BloodGifted (17 page)

I
was now locked in his powerful embrace and an odd sense of reality settled over me. He was feeding from my body—my blood was being drawn out as he sucked and swallowed and once or twice he shuddered. Then quite strangely, a sense of contentment flooded through me and my breathing evened.

He
kept drinking in larger and larger gulps and my sense of peace increased until I floated in nothingness. Then the dizziness hit me—and panic. He was taking too much.

‘Alec, stop!’ I
whispered. ‘Please!’

My dizziness increased
and I tugged at his arm in desperation just as his body tensed, his fangs withdrew and his tongue gently licked the wound.

It was over.

Then unexpectedly, he turned my head toward him, placed his mouth hard on mine and deftly parted my lips. I tasted my blood on his tongue and as his kiss deepened a new sensation flooded through me which erased all others—excitement.

Unbidden, my tongue rose to meet his and, almost feverishly, I
kissed him back. I forgot the watching guests, my father and my aunt, even Matt. There was only Alec. He filled my senses and, that moment, he was the only thing that mattered. I didn’t want the kiss to end and then, to my embarrassment, my body began to tremble.

M
y eyes opened as his mouth lifted from mine and I looked straight into a dark purple whorl as Alec stared down at me, his breathing as ragged as my own. It was Marcus Antonius’s voice that jolted us both into awareness.

‘
Magni Investigo.
Great Ones, investigate,’ he’d commanded.

Alec still held me
and supported me as my legs went weak and threatened to give way. I was vaguely aware of the glint of light on golden silk as the Elders surrounded us and, one by one, placed their fingers on the puncture wound on my neck.

Each nodded to Marcus in confirmation.

‘
Vidistis.
You have seen. First Blood has been taken,’ he’d declared. ‘
Approbo Princeps Alexandrius Monrovius.
Acclaim Alexander Munro as Princeps.’

T
he seated crowd rose and clapped.

‘Are you all right?’ Al
ec whispered anxiously into my ear.

‘Y-e–s.’

‘You’re trembling.’

‘Mmmm.’ I couldn’t
speak as my body shook from a combination of shock and loss of blood.

‘Here, drink this,’ Luc
said. He’d come to my side with a glass of brandy as Marcus Antonius and the Elders went to greet the gathering crowd at the foot of the stairs. Alec scooped me up and carried me to a seat in a quiet corner of the pavilion. I tried to sip the brandy, but my body shook so much he had to place his hands over mine to guide it to my lips.

The fiery liquid
flowed down my throat and warmed my body. But another sort of fire shot through me at the touch of his hands on mine.

‘
Another one,’ Alec ordered.

For once I di
dn’t mind being told what to do and I took another, larger gulp this time. The heat of the alcohol mingled with that other new sensation within me.

Alec removed his jacket and placed
it around my shoulders while I sipped the rest of the brandy.

‘Laura!’ I heard my dad’s voice
at the same time as I saw him push his way past the Elders and bound up the stairs towards me. The next instant he enveloped in a bear hug.

Alec stepped back.

‘Let’s see what he’s done to you.’ My dad’s face looked stricken as he stared at the puncture marks on my neck.

‘Dad, don’t
please.’ I gathered my hair and used it to cover that side of my neck from his and other prying eyes. I’d been prodded like a piece of meat enough.

‘Baby, you’re shaking,’ he observed and pulled Alec’s jacket cl
oser around my shoulders.

‘I’ll be okay, Dad. The brandy’s helping.’

‘My baby girl.’ The emotion in his voice was raw and for the first time in my life, I saw tears well up in his eyes.

I he
ard a low growl from Luc. Dad angled his head to look up at him and for a brief moment their gazes locked. Dad’s body trembled slightly, not from fear but anger. I could see it on his face when he turned back to me.

Luc
remained standing there, watching us, his own expression threatening. I didn’t have time to think about it as Dad spoke to me.

‘Those
animals!’ He choked. ‘When you screamed, Judith had to restrain me from running up there and ripping him off you!’

‘Oh, Dad.’ I hugged him to me. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about this?’

He pulled back and shook his head. ‘How, Laura? I’ve been dreading this day since you were a baby, hoping, somehow, it would never come.’ Sorrow punctuated his every word. ‘How could I tell you, prepare you for something like…this!’ A combination of anger, disgust and pain crossed his face and I began to understand a little of the burden he have must have carried all these years.

‘How’s Mum?’

He couldn’t answer as his face crumbled. I hugged him again as a thick lump welled up in my own throat. My parents had kept this a secret all these years and the fact that she wasn’t here tonight spoke volumes. She simply wouldn’t have had the mental strength to deal with it. My dad was always the strong one, like his sister.

Over his shoulder I glanced
up at my aunt. She’d followed my father up the steps and now stood hand-in-hand with Luc. They looked concerned and… something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

‘Laura, you’re our little
girl,’ my dad quietly said in my ear. ‘No matter what happens, you’ll always be our little girl.’

I pulled back and looked at him. It was such an odd thing to say.

‘I know.’ I patted his shoulder. ‘But I’m a big girl now—I’ve just come-of-age!’ I tried to make it sound trivial in order to comfort him. Then to reassure him, I said, ‘I’ll be okay. Aunt Judy was, and so will I.’ I kissed his wrinkled cheek and whispered, ‘Please, don’t worry about me.’

‘Now,
that’s
not possible,’ he said.

M
usic began to play and caterers, balancing trays of food in their hands, mingled through the crowd.

For the humans
, I thought.

Chairs were being cleared and
a space created for dancing. At the far end of the roped-off area tabled seating had been prepared, and some small groups were already converging to claim a spot. Others had taken to the dance floor and were moving to the strains of the Moonlight Serenade.

On impulse, I glanced at the bandleader.
Alec had mentioned him in the car during the drive here.
No, it couldn’t be
, I thought. Yet, he bore a striking resemblance to the 1940s band leader, Glenn Miller. But then, who knows? It would certainly explain his sudden disappearance before the end of the war.

Alec approached and
I smiled up at him. My trembling had ceased and I was hungry. ‘Feeling better?’ he asked.

‘Much.’

He looked at my dad. ‘Do you mind if I take Laura and give her something to eat, John?’

My dad’s expression wasn’t exactly friendly, but I knew Alec understood.

‘I’m okay, Dad,’ I said and squeezed his arm.

‘All
right,’ he said with a sigh, and rose and left my side.

I felt warmer and started to remove
Alec’s jacket from around my shoulders.

‘No. Leave it on for now, Laura. I want to be sure you’re over the shock,’ he said.

‘Is this Dr Munro speaking?’ I teased.

It was good to see his da
zzling smile again. ‘Absolutely.’ He placed his arm around my waist helped me up and led me to one of the food-laden tables. ‘Eat,’ he ordered.

‘Stop being so bossy,
’ I said while taking a bite from a delicious salmon canapé.

He
took a plate and chose a bit of everything on offer. Finding two available chairs, he sat me down in one and placed the laden dish in front of me.

‘Are you expecting me to eat all that?’

‘I intend to enjoy dancing with you the rest of the evening.’

He loosened his bow tie and undid
the top buttons of his shirt. When we first met, he’d done the same thing and I realised then he was not a man for formal wear. Straddling the other chair, he rested his arms on the back and gazed at me.

‘And you’re just going to watch?’ I said.

‘That’s right. To make sure you eat.’

There was no arguing with him and besides, he was right. The food
did help and soon my strength returned. As for my response to his unexpected kiss, I simply dismissed it as a natural reaction to being bitten by a vampire. After all, Aunt Judy said this would happen.

It
must be normal—I think.

Chapter 11

Friends and Other Creatures

ALEC

It was done. The worst part of the evening was over and now she could relax and enjoy the rest of the night and, hopefully, forget about her attachment to that human. If only for tonight, I wanted to forget what Luc wanted me to do.

H
er courage impressed me. She’d been through a traumatic experience, yet here she was smiling up at me and enjoying the evening as if this was just another formal event. She could have refused to come, taken the first plane out of here even though they could have found her and dragged her through the Ritual against her will.

T
he colour returned to her cheeks as she ate. I’d nearly taken too much. The blood lust hit the moment I experienced that first, incredible taste. It was more potent than anything I ever imagined. My body felt on fire after the first sip—burning, strength growing and filling me with unquenchable energy. I wanted to roar with the sheer magnitude of it. Only her voice prevented me from losing control.

If I’d kept going
, would the Elders have been able to stop me in time? Laura could have been the shortest-lived
Ingenii
in Brethren history. No more
Ingenii
, no more curse; the end of the Dantonville Legacy. So simple. So, why didn’t I do it? Was it because she was Luc’s little girl and, in spite of his dubious dealings, I liked him? Possibly, but that wasn’t all. It had something to do with Laura herself—she intrigued, even fascinated me and I wanted to find out why.

‘Alec!’ Jake waved me over to join him and the other men.

He’d recently arrived back in the country after a few months’ absence checking out a growing threat to the Principate in Eastern Europe. I intended to speak with him later on. Like Terens, Jake, or Justinus as he was originally known, had been one of the Roman legionaries in Marcus Antonius’s patrol. He’d also been a physician and so understood the struggle I experienced as I underwent the change from human to vampire.

Over the centuries, h
e’d shown himself to be a skilled diplomat and Luc often sent him to quell serious disputes among the Brethren anywhere in the world. When not employed in that capacity he, like Sam, Terens and Cal, are part of the I
ngenii’s
security. For the last fifty years they’ve been an unseen nocturnal guard around Judith and Laura.

Sam and
Terens had been on duty tonight and I greeted them briefly as I collected Laura for the Coming-of-Age Ritual. Their car had followed us as we made our way to Luc’s.

I waved back and said
I’d join them later. They were my brothers, more so than any I could have had in reality. They all regard Laura as their surrogate niece and tonight, as every other night since she was born, they’re her protectors.

N
ot one of them has any idea what Luc ordered me to do.

Chapter 12

Vampire Ball

LAURA

The early summer sunset melted into a clear, starry night. Fairy lights had been draped around the pavilion and woven through the branches of the trees near the water’s edge. They glittered and danced in unison with the twinkling lights of the city on the gently undulating harbour waters. It was magical.

The band struck up the
Charleston
and one of the Brethren came and asked me to dance. I wondered if he had lived through the nineteen twenties, as he danced particularly well. His name was Russell, a good-looking man with a jovial smile. Luckily, the
Charleston
was one of my favourite dances.

Russell
knew how to tell a joke and I found myself laughing at his silly punch lines. I wanted to ask him how he became a blood drinker, but unsure of vampire etiquette I said nothing. When the music finished he held onto to me for the next one, but I wasn’t ready for a body-hugging tango.

Over his shoulder my eyes connected with Alec’s and I sent him a silent plea. He answered with an understandi
ng grin, courteously cut in, and escorted me back to our table.

‘Is he always like that?’ I asked.

‘Oh yes, he loves parties and beautiful women.’ He looked down at me with a wide smile. ‘Owns a movie studio and is always on the lookout for fresh talent.’ He emphatically lifted one eyebrow.

‘Uh huh, okaaay.
Well, he’s still a hoot. You know he tells some dirty jokes, but they’re actually very funny!’ I surprised myself, as I always avoid humour of that sort.

‘Laura, I didn’t kn
ow you liked dirty jokes!’ He looked shocked.

‘I do not!’ I said in my most indignant voice. ‘Alec Munro don’t you dare think…’

His eyes sparkled with amusement and I realised he was thoroughly enjoying himself at my expense.

‘Laura,’ he tickled me under the chin. ‘It was too good to resist!’

I sighed and smiled back. With the stress and anxiety of the Ritual past, the tension had visibly lifted from his shoulders. His eyes, a definite dark purple tonight, shone down at me. He looked even more heart-stoppingly gorgeous, if such a thing were possible.

‘You like him, don’t you?’ I asked, trying to keep my thoughts on a safer track.

‘He’s a friend. Flew over from the USA just to see you—and me of course.’

‘As in, on a plane, not… you know, on his own?’ I remembered reading somewhere that
some vampires could fly.

Alec laughed. ‘Yes, Laura, a regular commercial flight, although a privately chartered one. Actually
—’ he glanced around ‘—there’s the pilot.’

I followed the directio
n of his gaze to a young woman dressed in black satin pants and sable bustier with white lace collar and sleeves. Her curly collar-length hair bounced as she laughed, presumably at something the man beside her had just said. Something about her face seemed vaguely familiar, yet I couldn’t place it. I’d never met her before, of that I was sure.

‘Amelia runs her own chartered flight company.
Flies us wherever we need to go,’ Alec said.

Then it clicked. I’d seen her picture in a recent documentary on TV. ‘Amelia? As in Amelia Earhart, the American pilot who disappeared in the nineteen thirties? You mean she’s… um, one of you?’

‘That’s right. She arranged her own disappearance to cover up the fact.’ He spoke so nonchalantly, I was still processing it when he pointed yet again. ‘Over there. Know who that is?’

My eyes followed the direction he indicated. A tall, blond
e man with flecks of silver in his hair was in an intense finger-wagging discussion with another man.

I gasped. His was a face
known to all Australians, for it had been plastered on every newspaper when he disappeared while spear-fishing at a local beach. Most people believed a shark had taken him since his body was never found. It was not every day a country lost its leader to a ravenous fish!

I think my jaw dr
opped—yet again—as I stared at Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia in the nineteen-sixties.

This was getting ridiculous. How many other famous people were ac
tually vampires? I began to scan the faces around me in my own version of Spot-the-Celebrity and as I did so, my eyes returned to Maris’s group. Russell stood among them and he gazed back at me. My curiosity vanished as a nervous tingle ran the length of my spine.

‘Alec?’

‘Yes?’

‘I’m… sorry. Nothing.’ I di
smissed the feeling. Russell had been fun. Maybe it was just my imagination.

Alec looked at me
and his smile faded. ‘What is it? Something’s worrying you.’

‘I’m just no
t used to being surrounded by vampires, I guess.’ I dropped my voice as well as my eyes.

‘Laura, my friends
and I are watching out for you and nothing can happen here.’ He gently stroked the side of my face with his thumb. The nervous feeling passed and I smiled up at him.

‘Dance with me,’ he suggeste
d and wrapped one arm closely around my waist as we moved to the strains of
Stranger in the Night
.

How appropriate
, I thought.

We talked while
we danced. Once or twice his eyes drifted over my head and scanned the crowd before coming back to me. He’d smile and lead me into another dance. Occasionally someone would cut in and Alec graciously bowed out. It appeared many wanted to meet me and asking for a dance was the most popular way.

When we eventually sat down, h
e excused himself to speak with his friends who were lounging at the bar. It gave me the opportunity to slip my shoes off and place my feet on his vacated chair. I always hated new shoes. As far as I was concerned they were modern torture devices.

Terens—
one of the red-cloaked guards at the Ritual—laughed. He’d joined our table after Maris left. Zhao had also excused himself once the music started.

‘Laura, you’re a delight,’ Terens
said. ‘I could never see Judith doing that.’

I wriggled my toes
and that made him laugh even more. It struck me that he had officiated at my aunt’s Coming-of-Age ceremony as well. It was easy to forget that most of the guests were vampires who could be hundreds of years old, making Alec a veritable youngster in comparison.

Meanwhile, Alec
was deep in conversation with Luc and Jake and the other two guards, Sam and Cal. They had draped their red cloaks over one end of the bar and were leaning back against the counter, each with a drink in his hand. Their swords, interestingly, were still strapped to their sides. I noticed there was one man I hadn’t been introduced to.

‘Terens, who’s that with a
blonde ponytail standing next to Luc?’ 

‘That’s Jean, a distant r
elative of Luc’s. Knew Napoleon, fought in his wars.’

I was immediately struck that I was in the presence of individuals who had lived through some of history’s most momentous events. How I would ha
ve loved to have them address my Sixth Grade class. If only, I sighed.

As Terens continue
d speaking I noticed that Jean—who gazed at me far more than the others—bore a striking resemblance to someone I’d met a long time ago; when I was eighteen, on holiday in Italy and ready for romance. His name was Philippe. He was handsome and he had kissed me.

Over the years though, the memory fad
ed and it became harder to recall every detail of his face to mind. But it couldn’t be him, as he’d be in his late fifties by now, probably with a large family, receding hairline and a thickening waist. I smiled inwardly at the image and turned back to Terens.

‘He’s the quiet one out of all of us. Hard to know what he’s thinking sometime
s,’ he said, almost to himself.

‘H
ow long have you known Alec?’

‘Not that long, really. Since just after the Great War.’

I tried to keep my jaw firmly locked. Obviously a vampire’s perception of time was different from my own. Perhaps a near century was only a blip on their radar.

‘We met in Paris just after his transformation.’ Terens looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘He was finding it hard.’

The way he pronounced Paris gave away his French origins. He had the barest hint of an accent, although unlike Luc he didn’t drop the occasional French expression. I enjoyed listening to him for not only was he was a wealth of information about Alec, but his voice—like the rest of his kind, I was beginning to learn—was melodic, almost hypnotic.

‘
Being a vampire?’ I asked.

‘Yes. It’s not easy at first.
One day he might tell you all about it.’

I looked again at Alec’s group. Every now and then they glanced in my direction
, their expressions serious. Was there something wrong?

‘Terens, is there anything I should be concerned about?’

He glanced around the sea of faces. ‘Some here would love to see the Principate abolished. They hate the boundaries imposed by Luc and Alec. I don’t know whether he told you our kind are forbidden to kill humans.’

I nodded. ‘He has. You don’t
need much to stay alive.’

‘Exactly. Besides, it’s more fu
n to enjoy a little nip here—’ his finger brushed a section of my throat— ‘and there’ —his finger moved to the other side— ‘from several different ladies.’ His touch was almost erotic and the smile he gave me would melt the heart of any female.

Were all male vampires so
sensual? I removed his hand from my neck and placed it firmly on the table. ‘You mentioned boundaries?’

H
is expression sobered. ‘Not all of us see humans as a protected species. They’ve been blood drinkers for too long and forget they were human once. Currently, we and humans co-exist peacefully, and the penalty for murder is severe.

As long as Alec is Princeps and your Guardian, it’ll remain that way. He’s too strong for them to take
him on. Imagine if they had you in their power. Not only would they kill him, but this city would become a killing field.’

I gasped at the horrifying images his words evoked.

‘Look around you Laura.’ His hand swept the air. ‘Not every eye here is friendly.’

‘I have noticed,’ I agreed
and glanced in Maris’s direction.

She stood huddled
in a little group who silently watched Alec. She’d flicked back her gold cloak displaying a dress any porn star would have been proud of—siren red with a plunging V neckline that barely covered her ample breasts and ended somewhere in the vicinity of her navel. A deep slit slashed open the front of the gown and ended just below her panties. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she wore no knickers.

Her lavender eyes would have been stunning
in contrast to her flowing platinum locks, but for their coldness.
Dead eyes
.

Several in her group turned and
stared in my direction. Their faces looked fierce and an atmosphere of cold hostility emanated from them. A cold shudder rippled through me.

‘Yeah, her
.’ Terens lowered his voice. ‘Maris. Watch out for her—nasty piece of work. She and Alec were lovers once and everyone knows she wants him back,’ he said.

I was right, there was a history
between them and no doubt that dress was for his benefit. Was there a possibility that Alec still harboured some feelings for her? ‘Is Alec… still interested?’

‘No
t as far as I know.’

I suddenly felt guilty that I was relieved.
What was wrong with me?

Alec
returned to our table and his eyebrows shot up on seeing my naked feet, which I hurriedly removed from his chair. The band began to play
Serenade in Blue
and a slow smile spread across his face. There was no time to slip back into my shoes. He pulled me to my feet and into his arms, and we swayed to the haunting melody, Maris temporarily forgotten. I forgot everyone as he held me close and when he interlaced our fingers, a thrill rushed through me.

I’d never experienced such a sensation and in my mind I kept reliving his kiss. Had it been
merely part of the ceremony or something more? I would ask him tomorrow… maybe.

Once or twice during
course of the night he examined his bite marks and stroked my neck. I had to fight down the delicious tingle I felt at his touch.

‘Remarkable,’ he said.

‘What is?’

‘They’ve healed so quickly.’

‘I’ve always been a fast healer. Nothing new.’

‘
This fast, Laura? The wound’s almost closed over so it looks like nothing more than a couple of freckles.’ He looked at me thoughtfully for a while. ‘I want to keep an eye on you, so rather than taking you home, would you mind if we stayed here tonight? Luc has more rooms in this mausoleum than even he needs and I know he’d like us to stay.’