Twice Bitten (55 page)

“It appears we are reuniting with you, my good friend, at a less than opportune time,” he said to Racco. Dressed in a white tunic, he carried a jeweled gold scepter similar to the ones that Huangtian Dadi and Gustav held when they met with the European vampires shortly after our arrival in China back in November. “We would like to welcome your companions!”

Racco gently pulled away from me and stood up to greet this other male, a vampire whom I assumed must be Koimala. They shared a warm embrace that seemed to have been muted on my account. As the two separated from their embrace, nearly a dozen other vampires appeared around us. Dressed in similar tunics or sarongs, this group was split evenly between male and female.

“I am indeed Koimala,” said this latest vampire to me. He offered a generous smile that was a little more frightening than what I was used to. Two long canines on his lower teeth matched the fangs on his top row. Along with his gold, effervescent eyes, the extra teeth made him resemble a predatory big cat. Even so, I had no doubt that most women would still consider him gorgeous. Flawless, reddish skin along with sleek features, his flowing, black hair hung in waves upon his broad shoulders. And while all male vampires I’ve ever met are powerfully built, this one’s sculpted physique made him truly look like a Greek or Hindu god. “I welcome you to my realm, Txema!”

He reached for my hand, which I tentatively extended to him. His touch was surprisingly warm, and his eyes bore a playful glint, as he surely understood my timid reaction. He lightly kissed the back of my hand.

“Welcome to the rest of you, as well!” he said to my female companions, focusing the most on Raquel, who presently held Alaia. He lingered on my baby for a moment before looking over his shoulder toward Gustav, whom I hadn’t noticed until then. “I have not seen one of these in nearly three hundred years—is that not when Jacqueline and Marissa were born?”

“Yes, that is correct,” said Gustav, who eyed me worriedly. Dressed in a more modest black robe than I had seen him wear before, he shook his head when Racco motioned to him.

“Hmmm.” Koimala nodded thoughtfully as he turned his attention back to Alaia again.

Despite my tears, my daughter had been fairly quiet since we encountered my guardians on the runway outside the palace. I would’ve taken her back by then from everyone that had held her, except she seemed quite content to let Raquel gently bounce her while her momma bawled her eyes out nearby. I didn’t wish for my daughter to share my emotional pain—especially considering her possible telepathic connection to me thus far. If Peter was dead, I’d rather have her tune into that frequency when she was older and could effectively deal with whatever pain it meant for her as his daughter.

“Chanson and Nora…do you feel the same about this one as Gustav?” He asked, turning toward them while his intense gaze landed on me. “If she is to become the catalyst that heals the growing conflict between humans and vampires, she will likely need to grow up very fast. Ralu seems determined to destroy all of our political inroads with the human race. They fear and hate us now more than ever, and several hundred years of diligent hard work is being destroyed in less than a year.”

“We both feel the same about Alaia,” said Chanson, after she and Nora traded cautious glances. “She’s the one we were hoping for.”

That caught my ear, and I looked at my cousin guardedly. They were talking about Alaia as if she were some kind of messiah. Even though I’d heard such talk previously, it had always been on a much smaller scale. What I mentioned at the beginning of my story, other than what inspired my baby’s name, was Gustav’s words spoken later on to me.

“You need not worry, Txema,” said Koimala, studying me with the look I was begrudgingly getting used to from all vampires while they read my thoughts. “We will be able to protect you and Alaia from Ralu. Something about the coral reef composition of these islands make it very difficult—and painful—for him to try and follow you here. He never even tried to follow Chanson here after the birth of her daughters. She would be the first to admit that if she had decided to stay here, instead of returning to Perpignan so long ago with her young girls, her history—and that of her daughters—would have turned out far differently.”

“I don’t understand…I thought as long as he can hear my thoughts we’re in danger, too.” I wanted desperately to believe an oasis like this could also mean protection for at least Alaia, if not for us both.

“Not when he can’t determine exactly where you are,” said another vampire, from across the room. We all turned to look in the direction of the waterfall furthest from us, and the only vampire dressed in a changshen drew steadily closer. It was Xuanxang, and he smiled at me once he reached the spot where we were all gathered. “Too many centuries spent underground while building his army…this is the one thing that has hurt him. He can only go where his warriors travel first. That’s how his conquests in America and Europe were carried out. So, if his soldiers can’t find us, then neither can he. Anything he hears from your head will be useless to him.”

“And, my dear, his soldiers will never find this place,” said Racco, smiling confidently again. Apparently, other than Chanson, no one presently in our midst blamed him for what happened in America the night before. More importantly, somehow he knew it. “Even if they did get remotely close, our own warriors will easily route them.”

“All right,” I said, looking around the room at every vampire in attendance—by my count there were twenty-one. “I’d like to stay here for as long as you’ll have me and my little girl.”

“I greatly favor that proposition! We will do our utmost to ensure your happiness, Txema, and Alaia’s,” said Koimala, visibly pleased. “Before we leave for our nightly hunt, I would like to introduce you to my family of vampires.”

He motioned to a lovely female first, who stood to his left. Meanwhile, my mind was sorting through possible things the ‘hunt’ he mentioned might include. Likely, he solely referred to human beings, since that’s always been a vampire preference. While I would’ve liked to believe our guests would prey on the evil doer only, visions of the young mother I saw butchered in front of her children in China was the pervading image that came to mind.

“This is Mohini, who is the love of my life!” he said, and for a moment, his gold eyes took on an orange glint.

Impossible for me to know exactly what that indicated, the loving look this other vampire gave him made me think it had something to do with Koimala’s devotion to her. All of the Maldives vampires were lovely to the eye, but this one called Mohini was by far the most beautiful female vampire I had ever seen. Her lavender eyes were even more brilliant than Raquel’s, and her delicate facial features carried more definition, as well. Tall and statuesque with long flowing brown hair and more of an olive tint to her skin, it appeared her original nationality was altogether foreign to most of the others.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Txema, and I look forward to getting to know you and Alaia,” she said, her musical voice even smoother than my cousin’s. A powerful sense of compassion emanated from her, and I liked her immediately. “Please, make yourself at home, and know that whatever your heart desires, if it is in our power to make it happen, it shall be done for you.”

“I thank you, Mohini.”  I looked over at my daughter, whose eyes were locked on her more tightly than my own had been.

“You may not immediately remember their names, but in time you will get to know the rest of our little group quite well,” said Koimala, motioning to the rest of his vampire clan that surrounded us. “From right to left we have Aadi, Abhaza, and Adripathi—the three ‘A’s as Racco likes to call them.”

These three looked like brothers in height and facial features. All were tall with classic Indian features such as beautiful brown eyes, dark hair, and brilliant smiles. More slender than Koimala, their builds were athletic in a runner sort of way. Each one took turns stepping forward to bow slightly toward me before stepping back—like awkward teenage boys dragged against their wills to a high school dance.

Koimala noticed this, too, chuckling before moving on to the next three males.

“These are among the fiercest warriors in the vampire world,” he said, proudly. “Their names are Bhima, Chatur, and Ravana. Xuanxang will attest to their prowess in rebuffing the Mongolian vampires a millennium ago, when their imperialistic nation sought to colonize everything from Nepal to the Maldives Islands.”

I could tell these were older vampires, with similar multicolor eyes to Huangtian Dadi and Gustav, which left me more impressed by their deference to the apparent younger Koimala as their master. Their skin was more olive color—similar to Mohini’s but without her elegant smoothness. Nonetheless, the members of this fearsome trio were all handsome in appearance.

After they stepped forward, bowed, and then stepped back, Koimala moved on to the remaining females.

“When my human life ended at twenty-eight years, nearly fourteen hundred years ago, I forever lost the love of my daughters,” he said, with an edge of sadness in his voice. “But these companions in the eternal earthly life we share have more than made up for what I lost long ago. Their names are Asura, Kama, Prasad, Rupinder, and Sitara. Chanson and Nora will attest to how wonderful and helpful they will be to you and your daughter.”

All five stepped forward, and, unlike the guys, offered friendly smiles similar to what Mohini offered to me. I could already tell that Alaia and I would gravitate more to the girls on this island. Unlike Mohini, each of these females appeared to have been full-blooded Indian in their earthly lives, and looked as if they were slightly older sisters to Aadi, Abhaya, and Adripathi.

“So, now that you have met everyone, it is time for us to feed,” Koimala advised. He then turned his attention to our European female vampires. “Ladies, would you like to come with us tonight? Gustav and Xuanxang will be joining us.”

They all looked over at me, uncomfortably, as if afraid of offending me in some way. I’m sure it had everything to do with the way Koimala had presented the words ‘hunt’ and ‘feed’ for their dinner. But I had yet to see any vats or pitchers filled with blood anywhere around us. In fact, other than Racco’s staff, I had yet to see a single human being. I was half tempted to make a joke that Koimala and his circle of twelve vampires had eaten them all.

“You all have to feed,” I said, when the wait for their response started to get awkward. “Things might be a little different in this part of the world, so know that I’m not expecting something like ‘True Blood’ to be served here.”

At least Tyreen and Raquel got my joke, as they both snickered softly. I waited for them to patiently explain it to Chanson and Nora, and when I saw the relief light up their faces, I knew things would work out. I just had to make sure I didn’t think long about where they got their nourishment. Much the same way I had to not picture the pet milk cow named Margie that my Grandma Terese kept when I was a kid, whenever I ate a steak or hamburger.

“We’ll be back before long,” Chanson assured me, and then gently kissed Alaia after Raquel relinquished my baby girl to me.

I heard multiple goodbyes as the vampires disappeared, leaving only Racco and me in the reception area. His crew began their task of unloading the plane, now that the area was vampire-free for at least a little while.

It could’ve been the romantic moment I had dreamt of for the past six months. Surrounded by such luxury, the night songbirds looked down at us from the highest entablatures atop the marble columns. Not to mention a near-full moon peered in through the open galleries on the floors above us.

“Come, let me show you to your room,” said Racco. He smiled compassionately, while taking my left hand in his. I held Alaia in my right arm, up close to my chest. He led the way to a curved staircase near one of the waterfalls.

As I stated, this could’ve been an incredible moment that boded well for a night of passion. But I couldn’t focus on Racco and what I’d like to share with him in my bed. Not with the tragedy that happened to Peter weighing so heavily upon my heart.

When we reached my room on the second floor, I was amazed…more like a little stunned at first. My room was spacious and beautifully furnished with a large four poster bed that appeared to be several hundred years old, if not older, along with a matching armoire. Even part of the bathroom, where one’s most personal business needed to be taken care of, contained the most lavish appointments. But, the shower/bath was out in the open, and where I expected to find windows above the marble railing that enclosed the room was nothing. The room opened up fully to the great outdoors—sort of like a partially enclosed backyard deck or patio.

Oh Joy. No privacy, and a good thing I didn’t have love on my mind.

“What do you think?”

Racco seemed to accept this on the same level as the impeccable arrangements contained in his former French castle, and even the chalet at the bottom of the remote Pyrenees location we skied down to last November. I might add that both of those buildings had enclosed walls with glass windows.

“I’m not sure yet.” I tried to picture myself eventually warming up to this arrangement.

The only thing I honestly liked was the sound of the ocean, which seemed louder in this location than it had downstairs in the reception area. I walked over to the ledge closest to the bed and peered out toward the beach. A soft warm breeze caressed my face and body, and I could see the moonlight dancing on the waves. It was magical. The tension that had gripped my mind while deciding if I could handle a room like this began to ease. Even Alaia seemed to delight in what she saw, as she cooed quietly.