Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) (20 page)

The first section
described what was included in the catalog, everything from how test
scores were calculated to the different types of breeding methods
used. Breeding methods? OMG! This was too much. No matter how many
times my new family told me, I could not fathom the Fare being okay
with this. But, faced with the same people who I wanted to stand up
for, I couldn't deny the pride on their faces when they found their
family page. Fathers patted sons on their backs and mothers cried
softly because their daughters' pictures came out so well. The whole
thing was a way of life for everyone in this room. The Pro Vita
Eligamus was a joyful occasion.

Skimming through the
first section of the catalog, Chloe and I had decided that we would
leave the selection of our Stewards to Solomon. We figured the
Steward would have to be trained and participate in the running of
the household, so we didn’t want to be responsible for
selecting someone that Solomon couldn’t work with. The only
requirement was that he selected someone with a sense of humor.

There
were a larger number of Fare Electus in the catalog. Efia had said
that there were more due to recent information that she had more
blood descendants out there who might survive the Embrace. She had
people searching for them night and day since, if they were viable
enough to survive the Embrace, Grigor would be looking for them as
well. The families in this book were anticipating Efia selecting more
than the four for Chloe and I, and, by the way she and Pleasant were
looking through the catalog, they just might be right.

Efia caught my eye and
smiled. It was a sad smile, as if she knew what coming here had cost
me; my reality would truly never be the same. But, if I had to have
my world come crashing down on me, it wasn’t too shabby to be a
vampire princess.

“
Do
you see anyone you like?” Efia asked me and Chloe. “Don’t
they all simply look delicious?”

I choked at the joke at
the same time that Chloe laughed loudly. A number of people glanced
in our direction but didn’t let their looks linger. I was
absolutely mortified and Efia knew it. She wasn't trying to make this
easier on me, she was trying to use shock therapy. I couldn't say
that I blamed her. It wasn’t like I had my entire life to get
used to the fact that I was going to be a Vampire. I had a few short
weeks to wrap my head around it. I sat there as the St. Clairs
gestured to the Electus that appealed to them. The Electus families,
aware that they were on display, began brushing invisible lint off of
the shoulders of their respective Electus’. It seemed that
everyone was enjoying themselves. Everyone, that is, except me and
the little green eyed girl right in front of me.

We spent what seemed
like hours on the meal. I have heard of seven course meals, but this
was ridiculous. It started with trays of fruit passed around by young
boys and girls. They were all smiles when they served the crowds but
shy and nervous when they approached the Royals. Chloe and I did our
best to encourage them and make them feel comfortable, but the
presence of Efia and Pleasant proved too much for some and they were
replaced by older servers for the next set of courses. We went from
fruit that I couldn’t name to vegetables that I couldn’t
name either. Everything was so delicious that it nearly escaped my
notice that, while the Fare and Stewards were dining on meats and
cheeses as well as fruits and veggies, the Vampire families were
eating from an animal-free menu. Ironic.

As soon as it was
evident that the Fare had had their fill, several Vampires and their
respective Fare excused themselves and exited through doors just
behind our tables. Chloe and I were left on the dais and finally free
to speak without being overheard. Chloe looked at me with a maturity
that I was sure I didn’t even possess. I grasped her and
squeezed. I had spent the last two months being her big sister, only
to prepare to leave and fight Grigor. The odds were clearly against
the success of our mission. Several had attempted exactly what we
were planning and had failed. Why did I think I was any different?

Chapter 17

The rising sun
brought anxiety with it. Even though Lucinda and Veronica were kind
enough to educate me on the importance of the Fare system and how it
was actually mutually beneficial, I was still creeped out about the
whole thing. If it weren’t for the fact that I loved sporting
events, I would have faked an illness and remained in my suite. I
dressed in an identical outfit as last night and shook my head as I
sat and reviewed my fact sheets.

Chloe and I had been
given fact sheets on all of the Electus, whether they were Stewards
or Fare. After dinner the night before, I had been on my couch
scanning the list of Fare, noting their physical attributes and
wondering why no one else saw how wrong this was. The lists also
included their hobbies and intellectual capabilities as well as blood
type and family lineage.

I thought I would just
make it easy on myself, close my eyes and point, but I didn’t
want to accidentally choose that jerk from dinner. Solomon had
informed me that the High Caste Fare that had started the social
assault on Lucinda was Wyatt Robeson. Wyatt was his father’s
seventh son and thought to be this year’s catch of the day. His
bloodline was ancient and impeccable, he tested through the roof in
all of the Sciences and Mathematics but he was a pompous jerk! The
entire night he and his family paraded around like peacocks. Most of
the Vampires appeared to be impressed as Wyatt wove his way through
the room, clearly reveling in being on display. I did my best to
ignore him but that seemed to make things worse. His father clearly
had his eye on placing his son in the St. Clair royal family. Many of
his other sons were in attendance and made a show of their royal
patrons, most of whom where Castellanos and Dubois'.

Matthias Robeson, the
family Patriarch, had come right up to our table and showered me and
Chloe with compliments. They were all too sugary and impersonal to be
sincere and it just made me resent him. Wyatt joined his father with
a smug look on his face, as if the two of us should have been
grateful to be in his presence. He smiled and his dimples did
whatever dimples do, but he had no effect on either me or Chloe. She
simply smiled and excused herself, wanting to speak with Fare closer
to her own age. Wyatt continued to stare at me with a crooked smile
and an arched eye-brow until Tabitha showed up to save the day.

A new day, however,
brought opportunities to meet new people. Dressed and armed with my
fact sheets, I was ready to go by the time I heard a soft knock on my
door. Chloe and Tabitha were dressed in identical outfits as mine and
I joked about how corny it was...until we arrived in the arena.
Apparently this Ludos was such an important event that every
spectator wore the same uniform. Each family was allowed to choose a
different color if they wished, but there were no embellishments that
might draw the attention away from what was truly important.

With the Ludos being a
combination of Stewards and Fare for the first time, the stadium was
packed. I was told that often times the results would be so
predictable that only the families of the competitors would attend.
Today was different. Everyone from the island and the majority of the
royal family members were present.

I thanked a pretty
Steward girl as she handed us a schedule of events when we entered
and made our way to our seats. Governor Ezekiel stepped up to the
microphone and signaled to the crowd for silence. It only took
seconds for the entire stadium to quiet down and we all waited for
the Ludos to begin.

“
Familiae
Regalis, Praesidium and Sanguine Fare, I would like to welcome you to
the first ever combined Ludos.”

Applause rolled through
the arena like thunder. Every spectator had risen to their feet as
the participants of the Ludos made their way onto the field. I could
see the Fare Electus standing with the Stewards. The difference in
size was not only an obvious advantage but it made me feel sorry for
the smaller Fare as they were no doubt second guessing themselves.

“
As
you well know,” Governor Ezekiel continued, “The royal
families have requested that the Fare and Stewards be held to the
same standard. Well, today we will test each of them against that
standard!”

More applause from the
crowd drowned out his next sentence so he patiently waited for
silence. The longer he had to wait, however, the larger his smile
became, and the larger his smile became, the louder the crowd would
get. I looked around and saw everyone smiling, laughing and patting
each other on the back. It was clear to me that this event, this
combined Ludos, was going to be the event of the century for some
people. A full minute later Ezekiel was able to continue.

“
Please
turn with me to page three of your program. You will see the
intellectual aptitude scores of each participant. Last night we
tested their minds. Today we will test their bodies!”

More applause from the
crowd as a few Fare Electus looked around nervously. There was a
marathon that would begin in the next few minutes, in which all
participants would run, but not everyone was competing in all of the
events. I used my finger to keep my place in the list and noticed
that they had fencing. I read the description, curious about the
sport since I was an utter failure at it, and noticed the ‘fine
print’. The fencing was to be done with 4 foot long broadswords
that weighed 5 pounds each. No pads or chain-mail allowed. The first
to bleed three times looses the match. My gaze returned to the
nervous Electus. Stuff just got real!

We stood for the
singing of what I can only assume was the Vampiric anthem. I’m
not sure if I was expecting there to be lyrics of about blood lust
and neck biting, but the theme of respect and honor took me by
surprise. The duo who sang the song did so with an air of pride that
was evident even from my vantage point and I made a mental note to
get those lyrics and read them.

The marathon started in
the arena and was projected onto several big screens throughout. We
watched on a screen in our viewing box and rooted for our favorites.
As the sun made its way to the highest point in the sky, our first
runner was seen nearing the finish line. He was a Steward who looked
much too large to have finished ahead of any of the Fare. He ran
straight through the finish line as if he had just finished a
relaxing jog to the kitchen and bowed to the five royal families. I
watched as each family made notes on their fact sheets about the
runner and wondered whose house he would end up in.

The next few runners
were male Fare, one of which was Ethan Piedmont. I felt the pride as
his family led the applause that rang out in the Middle Caste portion
of the arena. Ethan crossed the finish line and bowed deeply in our
direction, making it clear which house he was wishing for. All of the
female participants finished between 3 and 5 hours of the start and,
thankfully, were not the last to come in. The final runner was a 6’7”
Steward who was more suited for a football field than a marathon
course. That being said, he finished strong and bowed to the families
as if he ran 26.2 miles every day.

While we waited for the
nighttime events to start, everyone mingled and ate. I did some
sightseeing around the island and ran into a few of the more curious
natives. They didn’t approach but followed as I walked around,
so I was very careful not to touch anything that they might claim as
their own.

There wasn’t very
much to see on the island. It was green and lush, but there were very
few public building. The administration of the island was done from
the same building that housed the banquet room. That building also
had the library, school and a place of worship, which fascinated me
to no end. Simply everything was done in there. The other buildings,
aside from the primitive huts that the natives lived in, would have
been considered luxury accommodations in my home town. Apparently the
caste system did not extend to housing as every house was just as
nice as the other.

They used a
solar-powered version of a golf cart to get around the island. I
remembered seeing what looked like solar panels just beneath the
water’s surface near the entrance of the canal. It was obvious
that they were powering the island. The houses and golf carts didn’t
run on fossil fuel, everything here was green energy.

When the sun went down,
so did the temperature and I quickly made my way to the indoor arena
for the next event. Fencing was not a sport that most high schools in
America have, so all I had to go on was my inadequate knowledge of
the sport. I watched from the edge of my seat as the participants
attacked, countered and parred. They were all very good. I was
grateful for the time that I sat and watched Zander and Jordan
because I wasn’t totally ignorant of the sport.

The last two
participants were called and the crowd inhaled sharply. I looked up
to see Wyatt Robeson and Ethan Piedmont take the floor. The two were
of equal height and weight, so the match was even. Ethan had schooled
his expression to be blank but Wyatt was clearly gloating. I checked
the program to see that the Piedmonts were Middle Caste and instantly
knew why Wyatt was so smug. I wondered if he thought Ethan would let
him win or if he actually thought that he was better than him simply
because of his bloodline. I silently prayed Ethan would win.

A soft gong rang out
and the two went at it. It was more like a dance than a sword fight
until Wyatt slashed Ethan’s cheek. I saw the cut open up and
spill blood down the front of his tunic. They had both worn white and
the effect was magnificent. The Vampires inhaled sharply, smelling
the rich life force. Stewards, ever vigilant, took their posts closer
to the floor to prevent any accidents, but the two fencers kept at it
as if none of us were there.