Being in this place, you keeping me here, having a fucking shock collar on my neck and, yeah, knowing that psychopath is lurking about the halls jacking off to the thought of raping me and killing people. How can I be all right with any of that!?”

The tiles in the bathroom made for a perfect echo chamber, and Nicoli heard his own voice said back to him slightly distorted. A sense of victory blossomed in his chest when Dimitri offered no reply to his question. He could just imagine Dimitri on the other side speechless and unable to come up with any smooth, charming words to appease him with. With Dimitri at a loss for words Nicoli decided it was time to ask the question that had become most prominent in the last few minutes.

“When are you just going to get it over with and kill me?”

The question hung in the air like a heavy cloud. Nicoli just really wanted to know when to expect the end. He was tired of Dimitri’s nicey-nice crap. Even after saving him Nicoli still felt that Dimitri was putting on some kind of act, and that he had no intention of ever letting Nicoli go. If he knew how and when they were going to kill him it could give him the chance to take matters into his own hands and drown himself in the bathtub right then and there. He had no idea if he would have the guts to do it, but he thought ending his own life would be more empowering than waiting for Dimitri and his goons to do it.

“Nicoli,” Dimitri said after a few moments of silence. “I really wish you would believe me when I say I have no desire to kill you.” Nicoli rolled his eyes. “In a perfect world I would have you home by now.”

“Then why don’t you let me go home now?” Nicoli retorted.

“Just answer any of my questions and I will,” Dimitri said. “Just tell me what drew my brother to Whixton and I will see you home safely myself.”

Nicoli narrowed his eyes at the door and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He didn’t want Dimitri anywhere near his house, his safe haven, or his parents. They would become completely contaminated if Dimitri even laid eyes on them.

Nicoli would not tell Dimitri anything, he had already assured himself that much. He didn’t believe he would be let go after he said anything. If anything that would bring his end that much sooner. Whenever he thought of maybe telling Dimitri one harmless little detail Ethan’s face would appear in his minds eye with his disarming, trusting smile. That was what made Nicoli hold onto his resolve. If he was going to die, it wouldn’t be as a traitor.

“If you’re so fucking curious why don’t you go ask Conrad yourself?” Nicoli asked as he reclined back and sank further into the tub.

“Do you really think he’d tell me anything?” Dimitri asked, and there was an air of amusement in his question.

“No, and I don’t see why you would think I would tell anything to a man who murdered his own brother, son, and niece in cold blood. Not to mention some innocent kid who had no way to defend himself.”

Nicoli smiled. He hoped that stung and stung badly. From the heavy silence he was sure it had some sort of effect.

“You have a sharp tongue, Nicoli,” Dimitri said, his voice solemn and low.

“Good, glad to hear it,” he said and he actually managed a grin. “Do you know why I’m not going to tell you anything? It’s because I don’t believe you. Sure you’re charming and warm, but your words are hollow. I know that somewhere inside you there’s a man who doesn’t care one fucking bit about me and once I say something even slightly useful that man is going to come out and show me exactly how much he doesn’t care. See, I believe you misjudged me quite a bit. Just because I’m human, doesn’t mean I’m a spineless rat.”

Nicoli was very pleased with himself. He knew talking in this manner was dangerous, but what could he do that would be remotely safe? If he was going down, he was going to do it while calling Dimitri out on his bull shit.

“Nicoli, you’re making a grave mistake,” Dimitri warned him.

“Am I? Well, wouldn’t be the first time and if it’s my last mistake, I think I can deal with that.”

“I believe you are feeling some kind of delirium from what happened to you. I’m sure once you have calmed yourself you will think more clearly. I will leave you for now to rest, and I assure you I will not let Seth anywhere near this room again,” Dimitri said.

“You do that.” Nicoli wanted to be as hard to deal with and flippant as possible. Not only to be a pain in Dimitri’s side, but because it made him feel better, almost like his old self…he was struck by how odd it was to refer to the Pre-kidnapped Nicoli as his old self.

“There are fresh clothes out here for you when you are ready to come out. They may not fit, but it’s the best I could do. Rest easy.”

Nicoli made no move to give his own farewell and listened intently to the footsteps that made their way out of the room followed by the door closing.

Once Dimitri was gone Nicoli let out a tremendous sigh and sank into the water until only his face was above the surface. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to push Dimitri’s buttons before he snapped. He wasn’t entirely worried. Dimitri seemed like a guy with a lot of patience, but who knew what he would be like once that patience ran out.

Nicoli tried to hold onto the hope that he would be rescued before he had to see that side of Dimitri. The hope was dimming quite fast and would soon go out all together. Where were the others? Shouldn’t they have come for him by now? It scared him to think that maybe they weren’t coming at all. Maybe Conrad had ordered them to leave Nicoli to his fate.

He shook his head. No, not even Conrad would be that cruel, would he? And Ethan would certainly never stand for it. If need be Ethan would bust into the house entirely solo in order to get to him. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Ethan would stand no chance.

Nicoli stared at the ceiling as he tried to think what the clan was doing and where they were. He willed them with his entire being to come find him, calling out to them without using his voice or mind. He just wanted to believe that they would come, and his visions of his own death would not come to pass.

“I’m begging you, Ethan, find me.”

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A shadowy figure lurked about the empty streets of Tree Valley. The small town was similar to Whixton, though most small town mirrored each other in one way or another, so that was no surprise.

Up one street, down another, the figure zigzagged through every alley and every hidden path that could be found. Finally the figure stopped under a street lamp, the light illuminating the troubled face of Gavin.

He was following orders to locate Dimitri and his clan, but yet he could not find them anywhere in the sleepy town. Wherever he went he heard the heartbeats of human’s and the smelled the scents of the living, but he could not find a trace of his own kind.

His piercing blue eyes swept the streets one more time before he melded into the shadows and disappeared down a vacant alley. Once there he looked about cautiously to make sure he was alone, but he already knew all the humans were in their houses sleeping, or in the local bars wasting the night away.

When he was satisfied he was utterly alone he tilted his head back to stare at the sliver of starry sky between the buildings that enclosed him. With hardly any effort he called forth a minute amount of his mental strength and his feet left the ground.

The air whistled around his ears as he flew upward and quite abruptly the confines of the buildings were gone and he was embraced by the openness of the air. That only lasted a short time and his feet soon touched down to the roof of one of the buildings.

It only took a second for him to pick out the tallest building in Tree Valley – ironically that honor was given to the town church – and in a matter of seconds he was perched atop the church. He surveyed his surroundings, intent on finding Conrad’s wayward brother, wherever he may be.

Gavin’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly when, off in the distance, he spotted a structure. He leaned forward over the edge of the roof and focused on the building. Like a camera lens his eyes zoomed in on the building until it was as if he were right in front of it.

The building was a mansion of some sort, two stories with massive pillars accenting the front entrance. It was a mile or two out of town and sat in solitude on a lonely hill. It appeared old and worn down, possibly even abandoned, but there were lights in the windows. Someone was home.

Without wasting another second Gavin leapt off the roof of the church. The moment his feet touched the ground he was off towards the direction of the mansion. The crystal might have said Nicoli was in Tree Valley, but there was a great possibility it meant he was only near the town. Either way it was worth looking into.

When Gavin arrived at the grand building he kept to the large hedges that acted as a lining to the pathway leading toward the mansion. The hedges were large and wild; they had not been trimmed or tended to in months.

Gavin reached the edge of the flora fence and peered out. His skin was prickling and he had to roll his shoulders to break the shiver that had passed through him. Yes, vampires were inside of the house and it took no great thought as to who they were.

With his mission complete he turned to head back to Whixton, but he stopped. There was one, lonely heartbeat in the mansion and he stood to listen to it for a time. It relieved him to hear it. Nicoli was alive, but possibly not well.

He heard Conrad in his mind, telling him to only locate Dimitri and return, nothing more. Against his better judgment he took to the trees that surrounded the mansion. He followed them until he went completely around to the other side. The heartbeat was located in one of the last rooms on the second floor. He could not look inside because curtains covered the window.

The vampiric presences were scattered throughout the house, but none were near where Nicoli was now. Conrad’s voice grew sharper and more demanding in his head, but then a face full of panic and fear entered his mind and the face belonged to young Ethan. Gavin hated that look. Shouldn’t he try to reassure Ethan in even the slightest of ways? He would not admit that he had his own fears to quench.

It was with that thought that Gavin picked up a stone that lay near his feet.

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

Nicoli grumbled and sighed as he dressed himself in the clothes left for him. They were simple enough, a pair of black slacks and a finely pressed white, button down shirt. What made him gripe about them was because they obviously belonged to Dimitri.

Nicoli had already noticed that Dimitri was possibly only an inch taller than him. Dimitri’s body must have been a tad bigger than his own because the clothes fit for the most part with only a slight bagginess to them. The clothes even smelled like Dimitri, an earthy scent mixed with something sweet that Nicoli couldn’t identify.

It sickened him to be dressed up in Dimitri’s clothes, but he really had no other options. Seth destroyed his shirt and there was no hope of his pants being repaired either. So, unless Nicoli just wanted to walk around in his boxers, he was stuck with Dimitri’s “generous offering.”

He plopped down on the bed and ran his hands through his damp hair. He wished he could have stayed in the tub forever, but the pruning of his skin had started to get to him. He glanced at the tray that had been left on the bed. It held the food Dimitri had given him to try and calm him from the attack.

It was nothing too extravagant, an ordinary turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese on a croissant roll. It was cut in half and the halves were speared by toothpicks to hold them together. His stomach rumbled. That soup had already been devoured by his stomach and it demanded more.

He gingerly picked up the tray and placed it on his lap. There was no use in starving himself. What would that prove? It would only weaken him and diminish whatever strength he could muster to fight either physically or verbally.

With the first bite taken his mouth instantly flooded and he had the urge to cram the whole sandwich in his mouth, toothpick and all. Instead he forced himself to slowly nibble. Take a bite, chew, swallow. Take a bite, chew, swallow.

He was halfway through the first half when there was an audible tink sound. Nicoli perked his head, sandwich in mouth, and looked around. After a second he was sure he had just imagined the sound and bit off the piece of food and chewed. He was about to take another bite when it came again, not once, but twice. Tink. Tink.

With furrowed brows Nicoli put down the sandwich and set aside the tray. He explored the room, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Tink. He jerked his head around. The window!

Very slowly and carefully he went to the window, all the while his mind raced with possibilities of what was making the sound. Was there some deranged bird smacking into it? No, that would be more of a thud. Quite possibly Seth was trying to find some new way to get to him. That thought made his hand still as he reached for the curtain.

When the noise sounded again he decided to just get it over with and look. He grabbed onto the curtain and, after taking in a deep breath, flung it aside. Nothing. He saw nothing in the window. He tilted his head curiously and kept the curtain out of the way by hanging it up on a hook screwed into the wall next to the window.

He pressed his face against the glass and cupped his eyes with his hands to see better. He glanced out at the unknown town before looking over the grounds below. At first all was still then…movement? Quite possibly, but it was too dark to be sure.

Then it came again, he was sure there was something moving about the trees near the side of the house. He gasped when he saw a figure dart out from the trees to stop in the light cast down from his window. He could make out black hair, dark skin, and arctic blue eyes that were visible even from that distance.

“Gavin!” Nicoli shouted in joy. He had never been happier to see the silent, stoic man in his life. For one, fearful second, he was sure Gavin was just a hallucination and that when he blinked the other would disappear. He blinked anyways and his heart soared to see that Gavin was still there.

Gavin put his finger to his lips and Nicoli clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing his mistake. He fearfully looked to the door, wondering if Dimitri had heard his cry, but the house was still. When he faced the window again he couldn’t help bouncing in place.

“Hurry, get me out of here,” he mouthed, hoping Gavin had the ability to read lips. He froze and watched in horror as Gavin shook his head. “No? What do you mean no?”

Why would Gavin have come here, only to show himself and then not save him? What kind of cruel trick was he playing?

Gavin made a show of pointing at the house, then to himself, then up to Nicoli. His finger then went across his neck in a very deliberate action. Was he saying that if he tried that both he and Nicoli would be killed by Dimitri?

“I don’t care,” Nicoli mouthed again. “Please, please get me out.” His eyes watered and he fought not to cry. His salvation was so close at hand, but it was slipping through his fingers.

Gavin’s lips drew out, and Nicoli had the feeling he was trying to reassure him with “shush’s”. Gavin then turned and pointed out towards the town then pointed at himself and then at Nicoli again. Nicoli took a second to try and decipher the gestures. What would the town have to do with either Gavin or him? A jolt passed through his system when he realized Gavin wasn’t referring to the town at all.

“You have to go get the others?” he asked and he nearly let out a sob when Gavin nodded. Only this time it was a sob of relief. That relief quickly dried up when Gavin turned and it was obvious he was about to leave. He pounded on the window with his fists.

“Gavin, don’t go!” he said, but tried not to yell. His cry made Gavin look up at him again. “Please, don’t leave me here,” he said wordlessly.

Gavin put his fingers to his lips and then over his heart. With his other hand he gestured to Nicoli and Nicoli was sure he wanted him to copy him. He did so, his fingers going to first his lips then his heart. Gavin smiled to him, a full, warm smile and took his hand from his heart and held it out to Nicoli. Nicoli did the same and pressed his hand against the window. From the light of his room he could see Gavin’s lips move, but he had no way to tell what he was saying. He could only fathom a guess and he constructed the most inspirational one that he could that matched Gavin’s lips.

“Have heart. We’re coming.”

The smile then disappeared from Gavin’s face and he looked off somewhere to his side. Nicoli could literally see Gavin’s entire body tense. Before he could wonder what was wrong Gavin gave a slight wave to him and then was gone. Nicoli looked all over for Gavin, but it was futile.

New movement caught his eye and he saw another person prowling about the house. It was too dark to make out who it was, but he knew it wasn’t Gavin. In order not to be seen he dove out from the sight of the window. With his back against the wall he slid down to the floor. His head lolled back and he stared at the ceiling as his eyes filled with tears. As now familiar rivers trailed down his cheeks he began to laugh. It was a soft sound, disrupted by hiccups and happy sobs.

Gavin had found him. They were coming. He hadn’t been abandoned. They were really coming. His freedom was close at hand and, for the first time in what seemed like eternity, his heart felt full and pounded with joy.

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

Ira stared at the ceiling as she trailed through empty thought after empty thought. She absently ran her fingers through Van’s hair, whose head was in her lap. Her sister Lillian sat off to the side, appearing bored as she picked at her nails. Ira knew the peaceful silence was going to be broken any second and she dreaded it.

“So, what do you think Father is going to do with that kid?” Lillian asked.

Ah, there it was.

“I’m not sure. You know him just as well as I do,” Ira replied.

“Ha, even after four hundred years he can still surprise me with what he does,” Lillian said with a smile and a shake of her head.

“I still can’t believe Gramps sicced Seth on that little punk,” Van murmured, sounding almost sleepy. His eyes were closed and it was evident he enjoyed Ira’s hand immensely. “That’s almost too cruel for words.”

“I agree, but Seth does have his usefulness, I have to admit. It appears the attempt was in vain, however. That child is just full of surprises,” Ira said, thinking back to Dimitri telling her that his plan had backfired and that the boy seemed even less trusting of him now.

“How much longer do you think he’ll be with us?” Lillian asked, tilting her head as she played with her shoulder length hair.

“That depends on both Conrad and the boy,” Ira told her. “But it will be soon. I have no doubt we’ll be discovered before the sun even rises. Then what to do next will be entirely in Dimitri’s hands.”

“Are you going to visit the boy anymore?” her sister asked.

“I have no reason to. I only went to him the first time because Dimitri asked me to provide him food,” she answered. “But I wouldn’t go of my own accord. What about you? You haven’t made one visit to him. I thought you would be curious enough to bother him from time to time.”

Lillian was sitting on a long footstool and swayed a foot back and forth. She then lifted her legs and swung them around. With her back to the others she laid back so she was bent in an arc and she stared at her sister upside down.

“Nah, if I go visit him I may get attached and beg Father to let me keep him as a pet. Then I’d just ruin all of his plans,” she said with a playful smile, which looked like a frown from Ira’s view.

“Gramps won’t even let me near his room,” Van grumbled. He had been vexed by that for many hours and refused to get over the fact.

“That’s because you’d eat him,” Lillian said with a laugh.

Van huffed and opened his eyes enough to glare in her direction before closing them again. He then lifted his hands to cover his ears.

“His heartbeat is driving me crazy. If I have to live much more with it I’m gonna go rip the little punk’s heart out myself. Damn what Gramps will say.”

Ira frowned and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in Van’s face by stroking his forehead. It was hard for Van; she knew that and sympathized with him. The early years were not easy for any vampire. Even after the Blood Rage life for a new vampire was hardly pleasant. They had to learn control and that control meant being surrounded by humans, the vampires’ food source, without giving into the hunger and causing mass hysteria.

It had been four years since Van overcame the Blood Rage, but he had been kept away from human society, as was customary for all Bloodlings. He was introduced little by little and Van was growing in his strength and was even able to be near humans for a stretch of time without giving into his always present hunger. However, this was the first time he was in the presence of a human for hours on end and Ira knew his instincts were tearing him apart inside.

She noticed his fangs had become unsheathed since he had awoken and that he seemed unable to draw them back in. He was also jittery, even though he tried to act casual, and a layer of blood sweat had appeared along his brow. He was suffering, but Ira knew this would be good for him in the long run.

She stroked his cheek tenderly and bent down.

“You’re doing fine, my love,” she whispered on his lips. “It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

His blue eyes opened to stare into hers. There was so much trust and love in them and it was all for her, no one else. She couldn’t help but close that small distance and press her lips against Van’s, like she had done so many times before.

She loved kissing Van. It sparked emotions in her she never thought she could feel; love, warmth, a certain fluttering in her stomach that felt like the wings of butterflies. She also loved the feel of his lips and that press of his lip piercings against her soft skin sent an evocative shudder through her.

“…will you two get a room or what?” Lillian said, pursing her lips and turning her head so she wouldn’t have to look at the couple.

“You’re just jealous,” Van said, tilting his head back enough to sneer at her.

“Don’t worry, dear sister. You’ll find someone some day,” Ira said with a small smile as she put her fingers into Van’s hair again.

“Hurmph.” Lillian sat up and crossed her arms, puffing her chest out at the same time. “I don’t need a man to make me happy. I can do just fine on my own.”

“And I’m sure you do every night,” Van teased and received a smack from Ira.

“Van, that’s crud,” she chided, and held up her arm to block a pillow Lillian had thrown at her fledgling. “You know better than to let him rile you up so.”

“Couldn’t you have found someone a little more cultured to turn?” Lillian asked.

“Been there, done that. I like being uncultured much more,” Van said.

“What am I going to do with you two?” Ira asked with a slight roll of her eyes. “You bicker like children –”

Ira stopped in mid-word, causing the other two to look to her.

“What’s wrong, Ira?” Lillian asked.

Ira didn’t answer. Instead she ushered Van off her lap and made her way to the window. Her sensitive senses were on edge as she peered out onto the grounds. She could have sworn she felt something for the briefest of seconds. Something familiar. A presence she had been exposed to since the day of her conception into vampirehood had come to their temporary home. A presence that could only belong to one person.

“What are you doing?” Van asked, as Ira opened the window. He sat up and stared at her as if she had gone mad.

“Quiet.” The word was not a request but an order. She could not think clearly with the hounding questions. When the two did as they were told Ira leaned out of the window and glanced about, putting every shadow and tree under scrutiny. She sampled the air with her nose, but all she could smell was the crisp chill that filled the sky. Her senses told her that nothing was amiss, but her gut told her otherwise.

“Stay here. I shall return shortly.”

With that Ira leapt out of the window and as she hurtled to the she could hear Lillian and Van calling after her. She landed on the cold ground lightly and unarmed. That sort of distance was like a kiddy jump to her. Without a second to waste she began prowling about the grounds, trying to sate her curiosity of what had disturbed her peaceful night.

It didn’t take her long to check around the perimeter and she was disappointed that she could find nothing. As she was coming around to the front of the house, however, her shoulders stiffened and her spine tingled. There it was again. The faintest hint of a presence.

Her fangs lengthened and she went into instant hostility. There was a trespasser in her territory, a fellow vampire for sure. For her that meant death for the accused. She raced to the front of the house, intent on catching the interloper and maiming them. She had no fear, even though she had a vague suspicion of who the presence belonged to.

When she reached the front of the house she slowed her pace. She glanced about, searching for the intruder, but there was nothing. The presence was gone and she had the feeling it was gone for good this time.

As her eyes scanned the ground they stilled on light that painted the grass from one of the house windows. It held onto her attention because there wasn’t supposed to be any light coming from that particular window. She looked up just in time to see a figure duck out of the window. Nicoli.

Something was definitely not right. What had drawn the boy to the window? She went to the light to see if it would help her. She froze before the light could even touch her. A scent had wafted under her nose. She inhaled deeply to catch it before it could escape.

Her eyes widened and she looked off to the direction of the town. A hiss slipped through her fangs and her lip rose in a snarl. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she stared into the darkness.

“Gavin.”

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

Everyone had returned to the clan’s house and once Gavin had arrived he told them exactly where Nicoli was and they began to plan. Many suggestions were thrown out, but almost immediately rejected. It seemed impossible that so many minds with just as many different ideas could ever agree on one course of action.

“I don’t see why we can’t just run in, kick ass, grab Nicoli, then get out of there,” Amelia finally snapped after going through the brain storming for what seemed like hours.

“We have to treat this with more finesse, Baby,” Cecile told her calmly. “We have to plan what everyone is going to do. If we all run in there with no set plan then we may just end up hurting each other.”

Amelia crossed her arms and slouched on the couch.

“We also have the problem of what we’re going to do once we do get Nicoli,” Hailey said.

“What do you mean?” Conrad urged her.

“How are we going to get him out of there in one piece let alone ourselves? Those vampires will most likely come after us and, unlike those of you who are part of the undead, we aren’t graced with your speed. Those vampires can catch up to us easily and finish us off as you guys head for the hills. Even using some kind of flight charm we’d probably never be able to outrun them, even in the air,” Hailey said.

“She brings up a very good point,” Tabitha said with a nod and Hailey preened. “That will pose a major problem. While Tree Valley is not too terribly far away, it will still take some work to get us all back to Whixton unharmed, especially if pursued.”

Conrad leaned back in his chair and his face clouded in heavy thought.

“I suppose asking you guys to hang back and serve the greater good by being sacrifices is out of the question,” Andre said with a light laugh.

“Andre!” chided most of the clan, and Cora gave him a good smack upside the head.

“Ow, it was a joke. Trying to lighten the mood a little here.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. He loved Andre dearly, but sometimes he wished the joker side of his cousin would be put away. This was serious business. He wanted to get this planning over with so that they could go get Nicoli. The sooner they worked out every kink the better.

“Mother, what if we used teleportation?” Preston asked softly, but at the suggestion all eyes turned to him. He shrunk under the attention and his face flamed.

“Teleportation?” Conrad asked, leaning forward in interest.

“Hmm, you may be onto something, Preston,” Tabitha said thoughtfully. “If we used teleportation we could be in Tree Valley in an instant, and after extracting Nicoli from the house be back in Whixton just as fast.” She turned to Cecile. “What do you think?”

“It may be our best option. Cars or on foot just won’t due and I doubt we could incapacitate all of the vampires in order for us to get away. Teleportation may be the key to this puzzle.”

“Great,” Ethan said, hitting his fist against the mantle of the fireplace. “Then do your witchy magic and get us over there.”

“Whoa, reign it in there, Fang Breath,” Roderick said, holding out his hand. “Doing teleporting magic isn’t that easy. A lot of stuff goes into it.”

“How much stuff?” Felix asked, hovering behind Ethan. His hands were on Ethan’s shoulder with his chin planted atop them.

“Stuff that will require a great deal of time,” Cecile replied.

“How much time?” Faith asked next, perched on the arm of Conrad’s chair.

“Hours.”

“Hours!?” Ethan exclaimed and Gavin put a hand on his free shoulder to still him. “What do you mean it will take hours?” he asked, trying to remain calm.

“Just what I say. If we were teleporting two or three people it would take an hour or less to prepare. That is not the case with this. To construct such a spell will take a lot more to teleport eleven people.”

“Eleven!?” Amelia cried, jolting upright. “What do you mean by eleven?”

“Yes, there’s thirteen of us, Aunt Cecile,” Preston said, and he was looking as worried as Amelia was outraged.

“You two honestly don’t think you’re coming, do you?” Hailey asked with an arched brow.

“Of course we’re coming, we have to come,” Amelia said heatedly.

“No offense, Amelia, but even though you and Preston know your way around a spell or two doesn’t mean you’re ready for battle. Especially against a whole clan of vampires,” Roderick told her.

“But-But that’s not fair!” Amelia yelled, jumping to her feet.

“You may want to listen to your elder’s,” Conrad said. “We will have enough problems dealing with my brother and his clan while trying to keep Nicoli in one piece. We can’t be worrying about two witches in training at the same time.”

“Why you –” Amelia advanced towards Conrad threateningly, but Preston was quick to catch her around the waist and hold her back.

“Cecile, humor me a minute,” Tabitha said before leaning in and whispering in Cecile’s ear, completely oblivious to Amelia’s flailing towards the head vampire that had the rest of the clan tense and ready to defend.

Cecile listened patiently as Roderick finally had to come around the couch to take hold of Amelia himself, Preston having a tough time restraining her.

“Hmm, you have an excellent point, Tabitha,” Cecile said. Without moving or changing expression, she reached out and caught one of Amelia’s swinging arms.

Amelia froze in her uncle’s grip before going completely lax and limp.

“Moooooooooooom,” Amelia whined, as Roderick deposited her back on the couch beside her mother. “Not fair.” Amelia made no move to get up again because it seemed that she did not have the ability to.

“What is with this family?” Felix muttered in Ethan’s ear.

“I really wish I knew,” Ethan said with a shake of his head, watching the antics as if he were witnessing a sitcom gone horribly, horribly wrong.

“To Amelia and Preston’s great delight I think we may have a need for them,” Cecile said as her and Tabitha leaned away from each other. She released Amelia’s arm and her daughter recovered from her pile of goo state and sat straight up.

“Mom, why did you do that…wait, really? Do you mean that?” Amelia asked earnestly.

“I certainly do.”

“Now, explain to me what use your two youngest will be,” Conrad asked.

“I will later, but I think that should wait until we move this meeting over to our humble home,” Cecile said as she stood.

“Excuse me? Now why would we do that?” Conrad asked in genuine surprise.

“The Fairbrooke house was built on what we like to call a Magic Well,” Tabitha explained. “There is a high concentration of magic that flows through the earth directly underneath and we will be able to tap into it to amplify our powers while casting the teleportation spell. We’ll need it. Trying to teleport thirteen people, then having to adjust it to add a fourteenth, will be difficult. Even for us.”

Conrad was silent. He didn’t outright reject the idea, but he didn’t agree with it either. Ethan knew the clan leader was worried. They suspected that one of the Fairbrooke’s was the Guardian. Going into their house could be a trap, but Ethan hardly cared for that. A Magic Well sounded promising and he wanted to go over right away to get the spell started, especially if it was going to take hours to do.

“All right,” Conrad finally said as he rose from his chair. “We will reconvene at your place as quickly as possible. You may go, give myself and my family time to prepare and discuss a few things.”

“Yes, no problem at all. We will be seeing you soon then,” Cecile said with a slight nod of her head. With that the entire Fairbrooke family got up and exited the house, leaving the clan alone.

“Everyone, go about your business and do what you need to get ready,” Conrad told them. “I warn everyone to be on their guard. As far as we know we’re going into the home of a possible enemy. Do not take anything for granted.”

Everyone nodded and muttered their agreements as Conrad left the room to go to the study with Faith padding after him. Gavin was the next to leave and Ethan began to converse with Andre, Cora and Felix on the turn of events. Before he could immerse himself in the conversation there was a brush along his brain. He welcomed the tentative touch with great curiosity.

“Ethan, I’d like to speak to you in my room. Alone.”

The request was especially odd since it was Gavin who was giving it. With his interest peaked he excused himself from the cluster, feigning to wanting to see if there was anything he should bring. He made his way to the staircase and, when he was sure everyone was distracted and no focus was on him, he ducked down the hallway along the staircase to Gavin’s room.

“Hey, what’s up, Gavin?” Ethan asked as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. Gavin motioned him to come further into the room, away from the door.

“I wanted to tell you this and you alone,” he said.

Ethan tilted his head. Now he was beyond curious.

“What is it? Wanting to confide something in me alone doesn’t seem like you.”

“You would be the only to appreciate this news,” Gavin told him. Arctic blue eyes strayed to the door before coming back to Ethan. “I saw Nicoli.”

Ethan’s eyes nearly bulged from his head and resembled two saucers.

“You-You what?” he asked breathlessly.

“I saw Nicoli,” Gavin repeated. “They’re keeping him in a room in that house of theirs. I was able to draw him to the window and…speak to him, I guess you could call it.”

Ethan could not believe his ears. Gavin went out of his way to see Nicoli? That didn’t seem like the man at all.

“You…you of all people disobeyed Conrad?” he asked.

“I do not see it that way,” Gavin said with a shake of his head. “He may have told me to seek Dimitri out, but he did not tell me directly not to see Nicoli. Besides, I thought it would be in the clan’s best interest if I saw Nicoli for myself. We might as well know if the one we’re trying to save is there to begin with.”

Ethan reached out and took the taller, broader man by the shoulders.

“How did he seem? Was he okay? Was he hurt?” Ethan asked in a rush of questions.

Gavin reached up and took Ethan’s face in his hands.

“Shhh, calm yourself Ethan,” Gavin whispered, and his voice was kind and warm. Most would say it was uncharacteristic for the man. “He is unharmed for the most part, but he may be hurt emotionally. He appeared very worn and sapped of strength.”

“Did you have a chance to get him out? Did you even try?” Ethan asked.

“No, that would have been a foolish course of action.”

“What? What do you mean foolish?”

“I am strong, Ethan, I know that. Alone I could fend off Dimitri’s clan and, while I would suffer some injury, I would survive. However, if I tried to flee with Nicoli at my side, a fight against six other vampires, who are strong in their own ways, would have been disastrous and I fear that it would have resulted in Nicoli’s death. That is blood I was not willing to have on my hands, not when we have a chance to win him back with such fortunate odds in our favor.”

Ethan sighed and leaned forward, resting his head against Gavin’s chest. His body went slack and he relished the arms that hesitantly went around him. He was so relieved that he just wanted to cry. A part of him was angry that Gavin had not saved Nicoli, but the greater, rational part of him knew that Gavin was right. In the end he was just happy to know that Nicoli was all right for the most part.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he murmured over and over. He lifted his head to look at the other. “I can’t believe you would do all of that just to see if he was okay. Thank you.”

Gavin averted his eyes, looking slightly uncomfortable for a moment, before his eyes returned to look into Ethan’s.

“In truth, I did it for you.”

“For me?” Ethan asked in bewilderment.

“Yes.” The hands returned to Ethan’s face and thumbs caressed his cheeks. “You are a tortured man, Ethan. You hide behind your smiles and good humor, but I see the constant pain you are in and it cuts me to the quick to see you reliving your nightmare.” Gavin closed his eyes and pulled Ethan forward until their foreheads touched. “I wanted to lessen your pain, no matter how little. That was why I sought Nicoli out.”

Ethan was speechless. In all of his years living under the same roof as Gavin he had no idea the strong, silent man was capable of such compassion. He was overwhelmed by it and he slipped his arms around Gavin and leaned forward enough to brush their lips together. He then said the only words he could possibly muster.

“Thank you.”

==========================================Ch. 51 End