Forbidden (28 page)

“So you could be wrong then,” William said, turning his back on the window.
 
“Maybe she’s not a vampire after all.”

“No.
 
She has to be.
 
Roseline is over 300 years old.
 
That’s not human.”

Gabriel thought it over; desperately trying to find something that would prove Rose wasn’t evil.
 
“Tell them how your parents were killed,” Gabriel said, wanting his friend’s to hear the gruesome story so they could help him fight against the lies about Roseline.

Sadie winced.
 
“Oh come on Gabriel.
 
I’m sure that’s not something Nicolae wants to talk about.”

“No.
 
It’s okay,” Nicolae said, smiling warmly over at Sadie before turning to look at Gabriel.
 
“As I told you before, they had been attending a masquerade ball for Halloween.”

“I thought vampires didn’t go out on Halloween,” Sadie said.

Nicolae laughed bitterly.
 
“That must be
Hollywood
’s version of vampire fiction.
 
Here in
Romania
, Halloween is the Devil’s night.
 
Anyone who has any sense stays home.”

“So what happened?” Gabriel pressed.
 

“They were slaughtered, along with every other living soul in the room.
 
Over two hundred people were murdered that night.”

“And they found…teeth marks?” Gabriel said, grimacing on the last bit.
 
He simply couldn’t imagine Rose sinking her teeth into anyone’s neck, or himself for that matter.
  

Nicolae shifted uncomfortably.
 
“Well….no.
 
My uncle said they didn’t have much luck finding any evidence.”

“Why not?” Sadie asked, burying her chin into her knees.
 
She would never admit that she was afraid, but she was.
 
Very much so!

“There wasn’t much left.”
 
Nicolae’s voice sounded monotone, as if he were reading a very boring report instead of speaking of his parents deaths.

“Is that normal?” William asked, gulping as he gripped his sister’s hand.

“No.
 
Not normally.
 
Most vampires just drain their victim and leave.
 
They don’t like any publicity.
 
They don’t want the rest of the world knowing they exist.”

Gabriel tapped his temple, feeling like he was missing something.
 
Suddenly the light bulb went on.
 
“Has Rose ever acted in a normal vampire fashion?
 
Has anyone ever seen her bite a person?”

Once again, Nicolae looked deeply uncomfortable.
 
“Not to my knowledge.”

“So you’re just assuming that she’s a vampire then,” Gabriel grinned, sure that he was getting close to vindicating his beloved Roseline.

“I don’t know Gabriel.
 
It sounds pretty gruesome to me,” Sadie said softly, her eyes rounded with fear.

“Not you too,” Gabriel groaned.
 
“So now you think she’s a blood sucker?”

Sadie shrugged.
 
“I don’t know what to think.
 
The only thing we do know is that Rose’s family is dangerous and we’re headed straight for them.”

A heavy silence fell over the small space.
 
No one dared to verbalize their fears.
 
Even if Rose wasn’t a vampire, her family, Gabriel’s biological father, obviously got off on sadistic mass murders.
 
Gabriel couldn’t help but wonder what they were getting themselves into.

“My uncle will know what to do,” Nicolae finally said, breaking the silence.
 

Gabriel glanced up, shocked to see that they’d arrived outside two towering wrought iron gates.
 
Just beyond, down a winding lane, stood a large stone estate covered with ivy.
 
Gabriel shivered.
 
“We’re here already?”
 
He wasn’t sure he was quite ready to face what lay beyond.
 

“Time flies by when you’re scared to death,” William muttered darkly.

Nicolae spoke to the man guarding the entrance then pulled his head back inside as the limo slowly moved through the groaning gate.
 
The sound reverberated through Gabriel with a sense of evil foreboding.
 
The tires crunched on the gravel path as they crept along at a snails pace.
 

Gabriel felt like pulling out his hair or screaming at the driver to speed up, but another part of him feared leaving the safety of the car.
 
Once the limo had come to a complete stop, a man got out of the drivers seat.
 
He was enormous with a broad chest and short cropped hair.
 
A jagged scar ran from his temple to his throat, disappearing inside his black uniform.

“Well that’s not creepy,” Sadie muttered as Nicolae emerged, pausing to offer her a hand.
 

Gabriel had to agree.
 
He tried not to stare at the man’s scar as the chauffer turned and led them up the steep steps which ended at the base of an enormous door.
 

“Who lives here?
 
Giants?” William joked weakly, leaning way back to stare at the top of the door that towered fifteen feet above them.
 

“It’s just for show,” Nicolae chuckled, grasping a nearly invisible door handle.
 
A normal sized door opened inward, revealing a dark hall.

“I can’t believe you live here” Sadie gasped, unconsciously clinging to Nicolae.
 

He smiled down at her, squeezing her hand tightly.
 
“Pretty depressing huh?

“No kidding,” William muttered, following closely behind his sister.
 

Gabriel brought up the rear, nearly jumping out of his skin as the door slammed behind him without anyone there to push it closed.
 
“Ok now that’s creepy!”

Footsteps echoed on the hall.
 
Nicolae went rigid, ducking out of Sadie’s grasp, standing to attention as if he were a soldier in the military.
 
“Uncle,” he bowed low as the imposing figure emerged from the shadows.

The man was tall, though not nearly as tall as their driver had been.
 
His face was rugged, lined with scratches that Gabriel guessed to be fingernail marks.
 
His black hair was slicked back and a trim goatee hung from his broad chin.
 
He wore a tight fitting black uniform under a heavy cloak, identical to the chauffeur’s.
 
The man walked with rigid determination.
 

“Nicolae.
 
You’re back so soon,” the man called, his booming voice echoing in the vast hall.
 
He didn’t sound the least bit pleased to see his nephew.

“Yes, uncle.
 
She has returned as I informed you.”

Gabriel glanced at Nicolae.
 
It was so unusual to hear such a strong voice coming from the nerdy boy he’d grown to dislike over the past couple months.
 
The transformation was now complete.
 
Nicolae was no longer the guy he’d known.
 

“You have brought guests.”
 
This announcement was tinged with anger.
 

“Yes Uncle.
 
They are…friends.”

Nicolae’s uncle eyed each of them, sniffing the air.
 
His beady eyes drilled into Gabriel.
 
The man hissed, pulling back.
 
At the same moment, two guards melted out from behind tall marble pillars on either side of the room, guns aimed at Gabriel’s heart.
 
“You’ve brought him here?”

Gabriel warily glanced at Sadie and William; sure that they’d just made a big mistake.

“He has come looking for Roseline, Uncle.”
 
Nicolae stepped forward, dropping his voice so low Gabriel could barely make out his words.
 
“He is unaware of the prophecy.”
 
Gabriel didn’t like the sudden gleam in the man’s eye as he regarded Gabriel with new interest.
 

Nicolae’s uncle didn’t relax his stance as he spoke, as if Nicolae hadn’t said a word to him.
 
“You know what she is?” he questioned.

Gabriel shook his head.
 
“I know what you think she is.”

Nicolae stared at Gabriel in amazement.
 
Never in a million years would he have spoken so boldly to his uncle.
 
But then again Gabriel didn’t know what his uncle was capable of.

The older man stroked his goatee, staring at Gabriel with a hint of admiration.
 
“And yet you still come?”

“Yes sir,” Gabriel nodded.
 
“I love her.”

Nicolae’s uncle roared with laughter.
 
Sadie bristled, annoyed with the rude man.
 
“You can’t help who you fall in love with,” she retorted.

The man’s laughter faded as he glanced at Sadie for the first time.
 
“Spunky,” he muttered, noting how his nephew stiffened.
 
“I can see why you like her.”
 
Sadie blushed but didn’t look away.
 
“You’re right my dear.
 
When it comes to vampires, Gabriel never stood a chance.
 
He will love her until the day she sucks him dry.”

Gabriel wasn’t sure if he said the words so bluntly to scare them or because he believed it to be true.
 
Either way it had quite an effect on everyone in the room.
 
“My name is Sorin Funar,” his voice boomed through the great hall.
 
“You are welcome here.”

Without a sound, the two guards vanished into the shadows and Sorin headed back the way he’d come.
 
Gabriel glanced at Nicolae who simply shrugged.
 
Obviously he was just as surprised by his uncle’s reaction as Gabriel was.

***

“How much do you know about your girlfriend?” Sorin asked, snickering on the last word as he sank back into a black leather arm chair.
 
A roaring fire cast an eerie halo around his head.
 

Gabriel and his friends were starting to get a feel for the house.
 
Everywhere they looked floor to ceiling velvet curtains blocked out the sun.
 
Only the glass windows in the vaulted ceiling above afforded any sunlight on the room.
 
A room which desperately needed a good cheering up!

The carpet was a deep red, matching perfectly with the dress that Roseline had worn to the dance.
 
Gabriel winced at the reminder and averted his gaze.
 
He was met with towering book cases, filled with ancient looking leather bound books.
 
There were medieval style swords hanging from the walls, with one in particular encased in glass.
 
On its blade remained a dried blood stain.
 
Gabriel wondered why it was the only thing highlighted in the room.

Gabriel struggled to pull his attention away as Sorin cleared his throat roughly.
 
“I’m sorry sir.
 
I was just admiring your décor,” he said, returning to the conversation at hand.
 
“The only thing I know about Rose, apart from what Nicolae briefly told me, is from the times that I’ve spent with her at school.”

Sorin sat forward, his eyes intense, face rigid.
 
“And did you spend any time alone with her?”