Fall of Darkness (The Chronicles of Darkness) (26 page)

“It’s your home as well, Katerina.”

Kate inclined her head in thanks and
swallowed at the lump forming in her throat. She wanted to scream at him, to
shout the questions bouncing out of control in her head. Why did you drive my
parents away? Why didn’t you bring me here when they died? Why am I here now?
What do you want from me?

Though she would’ve loved to ask him
every single one, she didn’t know if he would answer. More importantly, she
wasn’t sure he would tell the truth. She’d been lied to too much already.
Better to save her questions for Alex. He had no trouble telling her the truth,
no matter how much she didn’t like it.

Uncomfortable silence flooded the room.

Gustavo cleared his throat. “I trust Capitano
Ambrogio has been taking excellent care of you?”

Kate nodded, casting a backward glance
at the golden vampire who was her only ally on unfamiliar ground. Alex stood at
rigid attention behind her, his honey-colored eyes locked straight ahead. She
recognized the stance from the men in suits on the landing strip.

Kate would’ve sworn he stared straight
through her, but his lips twitched with the slightest hint of a smile.  It told
her that while he may serve her grandfather, he was there for her. The quiet
assurance wrapped around her like a fuzzy security blanket.

“Very good. Well, then. Capitano
Ambrogio is one of my most trusted guards. He will take care of and protect
you. As your
tutore
, it is his responsibility to oversee your education,
training, hunting, and any activities. Any need you may have, it is his purpose
to fulfill it.”

Taken aback by the innuendo in his
words, Kate thought of at least a half dozen jokes Lindsey would’ve cracked
about Alex meeting her ‘needs.’ It made Kate miss her best friend even more, one-track
mind and all.

Well, Lindsey would be disappointed.
There were needs she had no intention of letting him or anyone else meet.
However, the golden gaze burning into her back spoke volumes about Alex’s
willingness to meet all her needs and more. Heat flooded her cheeks at the
thought of her grandfather pimping his guard out for her pleasure. That
couldn’t have been what he meant.

“Thank you, sir.”

“My pleasure, but please don’t call me
sir. We are family, Katerina.” Again, his half smile didn’t quite reach his
eyes, which studied her in keen interest. Kate would need to watch herself
around him. Gustavo didn’t miss a thing.

“What would you prefer I call you?”

“I suppose Grandfather in any of its
incarnations would be appropriate.”

“Grandfather it is,” Kate agreed, the
word feeling unnatural on her tongue. Calling a man ‘Grandfather’ who she could
easily see her roommate hitting on felt wrong in so many ways.

He was handsome, rich, powerful, and
dangerous. Yeah, Lindsey’s type for sure. If she ever had enough control to see
her best friend again without killing her, it would have to be far, far away
from this man.

“Very well. I will see you soon,
Katerina.” Gustavo inclined his head to her in dismissal, turning to Alex.
“Capitano Ambrogio, show Katerina to her quarters.”

“Yes, maestro.” Kate turned to see Alex
execute a crisp bow. He led her from the room in silence. Relief filled Kate as
they drew farther from Gustavo’s office. She had survived her interview with
the king of vampires. It was all downhill from here. Well, at least until she
came face-to-face with a human while thirsty. That was another issue altogether.

Chapter
22

Alex rambled on--- and on and on---
about the history of the castle and the artwork sprinkled about as Kate
followed him through the echoing halls. Good grief. She’d need bread crumbs to
find her way around this place. Which led her to wonder if a castle full of
vampires who didn’t eat food had a kitchen, and if said kitchen even had bread
to crumb. Probably not.

Kate waited to speak until they were
well on their way into the wing opposite Gustavo’s office. She interrupted Alex
in the middle of a particularly riveting verbal dissertation on the
architectural modifications completed on this portion of the castle in the
mid-1800s.

“Should I be worried that he didn’t want
to talk to me?” 

Alex stopped in his tracks, turning to
face her. “No, Katerina, you shouldn’t. He is a busy man and must manage his
time wisely.”

“I felt like an expensive acquisition
being inspected and cast aside. I thought he’d want to spend a little more time
getting to know his long-lost granddaughter.” Not that she minded that he
didn’t. Gustavo’s shrewd gaze and false smiles made her nervous.

“He has an eternity to do that. I assure
you no one is happier than he to have you home where you belong,” Alex tried to
assure her.

Still, she didn’t feel reassured. He
said nothing of Gustavo’s reasons for wanting her there. A feeling rooted deep
within her gut told her there was more to the story than familial fealty.

“If you say so.” Even she could hear the
doubt in her voice.

Alex sighed. “Katerina, your grandfather
would do anything for you. He is a good man. The people follow him, not only
because of his lineage, but because he is a strong and just leader. Older
vampires of your line live, but he was chosen to lead. Try to give him a
chance.”

“I’ll try,” Kate agreed with reluctance.
She’d try alright, but in the meantime she would watch her back and wait for
the storm to hit.

“Thank you.”

Alex paused before a pair of double
doors. Pushing them open, he stepped aside and indicated for her to pass with
the sweep of an arm. “After you.”

Kate strode into a large sitting room with
high arched ceilings and antiqued white furnishings. Appointed in light gray
and various shades of purple, ranging from lavender to amethyst, the room was
feminine and pleasing, even to her non-artistic eye. Antique white wood paneled
the lower half of the walls, while the upper half was a light, misty gray.
Thick, white crown molding framed the same bright sky found throughout the rest
of the castle.

“These rooms are yours. Here, I will
conduct the bulk of your education,” Alex announced as they strolled through
the room.

The furnishings looked as though they’d
never been used, but leant an authenticity to the old world glamour of the
theme. Elaborate couches, upholstered in satiny purple damask and rich gray
velvet, were arranged for socializing on one side of the room. A vintage French
writing desk, with a low back comprised of little drawers and decorative
cabinets, was positioned with its matching chair beneath a beautiful rendition
of a lavender field.

“What will I be learning?” Kate asked,
her curiosity piqued.

“Languages, history, etiquette, and
survival skills.”

“Like which fork to use and how to start
a fire?”

Alex chuckled. “No, like how to handle
humans and those ‘fancy mind tricks’ as you call them.”

“Oh, yes, please.” It all sounded much
more interesting than suffering through Organic Chemistry in college.

“Your physical training will be
completed in another building, which I will show you at a later time.”

“My what?”

“Your physical training. I will teach
you how to fight and how to shoot.”

“Alright,” Kate said.

Though she doubted her ability to hit or
shoot anything, she’d love to learn to better defend herself. She could be Kate-the-Bad-Guy-Slayer.
It’d be nice to have the skills to open a can of whoop ass, should the need
ever arise again. Not that she believed Alex or any of the guards would ever
let her within a mile of anyone who might try.

Kate followed Alex through another door
and stepped into a bedchamber with similar trappings. Through an open, archway
on her left, Kate could see a luxurious bathroom. Thank the Lord indoor
plumbing numbered among the innovations added to the castle.

A double vanity with a gray and white
marbled countertop comprised the far wall. The counter-to-ceiling mirror
reflected the wide array of unopened cosmetics and toiletries lined up across
the marble surface. The walk-in shower with multiple heads was impressive, but
it was the deep, sunken jetted tub that stole her heart. Maybe she could live
forever, so long as she could lose herself in a huge bubble bath with a good
book.

A second archway boasted a massive
walk-in-closet. A rainbow of clothes hung in neat rows, their tags still in
place. At least she wouldn’t have to face immortality naked. Or in all black as
she’d feared.

“My mother had a lot of fun shopping for
you. You’ll find everything you need and more in there. Only the finest, of
course,” Alex said with a proud smile.

“Your mom did all that? That’s so sweet.
I’d like to meet her.” She wanted to meet her late mother’s closest friend, to
thank her and to learn more about the woman who gave her life.

“Unfortunately, she’s home in Greece for
now. She visits every month or so though, so you’ll meet her before too long.
She’s dying to meet you as well.”

“Wonderful,” Kate smiled, turning to
explore the rest of the room.

The same purple, grey, and antique white
theme from the sitting room had been artfully applied to this one. A king-sized
bed, complete with an elaborate carved canopy and tented lavender drapes,
dominated the center of the room.  An oversized armoire and a petite mirrored
dressing table, both with rounded lines and matching carvings, were nestled
against the other wall.

Pausing by the dressing table, Kate
picked up an old, framed photo. She recognized the picture from the plane. It
was a photo of her parents on their wedding day. Drinking in the sight of their
smiling faces, her heart ached with loss. She would never know them.

“They look so happy,” Kate said, tracing
their faces with the pad of her index finger.

“They were,” Alexander assured her,
close enough that his breath tickled the back of her neck.

Turning to Alexander, she held the
picture up for his inspection. “Then what happened?”

Dominic had provided one account of the
events leading up to her parents’ death. But Kate needed to hear the story from
Alex. She needed to distinguish the truth from Dominic’s lies.

            “Katerina,
I don’t think now is the time,” Alexander sighed, taking the picture from her
and setting it back on the vanity.

            “No,
now is very much the time. Alex, please, I need to know.”

            Alexander
exhaled his resignation in a heavy breath of air. “When you were born, your
parents wanted to protect you from our world. So, they left Italy, assuming new
identities in a new place. They made a new life and lived there happily for a
while.

            “Your
grandfather needed to know where his son and granddaughter were, needed to know
you were safe. So, we searched relentlessly, until we eventually found you.

“Unfortunately, we had an unknown
traitor in our midst. My predecessor as captain of the guard betrayed us for a
female wolf he believed himself in love with. He leaked your family’s location
to the wolves and they sent an assassin to kill you all. That assassin was
Ridolfi.”

Kate flinched at the pain the name
invoked. Self preservation in mind, she quickly changed the subject.

“I thought the idea behind being
immortal is you can’t die.”

A sad smile crept onto Alex’s face. “You
would think so, wouldn’t you? No, immortals can die. We’re just a lot harder to
kill. We must be beheaded or exposed to the weakness of our kind. Daylight is
ours.”

Kate closed her eyes, swallowing at the
lump in her throat. “Which was it?”

“Neither.” Her eyes flew open at his
answer and she looked to him in confusion. He tossed something the size of a
broken crayon in her direction. She caught it without a thought.

Kate cradled the small object in the
palm of her hand. It was a strange bullet. Made of a gelatinous, glowing
purplish-blue liquid within a clear casing, the bullet radiated heat in the
palm of her hand. It wasn’t enough to cause visible damage, but enough to sting
her skin.

Ignoring the uncomfortable heat, Kate
pinched the bullet between her thumb and index finger. She held it up in front
of her face for further inspection. Her eyes responded to the light as if it
she’d tried to stare at the sun. Dropping the bullet like a hot coal, Kate
rubbed her tear-filled eyes in an attempt to clear the searing white spots of
light behind her eyelids.

“What the hell is that thing?” Kate
gasped, blinking as her vision recovered.

“Ultraviolet bullets. The wolves
invented them years ago. Shooting a vampire with one of those bad boys is like
injecting liquid daylight straight into his system. The casing shatters on
impact and the liquid spreads. Basically, you burn to death from the inside
out.”

“Lovely,” Kate shuddered. “Remind me not
to get shot, okay?”

“Okay,” Alex agreed with a grim smile.

“Is that what killed my parents?” Kate
asked, indicating the bullet on the ground by her feet.

Alex gave a grim nod. “Ridolfi broke
into your home during the day, while your parents were sleeping, and shot all
three of you in the chest.”

Kate’s fingers flew to the scar over her
heart. “Then why didn’t I die?”

“Because you weren’t vulnerable to
sunlight yet. The vampire gene remains dormant until we reach maturity. The
ultraviolet bullet could do no permanent damage to your immortal body. The wolf
didn’t understand the intricacies of unturned vampire children. He left you and
your parents for dead, but your body healed itself over time and you were
eventually found.”

Kate listened in silence, letting the
full implication of his words sink in. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the
length of time it would take for someone to notice their reclusive, night owl
neighbors had disappeared. Nothing could scar a child for life quite like being
locked in a house, starving and alone, with her parents’ dead bodies for days
on end. Thankfully, that memory remained buried deep within her subconscious, never
to see the light of day.

“We discovered the traitor and executed
him. Our entire race mourned the death of your family. Select few knew of your
survival, but many kept hope. I was sent to hide and protect you. I selected
the Murdocks to adopt you and bribed a judge to keep your records sealed. No
one could know your true identity.”

“Why?” A huge piece of the puzzle was
missing, Kate could feel it.

“To protect you.”

Yeah, that answer wasn’t going to cut it
anymore.

“But why? Why did my parents drag me
halfway around the world to keep me away from here? Why did everyone search for
us? Why did the wolves want us dead so badly? Why go to such lengths to hide
me? Why protect me now? Why am I so damn important to you people?”

“That is a subject for a later time.”

“No, Alex. It is a subject for now,” Kate
insisted, pinning him with a sharp glare. “You have to tell me.”

“Actually, I don’t. Not yet anyway.”

The man could be so stubborn. Well, so
could she.

“I’m not taking in anymore blood until
you tell me,” Kate threw the empty threat out, and added some drama to it for
good measure. “I could shrivel up and die.”

“Katerina, you are behaving like a
spoiled child with a toy she can’t have.”

“I don’t care. I’m sick of being lied to
and I’m tired of being the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on.” Kate folded
her arms across her chest. She could be stubborn too.

Golden eyes clashed with green in a
battle of wills. Kate could see the wheels in his head turning as Alex weighed
her threat. They both knew she couldn’t do it.

“Fine,” he sighed. Kate wasn’t sure if
he gave in just to make her happy or if he believed her stubborn enough to try
to make good on her threat. Either way, she got her way. Alex pointed a finger
at her. “But blood first. You get cranky when you’re thirsty and I’m not
interested in having my head ripped off.”

Kate groaned. “I forgot, we don’t have
any more blood.”

“I know.” The jerk had the nerve to
smirk at her. “How about you get cleaned up and I’ll go scavenge for some.”

“Are you implying, Captain Ambrogio,
that I am anything other than a vision of feminine perfection right now?”

 “Never,” he protested, clutching his
hand over his heart in a dramatic show of earnest. He wrinkled his nose at her.
“However, you are starting to stink.”