I concentrated on my pile of textbooks sitting on the desk. “I woke up when I heard him calling my name. He was out on the balcony.” I sighed. “He appears and disappears at will. And he makes himself known only to me, even when others are present.”
I thought back to my twelfth birthday. He had stood outside on my front patio, next to my adoptive mom and a neighbor who she was chatting with, both oblivious to his presence. “I don’t know how he does it, or why he’s so powerful. Most of all, I don’t know why he has chosen to haunt me.”
Chapter 20
THE NEXT DAY as I sat waiting for history to begin, Caleb made a beeline for the seat next to me. I stifled a groan. Not another problem to deal with. I had enough on my plate already.
He dropped his bags, slid into his chair, and leaned towards me. “Hey,” he said hesitantly, “I heard about the attack. Are you okay?”
“Yeah I’m fine,” I said, twirling the pencil in my hand.
“I heard you were hurt pretty badly,” he said, eyeing my unblemished skin.
I shrugged. “I heal quickly. No big deal.” I was a big, fat liar. It was a big deal, and I was still shaken up by it. I really hoped he wouldn’t ask about the guy I killed. That was a subject I couldn’t pretend to be cavalier about.
He studied me, then sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.
He leaned over his desk, resting his head in his hand. “No. Absolutely not. First I learn that a shapeshifter attacked you. Then, I make the idiotic mistake of leaving you to seek the answers out for myself, and someone else tries to kill you.”
Innocent. Caleb was desperately innocent. Even if I didn’t have supernatural abilities I’d come to this same conclusion. He was blaming himself for my attacks.
I let out my breath. “Listen Caleb, I already have one overbearing man in my life who feels personally responsible for my well-being,” I said, thinking of Andre. I reached out and touched his arm. “Please don’t join him. I could really just use a friend right now.”
He looked down at my hand and then up at me. “Of course,” he said, “I’ll always be your friend. And I promise I will make this up to you somehow,” he said, gaze intense.
I tried to lighten the mood. “Well in that case, I have some history homework I’m behind on …”
He laughed, his smile brightening his face. “Bring it on!”
One suspect cleared. Only a few hundred more to go.
***
That night Andre brought me back to Bishopcourt to continue my training. Now more than ever he felt it was important for me to know the extent of my powers.
This time when we arrived at the mansion, we wordlessly passed by the waiting entourage.
Theodore met us inside. His eyes briefly flicked to me before they turned their attention back to Andre. “Sir, the king of Jordan is on the phone—”
“Tell him I’ll call him back.” Andre didn’t even pause midstride.
Theodore scowled at me, clearly blaming me for Andre’s cavalier attitude. “Andre, it’s important.”
Andre halted and met Theodore’s gaze. “It can wait.” His tone indicated that there was no room for discussion. Turning to me he said, “Follow me.”
We walked up an ornate set of stairs to the back of the mansion. This was further inside than I’d ever been, and the farther we walked, the older the decorations became. A series of antique atlases lined the walls, strange sea monsters and ships decorating the painted ocean. The portraits back here were old, some nearly unrecognizable with age.
We passed an encased hand, and I shuddered.
“Saint’s relic,” Andre said in answer.
“People collect those things?” I wanted to gag.
“Some of my people thought it might bring us closer to salvation.”
“Did it?”
Andre paused to look back at me; his expression said it all.
“Right. I’m guessing that’s a no.”
We turned another corner that faced a large, solid oak door. Andre twisted the brass knob and held the door open.
My breath caught as I walked in. Much like his VIP suite, the room was full of rich colors. Gold-patterned cloth covered the walls. An ornate tapestry hung high above us on one wall. Another wall was entirely composed of books. In the middle of the room stood a ridiculously large four-poster bed.
But what caught my eye was the painting. It hung behind the bed. A much younger—and yet identical—Andre sat in chain mail, wearing the sign of the cross. He’d been a crusader.
“Another attempt at bringing myself closer to salvation,” he said, noticing my interest.
“I’m guessing that didn’t end well?”
Andre contemplated my statement. “Bringing me closer to God? Definitely not. There’s nothing holy about killing another human, no matter what god you believe in. However, I was well fed during the Crusades. That much I can say about war.”
I glanced back at the painting. “Your eyes …” I trailed off. Nothing more needed to be said. Whoever had painted Andre’s portrait had captured his anguish perfectly. This was not a triumphant man, but a broken one.
Andre came up next to me. “I keep it up to remind myself of my humanity. I wasn’t long a vampire when this portrait was commissioned, so my horrors still weighed on my conscience. Now it’s hard to remember how remorse and guilt feel.”
He turned from the painting to face me. “Now, let’s talk about your training.”
I eyed my surroundings. “Uh, we’re in your room.”
“I thought you’d want some privacy for what we’re about to do next.”
My heart rate escalated, and a warm flush crept up my neck and cheeks. The energy between us was suddenly everywhere, and I was very aware of how good Andre smelled.
“Wh—what are we about to do?”
Andre walked towards me, a slow smile spreading across his face. Heat pooled in my belly, and I thought I might melt. Instinctively I backed up. My brain told me that I didn’t like where this was going, but every other part of me told it to shut up.
My back hit the wall behind me, and then there was nowhere else to go. Andre didn’t stop until his torso was flush with mine. He ran a hand past my jaw and cradled my head. His expression was tender.
Hesitantly his eyes traveled to my neck, and I knew exactly what we were about to do. And, so help me, I was perfectly fine with it. He opened his mouth, and I caught a rare glimpse of Andre’s fangs.
Slowly Andre let go of me and backed away, his fangs receding back into his gums, and I blinked as if waking from a dream. “Captivating your prey. That’s what our lesson will be about today. How to convince a human to willingly give you their blood.”
“Did you—did you just emotionally screw with me?” My voice was quiet, but I was anything but calm.
“I was demonstrating how you—”
I crossed the room faster than most people could blink and I punched him in the shoulder. Andre barely reacted to the punch.
“Shit!” I grabbed my fist; it was like punching stone. “Don’t you ever mess with my mind again!” I said between clenched teeth. He’d toyed with my emotions, and I’d fallen for it.
Andre merely watched me, clearly waiting for me to finish. “Don’t give me that look,” I said. Inwardly I cringed. I sounded just like my mom. “It’s not like someone was messing with your head.”
“First, I wasn’t messing with your head. Those were pheromones. While normally vampires don’t have natural scents, we can produce pheromones in large quantities when we’re hunting.” I made a face. “And second,” he said, ignoring my expression, “stop complaining. You get to do the same thing to me.”
“I do?”
“Yes, and try not to look too excited; it makes me nervous.”
I smiled devilishly. “A chance to exact my revenge? Of course I’m excited.”
Now I understood the need for privacy. It would be a little hard to focus w
hen other people were milling about. And now that I was focused on payback rather than seduction, I was all too willing to participate—maybe this had been Andre’s strategy all along.
“So what do I do?”
“Convince me that I want to give you my blood.”
“How do I do that?” I asked.
“You have to will it. It’s as simple as pushing the thought out into the world. Speak the words over in your mind until I respond,” Andre said from where he leaned against one of the bedposts.
“Wait,” I said as a couple thoughts struck me at once, “aren’t other vampires immune to that stuff? And won’t I suck at this—I’m still mostly human.”
Andre straightened and took my hands. “True, you probably won’t be able to do much since you are mostly human. But you still need to practice because eventually you won’t be human, and this technique is how vampires survive.
“And yes, I’m immune, which makes me better at gauging how well you’re doing.”
“So, no revenge?” Now that my motivating factor, successfully captivating Andre, had been removed, the exercise seemed pointless. How disappointing.
“I didn’t say that. I’m ready to be convinced.”
“Hmph.” I collected myself. Best to get this over with.
I began to think about convincing Andre. You want to come closer. Come closer.
This is so dumb. I had to bite my cheek not to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was.
“I’m not convinced at all,” the peanut gallery said from where he leaned against the bedpost.
His taunt irritated me; I was determined to captivate him if only to wipe that smug look off of his face.
A rush of energy surged within me. My fingers tingled, and I felt something dark and exciting stir.
Get on the bed. I blinked at the command. Who wanted to get beds involved? Surely that wasn’t me?
Slowly Andre backed onto the bed, never looking away from me. He smiled, indicating he was still in control. I, however, wasn’t so sure he was, and I wasn’t so sure I was either.
Again I felt my skin tingle, and my back arched as something rose up within me. What was this strange power? This couldn’t be how I captivated prey. Andre would’ve warned me about this.
I stretched as something inside me uncurled itself. My skin softly glowed, but I barely noticed. Andre had my whole attention.
I walked to the bed slowly, rolling my shoulders back and smiling seductively. I’d never done this before, but somehow I knew what to do.
Andre stilled. “Gabrielle?”
I didn’t answer him. Instead I crawled onto the bed, slowly making my way up to the headboard, Andre’s body beneath me the entire time.
Andre’s eyes changed as he stared at me. I’d never recognized the look in his eyes as resistance before, but now I knew because he finally let his guard down. He must’ve been resisting a great many impulses when it came to me.
His eyelids dropped, and the look he gave me was pure heat. He brought his hands to the sides of my shoulders. “Gabrielle …”
I kissed his cheek, his stubble convincing me he was not nearly so dead as everyone believed.
He pulled the edge of my shirt over a shoulder and rose to kiss the exposed flesh. I grabbed the bottom of the black shirt he wore and tugged. He helped me, and together we removed it.
I sat, staring at his tan, sculpted torso. Both me and the creature inside me were mesmerized by nothing more than beautiful male anatomy. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, staring at his chest before the magic receded, and I was left to pick up the pieces.
For a second time this evening I blinked away my confusion. At least now Andre shook it off as well.
“What … did I do?” I asked, mortified to find myself straddling Andre, my top askew and his missing. In an instant I was off the bed, pacing.
Andre, for his part, managed to look troubled and satisfied at the same time. He lounged on the bed, arms behind his head, not bothering to put his shirt back on. “Well, you managed to seduce me, for one.”
“What was that!” I cried. I felt icky, as though someone else had possessed my body.
“I think we’ve discovered the siren inside you.”
“That thing that possessed me was a siren?”
“Nothing possessed you. That was all you; it’s just another power that you need to learn to control.”
“I never want to learn to control that,” I said vehemently. “That thing was destructive.”
Andre put his shirt back on. “Well, you won’t need to learn how to captivate your prey since you can use glamour.”
“What does this mean for me?” I asked fearfully. Would I try to seduce everyone I wanted to munch on?
Andre frowned. “I don’t know.”
There was one thing I did know: the king of vampires was not immune to it.
***
Shortly after sunset Friday evening, Andre and I boarded his jet and headed to Italy. It was time to talk with the last missing piece of the puzzle that was my childhood.
A little after midnight we landed at a small airport in Cinque Terre. A sports car waited for us a short distance away.
“This is the way to live,” I commented. “No lines, no waiting.” There was even a man ready to open the passenger door for me.
“You mean to tell me there’s another way to live?” Andre grinned as we got into the car. Behind us Andre’s minions—excuse me, his entourage—got into two black Mercedes.
I rolled my eyes, even as I smiled. Cocky bastard. “You know, arrogance is not an attractive quality in a man.”
“That’s not what the ladies tell me.” He winked as he gunned the engine, and we took off.
The town sat along the edge of a cliff, lit by twinkling city lights. The warm evening breeze washed over me as we drove along the coast’s edge. I’d almost forgotten that it technically was still summer. The chilly climate of the Isle of Man made it difficult to wear a T-shirt and jeans even in early September.
We pulled up to a grandiose house that Andre had rented. I went inside, tugging along my suitcase. “Choose whichever room you desire,” Andre called out behind me.
Lavish was an understatement. Diamond cut crystal vases were scattered throughout the entrance hall and living room, each overflowing with flowers. Oil paintings hung along the walls.
I chose a room with a balcony overlooking the water—I’d be damned if a phantom scared me out of the best room in the house.
I sensed Andre behind me without hearing him enter. “Are you sure you want to stay in this room?” he asked, nodding towards the balcony.
“Yeah.” I faced Andre, my breath catching as I took him in. I realized now it wasn’t just his raw attractiveness that drew me to him. There was also something mysterious and sorrowful about him. He’d seen over a half millennia of history unfold, and at times like this I could see it in his eyes.
Oblivious to my thoughts, he came over and gazed out at the ocean. “Strange to think that the last time I was in this city with your father was during World War One.” My skin prickled at the thought.
With a shake of his head, he looked at me, and the old, wise Andre was gone, replaced by the fun-loving man I knew so well. “So, what do you want to do? I’m free for the rest of the night.”
I groaned. “I was thinking of going to bed.”
“Nonsense.” He looked at me, his expression amused. “You are such a strange creature. You’re supposed to be changing into a vampire, yet you want to go to bed at midnight.” Andre said the word mockingly. He took my hand. “I have another lesson to teach you.”
“Ugh. Can’t it wait?”
“For what, you to die?”
I fell silent. I had no good comeback.
“There’s an additional incentive: afterwards we’ll do something fun.”
We ended up on the beach. With my night vision, the beach and ocean were a deep and brilliant blue.
“So what’s the lesson???
? I asked.
I sat down next to Andre on a blanket we had brought along, our shoulders touching.
“This,” he said, staring out at the ocean. “Civilizations rise and fall, people live and die, times change, but not the ocean. It’s the one thing that remains constant.”
I breathed in the salty sea air. “I’ve always loved the ocean. Now I understand it’s my siren genes that make me long to be close to the water.”
Andre pushed his hair back, watching the waves. “Not everything boils down to a matter of your identity.” He looked over at me. “Speaking of change, have you noticed anything different about your abilities since your Awakening?”
I shook my head. “Other than the sun irritating my eyes and skin, and my heightened senses, nothing has progressed.” I picked up a pebble and threw it at the crashing surf. The pebble shot out of my hand, traveling far and fast out into the ocean. “Andre, why do you care so much about me? And don’t tell me it’s because you’re my mentor.” I looked at him inquisitively.
He was quiet for a long time. Finally he spoke. “I don’t know.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The truth is that since the moment I saw you across the club, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
We could both hear my heart accelerate—yet again.
He continued. “At first I thought it was the chase that attracted me. It was intriguing and frustrating that you weren’t interested in me.” He gave me a devilish smile.
“Then I tried to convince myself that it was because you were Santiago’s daughter, and I wanted to honor our friendship and protect his child. But—” he leaned in and pushed back my windswept hair, “each time you were attacked, I panicked.”
He cupped my face. He looked at me like I was beloved. “There are no words to describe what I am feeling. I cannot remember feeling this way. Ever.”
This was crazy. He ate humans for breakfast. Not to mention he was older than Father Time. So why was I falling for him, falling for him when I couldn’t help but push everyone else away? It frightened me to feel this way, yet I couldn’t stop this and didn’t want to.