“Are you ready now sir?” the driver questioned. Quarto realized he had frozen midway through exiting the vehicle. Looking up he could see that Valermo was already rounding the vehicle. Tugging at the edges of his jacket, Quarto stood to his full height of almost seven feet.
“Of course. Please assist Valermo as he seems to be distracted by the human paraphernalia again.”
Valermo snorted at his brother’s soft comment. “Only giving you time to stretch, brother. The old and infirm always need just a little more time to do simple things—like stand up.”
Valermo's laughter taunted him as well as Quarto moved to the building. Quarto was ready to get the interview over and to leave the tight chaos of the city and its pink haired inhabitants.
Walking into the brownstone, it quickly became apparent that the inside of the building didn’t live up to the grandeur of its stone façade. Walking up a tight turn of stairs, Quarto could clearly hear the inhabitants of each of the apartments they passed, and he didn’t think it was due to his sensitive ears. It added to his feeling of claustrophobia to realize that each of these tightly packed buildings were stuffed to the brim with people. Quarto’s soul called for the open air of the wilds they had just come from.
“He would live in the uppermost floor,” Quarto muttered.
“He will be worth it, brother,” Valermo said as they approached the closed door at the top of the stairs. Clasping Quarto’s shoulder in a rare show of brotherly confidence, Valermo reached past Quarto and knocked on the worn wooden door.
Inside the apartment, heavy footfalls bounded down a set of wooden steps and Quarto sighed in anticipation of yet more climbing. When the door swung open, Quarto was slightly more impressed. The man that stood in front of them was large by human standards. A tight shirt declaring the name of a local football team was worn tight on large muscles and the man smelled as if he had recently been doing exercises to increase their bulk.
When the man took in Quarto and Valermo’s own massive size, his eyes widened, but he didn’t back away. Another point in his favor, Quarto thought, this endeavor might not be a complete waste of time.
“You two the ones interested in, the uh,” his eyes flicked around behind the dragon brothers, searching the shadows with his utterly inept human vision, “the choosing?”
Quarto wasn’t sure how much more intel Valermo had regarding this human’s knowledge, but he guessed by his brother’s silence that the words meant as much to Valermo as they did to him. Which would be nothing.
It was time to stake his claim.
“Yes, Mr…”
Quarto paused and waited for the human to respond.
“You can call me Marcus,” the man said quickly, still scanning the entire landing for danger and completely missing the veiled driver who was doubling as a guard for the outing.
Quarto smiled wolfishly, “Marcus, thank you. We would love to hear about ‘the choosing,’ but perhaps we can do this in a more secure location?”
Marcus’s eyes snapped to Quarto—as if the dragon had just read the man’s mind. This was exactly why Quarto wanted to take over the human side of the veil. They were the soft underbelly of the universe.
With a sigh and a raised eyebrow, Quarto made his request clear, “Perhaps we could move to the inside of your abode?”
In his first sign of deference, Marcus quickly stepped aside, gesturing for Quarto and Valermo to enter the studio apartment.
Quarto followed Valermo into the apartment, giving a slight nod to the driver to stay and guard the entrance. The initial interior of the apartment was dark. As Quarto had suspected, they were at the bottom of yet another old wooden staircase. However, at the top there was light, promising windows at least. When Quarto reached the actual living space of the apartment, it was quite obviously a bachelor pad. Mismatched furniture was draped with clothing of both the clean and dirty variety. When Marcus asked the brothers to sit, Quarto chose to continue to stand. More to avoid the uncleanliness rather than to show his dominance, though the choice solidified both preferences.
Valermo having sat, acknowledged his misstep and tried to make up ground by starting the conversation.
“So, ‘the choosing.’ Can you tell us what you know about the...,” Valermo paused and Quarto assumed he was trying to guess, “event?”
The quick nod Marcus gave verified Valermo’s conjecture. “What do you know already?”
“We would like for you to start from the beginning and tell us about it from your experience. It’s more helpful in vetting if you’re being truthful or if we can be mutually beneficial to each other,” Valermo said with a smile.
“That makes sense,” Marcus agreed, but then the human fell silent.
Quarto watched as the man seemed to battle something within himself. He was trying to decide on a course of action and the dragons were forced to wait. Quarto schooled his facial expressions to convey a patient manner. If it was this much of a moral battle, then the information was bound to be important.
Finally, Marcus gave a nod and cracked his fingers. An utterly disgusting human trait, but one that seemed to symbolize the human was ready to speak.
“What I’m about to share is something that would get me shunned in my hometown. My family would disown me if they knew I was telling anyone about this.”
Marcus stopped.
Quarto realized that he needed some encouragement, so he lied, “Marcus if you don’t feel comfortable sharing... Well, we don’t want to hurt your personal relationships.”
Shaking his head, Marcus began again. “No, this is something I need to do. The whole town thinks that this secret is keeping us safe, but I’m here to vouch for a solid twenty-four years with no issues. There’s never been an attack or accident. Nothing. I supposed I believed the lie too. For years they took those girls never to be seen again. It was like, because we didn’t see them after they were taken, it verified that the men were doing something in return. That they were shielding us from something. But now…” Marcus paused, fisting his hands. “Well, now I know what’s really going on and the whole thing is shit. They’re not protecting anyone, it was all for their own gain.”
Quarto and Valermo were tense, on the edges of their seats. Could this human really have something important to tell them? That he was the weak link to the secret, hidden in this cluttered mass of a city.
“Again Marcus, why don’t you start from the beginning? Explain ‘the choosing’ as you see it and why your feelings on the matter have changed.” Valermo sat back after making his request, crossed his arms over his chest and locking Marcus with a steady eye.
Running a distracted hand through his hair, Marcus gathered his thoughts. “Well, I don’t know much. It’s all pretty simple when I think about what actually happens. Every ten years the town gathers all girls aged seventeen to twenty-seven and they pick one girl’s name out of a bowl. That girl is taken away by the vampires never to be seen again, and in return they protect our town.” Marcus shrugged. “That’s it for the actual event.”
Valermo’s eyes narrowed. “What happens to the girl?”
Now Marcus looked angry and focused. “Like I said, in all the years the town has been doing this, the girl simply disappeared. I always assumed the vampires ate her or whatever. Maybe it takes ten years to drain someone. It’s like crop rotation or whatever. But this time I’ve seen the girl after they took her and it’s not at all what we thought.” Marcus sat back against the sofa, satisfied with himself.
God help him, if this human didn’t spit it out soon, Quarto was going to rip the information straight from his brain. Thankfully, Valermo lost his temper before Quarto did.
“Listen. My patience is beginning to run thin. I didn’t honor you with my presence to sit here and have you explain that your town has a weird ritual every ten years. Town gossip would have told me as much. From the beginning you have hinted that you have more—and you better produce it now or my associate and I will be leaving the premises.�
�
“But you wanted me to tell you about ‘the choosing’!” Marcus exclaimed.
“I wanted you to give me good information. You have exactly two minutes to do so,” Valermo stated, standing up and towering over Marcus. Quarto couldn’t be happier that now Valermo looked like the muscle of the operation. It was time to play on Valermo’s weakness.
Stepping forward, Quarto laid a calming hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Marcus, I think what Valermo is getting frustrated with is that you have hinted at an aberration in the tradition since we met you on the landing. I think it’s time you fully explain what has changed.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’ve seen Siona now. Twice,” Marcus explained.
“Siona is the girl who was last chosen?” Quarto prompted.
“Yeah, like a few months ago. At first it just seemed like she was living with them—I don’t know, like a pet or something. But last week I saw her and she was pregnant,” Marcus said this last bit with a hint of pride.
This is what the secret was, Quarto thought, but what did a pregnant girl have to do with anything? Judging by the sheer population density of the city, it didn’t seem like humans had any trouble procreating.
Valermo must have thought the same thing. Eyes narrowed he demanded, “And?”
The men’s reaction flustered Marcus, “Well isn’t that unnatural or disgusting or whatever?”
Quarto sighed. “It is how the human race continues, is it not? Procreation?”
“Well, yeah, but not with vampires.”
Both Valermo and Quarto stilled. “With a vampire? That’s impossible,” Valermo brushed the comment aside and started heading toward the door, but Quarto stopped him.
Quarto’s gut told him there was something here. “What makes you think it is the vampire’s offspring?”
“Siona has been gone a few months. More months than she looked to be pregnant. Well, I think anyway. Siona wasn’t seeing anyone before she was chosen, so she had to get pregnant with the vampires.”
Valermo interjected, “Yes, but by your own admission she has re-entered the city. Could she not have a lover on the side?”
Marcus deflated slightly, “I mean, I guess. But the vampire was so protective the other night. Excessively protective than if Siona was just a pet. I think she’s more to them than that.”
Quarto nodded, deciding. “This is valuable information, Marcus. For now, I would like more detail than you are currently providing. I need to know where Siona is living and who the child’s father is. Both of these facts would be very helpful to our cause. No town deserves to lose a member of its ranks, even if it only happens every ten years. We would like to help eradicate this problem.” Quarto paused to give Marcus a paternal smile, “Can we count on your cooperation?”
Marcus didn’t hesitate, “Yes. But how will I know to contact you?”
Quarto brushed his question aside, moving toward the first of many staircases that led to leaving this city. “We will contact you shortly. Monetary compensation will be made for any good information you have. Bonuses for locating their home and correctly identifying the role of the girl.”
“What about today’s information?”
Valermo lobbed a stack of bills at Marcus. The human fumbled the money, caught off guard at the toss. Counting the cash, the human’s deep intake of breath preceded a muttered, “thanks,” and Quarto knew that they had him. Marcus would be their key to infiltrating the entire human side of the veil.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Toggling between websites on her computer, Siona considered the merits of turquoise versus aqua. Turquoise looked better with grey, but the aqua with the gold polka dots was sweet too. Maybe she should Google color theory? Perhaps there was a developmental benefit to one over the other...
Kayla’s voice blasted through her thoughts, “What if it’s a boy?”
Siona paused, readjusted the phone and considered. Hmm, what if it was a boy? Siona was totally unprepared for that possibility; Siona had always thought of the baby as a girl. Staring at the Pottery Barn Kids website set to “girls bedding” made Siona realize that she had not once considered that the baby could be a boy.
Kayla’s voice came through the silence on the phone line, “Hello? Earth to Siona. Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here. I was just thinking that I’ve always thought it was going to be a girl. My gut is saying girl... but I suppose I don’t really know...” Siona trailed off and placed a hand on the bump thoughtfully—what if it was a boy in there?
Kayla huffed, “This is why people find out if it’s going to be a girl or a boy. It’s so much easier to plan these things.”
“I could always do yellow,” Siona mumbled.
Kayla’s voice sounded impatient coming through the phone, “Siona, I know you really don’t like the idea of yellow. Nobody wants to do yellow. Everyone wants to go pink or blue once the baby is born.”
“Well I don’t want pink or blue, I want turquoise or aqua,” Siona muttered.
“Ugh, you know what I mean. You want to go super girly, which isn’t going to work if you end up with a boy. Why aren’t you finding out again? The vampires know it’s the twenty-first century right? That it’s standard practice to find out the sex of the baby?”
Siona clicked the link labeled “baby boy bedding” and sniffed at the screen. “I know, but we want it to be a surprise. We all want it to be a surprise,” Siona added with emphasis. “I’ll just have to buy stuff for both. I can paint the walls with grey and white stripes, then pick bedding that works for a girl and bedding that works for a boy.” Siona gave a sigh of relief. “There. Now that I have that figured out, let’s go back to the girls’ rooms, I felt like I was getting close to a decision there.”
Kayla snorted across the phone, “Siona, you were deciding between the minute differences of aqua and turquoise. I’m willing to bet a solid seventy-five percent of the population doesn’t even know the difference between the two colors.”
“That’s why I called you, fashionista.”
“You called me because you’re not in contact with anyone else!”
Siona laughed. “True. So it’s lucky that I would have called you anyway.”
Pausing to look at the screen, Siona considered, “I think the aqua is more the feel I’m going for. It’s warmer right?”
“I agree, I think in the end it will be prettier. I also love the gold. Now you have to figure out the boy option.”
“Yup.” Siona said to Kayla, but Siona knew that she wasn’t going to prep for a boy. Her gut told her that this baby was a girl and Siona’s gut had never led her wrong. The thought brought up the memory of the vision she had experienced. The flames and the need to protect overwhelmed her still. The terror Siona had felt in that vision hadn’t faded in the least over the last few months and chills ran up her spine as she relived it.
Shaking the feeling off, Siona decided to delegate. Perhaps her gut wasn’t always right—the baby really could be a boy.
“Kayla, do you mind picking some boys’ stuff for me? You can use the Amazon account to send it. The address is already programed in.”
“Are you sure? After an hour of the turquoise versus aqua debate, I’m surprised you’re trusting me with the task.”
“Well, I have final veto power... but I trust you.”
Kayla paused for a moment on the line and Siona crossed her fingers in the silence.
“It just has to go with grey and white?”
Siona felt a sense of relief when she answered, “Yes,” as Michael walked into the room.
Perfect timing, she thought. Michael was such a large man, he always seemed to fill up the room no matter where he was. Siona thought it might be a special vampire talent, as the bedroom Siona was currently sitting in was larger than many two-bedroom apartments in New York City—yet it suddenly felt as small as a shoebox.
Motioning to Michael that she would just be another minute, Siona finished the call. “All r
ight Kayla, I trust you to pick out boy bedding. Just let me know when you have a plan.”
“This is a lot of pressure, my friend. You’re lucky I love you.”
Siona smiled as Michael walked toward her anyway, “I love you too. Text you later?”
“Of course!” Kayla’s voice sang through the phone before ending the call.
Michael always worked hard to keep his movements slow. Slow for even a human. Not that Siona minded at the moment; it gave her more time to drink in his figure. Tall with thick dark hair and brooding eyes, he was the perfect bad boy. While he shared the same pallor as Valad, his build was completely different. Michael was thick with muscle in a way that made Siona’s heart beat a little faster. If she didn’t know how incredibly careful the man was, Siona thought that he would give an air of danger.
Siona liked to feed that fantasy. That loving him would prove to be a dangerous and passionate experience. In any event, the passion was real. As her pregnancy continued to progress, something entirely unexpected had happened, Siona’s need for sex had skyrocketed. She wanted sex at least once a day and lately Valad had been her sole partner. Looking at Michael right now was making her remember that she really wanted to branch out and feel Michael’s hands on her again.
“Why hello,” Siona purred. “I thought you were out for the day. Aren’t there dragon preparations to be made?”
Michael reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind Siona’s ear, “There is no need for you to worry about dragons in your state.”
Siona wanted to roll her eyes at his caution, instead she leaned into Michael’s hand; nuzzling his rough palm. Siona decided she wanted that palm on the rest of her body right now. Turning her head, Siona kissed and then nipped the center of his palm, playfully suggesting her desire.
The Vampire's Shared Bride Page 10
