Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  “Why on earth would you bring Teller up at a time like this?” They hadn’t seen Teller in well over three hundred years. He hadn’t even written in a long time.

  “I shouldn’t have. The tattoo is amazing and I’m grateful you’re mine. Sometimes I still can’t believe you chose me, that’s all,” Elijah said.

  “Of course I chose you. I could not ask for a better friend, husband and lover.”

  It was as if Elijah had been forcing himself to look at her face and he could no longer resist. He had to see if his mark was still on her — a mark that would never disappear. He kissed the tattoo and ran his hands gently over her exposed breasts. He grabbed her waist and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him and he carried her to the bed. That was when they heard the arguing.

  “What’s that about?” Elijah asked.

  “Well ... we all got tattoos.” Val gave him a sheepish smile.

  “Who?”

  “Us girls.”

  “It sounds as if Samuel is not happy about it.” Elijah jumped up and pulled his shirt off. He put it over Val’s head just as their door flew opened. Val pulled Elijah’s shirt down to cover her.

  Samuel stopped short at the sight of Elijah’s tattoo. “So it’s true; you did get one.”

  “It is just as I said.” Mari appeared behind Samuel. She too stopped short at the sight of Elijah. “Oh my, it’s bigger than I’d expected.”

  Elijah shifted uncomfortably under their stares. He went to the dresser and quickly put on a black t-shirt.

  Mari pulled the collar of Elijah’s shirt down revealing Val’s tattoo. “You see.”

  Samuel’s frown deepened. “Simply because they did something foolish, you had to as well? I don’t approve of that thing on your body. We live forever and now you all will be stuck with that … that … so called art, for an eternity. People don’t even know what true art is anymore.” He spun on his heal and was gone.

  “Give it some time. Perhaps it’ll grow on you.” Elijah said to Samuel's back.

  Val whispered, “Sorry,” to Mari.

  “I don’t care,” she said. “I like it. It’s my body after all.”

  Val smiled. There’s Mari’s stubborn side. “Elijah’s right, Samuel will come around. I know it’s hard to accept new things. Some of us don’t want to let go of our old ways.”

  Riddick and Aaron appeared in the doorway.

  “What’s all this talk about tattoos?” Riddick asked.

  Mari pulled Val’s shirt collar down again to reveal the “C”.

  “That’s …” Aaron started.

  “Cool.” Riddick finished his sentence. He stared at it for a bit too long.

  Elijah pulled the shirt up to cover his wife.

  Aaron boldly lifted Elijah’s shirt to inspect his tattoo.

  “Since when do we undress one another?” Elijah said.

  “We can’t very well be the only ones without tattoos.” Riddick said to Aaron. They headed out at once.

  “Wait.” Val pulled Elijah’s drawing of the “C” out of her pocket. “You’ll need this.”

  Riddick took it with the slightest bow. “Thank you, My Lady.”

  “Will you stop calling me that? It sounds ridiculous in this day and age.” Val had not cared for the title ‘My Lady’ even back when it was common and proper.

  “Old habits are difficult to break, My Lady.” Riddick winked.

  Val sighed.

  Riddick and Aaron disappeared.

  “I fear I may have created a monster,” Elijah said. “I’m going to join them … to make sure they stay out of trouble.”

  “Good luck with that,” Mari spat.

  If the vampire ladies freaked the poor tattoo artist out, Val could only imagine what the human would think of these strange men.

  The men were out until late that night. When they returned the old friends drank and played games as usual but this time the coven’s new tattoos were the main topic of interest.

  Val raised her glass of well-aged wine from their cellar. “To being a member of the Chastellain family.”

  “To the High Court of Elders,” Elijah added.

  “So we have to get a tattoo to prove our loyalty to the Court?” Samuel sneered.

  “Of course not, my dear friend,” Elijah said.

  With reluctance, Samuel raised his glass and tapped it against the others.

  Chapter 11 New York 2000 A.D

  Samuel did eventually get the Chastellain tattoo. This was only the beginning of tattoos for Riddick. Eventually he had sleeves covering both arms. More ran across his chest and back.

  Vallachia decided that it was long overdue that she had professional photos taken. Pictures were a neat technology but when one never changed, they were not of great importance.

  When Elijah entered their room, he caught the scent of a human. He raised his eye-brows in question.

  “I hired a photographer. After all, we never had wedding photos taken.” Val gave Elijah a knowing look. Of course they had no wedding photos, because no one could have dreamt of a camera back in 1462.

  “Well at least we did take a honeymoon. One of the first ever, I’d imagine.” Elijah said.

  Val smiled at the memory. “That we did, thanks to Riddick’s crazy idea about newlyweds getting away to be alone. The concept of honeymoons did take off after all.”

  Elijah chuckled.

  The photographer struggled to make out what they were saying. So Val continued in a louder voice, “So you’re fine with having our pictures taken?”

  “For you, my dear, anything,” Elijah replied.

  “Anything?” Val issued a playful grin. “You may want to amend that after you find out what I have in mind.”

  The photographer had them pose in different positions first inside and then on the balcony.

  “I want pictures of our tattoos,” Val said.

  “Isn’t that a bit personal, honey?” Elijah said this quietly so the human would not hear.

  Val unbuttoned his Ralph Lauren dress shirt. “Please, darling. You promised — anything.”

  They had come from a time when the body was to be kept completely covered. They were both uncomfortable at first. But once they became accustomed to being mostly naked, they got some wonderful shots. The photographer positioned them strategically so that Elijah’s arm would be covering Val’s breasts or they were intertwined sensually with each other.

  The photographer appeared to be greatly enjoying himself. “Are you like — models or actors or something?”

  “No.” Val laughed.

  “Well you should be,” he said.

  “We have too many scars to be models,” Elijah said.

  Elijah had several thin lines across his face from the explosion in Ramdasha’s cavern and many others that were barely visible. Val had more scars than Elijah; her back, hip and arm contained the worst of them. If one survived several centuries of medieval vampire wars, one was bound to have some nasty scars.

  Val had the best photos framed and used them to decorate their bedchamber walls.

  Time continued to float along. They had to do something to pass the endless years. They all had their favorite hobbies. Val had always loved to dance. She and Elijah learned the latest moves. Circles would form around them as the crowd stopped to watch the handsome couple.

  Val’s friends were expert musicians. They spent countless hours playing together — singing and dancing. Sonia was the best singer amongst them. Mari grew to be a spectacular artist. Her paintings hung all over the manor. Aaron had always been a writer. He started by documenting children’s fairy stories from around the world. His immense collection grew to contain many histories and anthologies. These were the grandest of times — carefree and full of joy.

  Chapter 12 New York 2020 A.D

  The High Court of Elders were beginning to think that peace might last forever and in some ways they had let their guard down. Everything changed when Val woke after an uneasy rest. Elijah sat next t
o her, his head was in his hands and his back heaved with each breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Val rubbed his shoulders to calm him.

  When he lay down, he wrapped himself around Val. “It was only a dream,” he whispered.

  “About what?”

  “Surely it’s nothing.”

  “You’re not usually this upset over a dream.” In fact, Val could never remember a dream disturbing him before.

  “It was … incredibly vivid. There was a large red dragon. It was after you. I tried to fight it off but in the end it swooped you up in its talons and flew away, taking you from me.”

  Val was reminded of her dreams about a dragon, in which Teller had become a ferocious winged serpent. They too had seemed real. This was madness though, as they had not seen Teller in ages — three hundred and fifty-six years, but who was counting? Still the dream worried Val. She never told Elijah about her premonition dream of Teller and the dragon, which she'd had the day before they learned that Teller had become Vlad the Impaler. Elijah looked worried enough and she didn’t want to burden him more, so she decided it was best not to tell him.

  “It was simply a dream. Everything is fine.” Val was not only trying to comfort Elijah, she was also trying to convince herself of this. Yet Teller is the only one who stood any chance of taking me from Elijah. If he returned it would be positively wonderful to see him … and feel his electrifying touch. Would I still be strong enough to resist him? Then she chastised herself for being arrogant enough to think that Teller would still want her after all these years. It’s been so long since he was with us; surely he has moved on. Of course, he must be happily married by now, so there is nothing to worry about — right?

  Unfortunately, Elijah was thinking along the same lines. “Dracul means dragon, correct?”

  “Aye,” Val said with a heavy sigh.

  “That’s what I was afraid of.” Elijah stood and dressed. His brow was furrowed with determination.

  “Where are you going?” Val asked.

  “For a walk.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No.” The unusual sharpness in his voice caused Val to recoil. Elijah softened his expression. “I’m sorry. I need some time to gather my thoughts.” He kissed her forehead before he took flight from the balcony.

  Vallachia watched him go with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She could not fully place it. It wasn’t only Elijah’s dream; there was something else bothering her. She could not shake her uneasiness; it hung over her the entire day.

  At dusk Val could no longer stand it, she called him — no answer. She went to the Great Hall and found no one. She headed to Mari and Samuel’s room.

  Mari frowned when she saw Val’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you seen Elijah? He left this morning. He was … troubled. I haven’t seen him since.”

  “We haven’t seen him today. Why was he upset?” Mari asked.

  Val’s heart quickened. Don’t panic. He is fine. “I must find him.” She headed out.

  “Wait. I’ll go with you.” Mari sped after her.

  On the way to the horse stables Val told Mari about the dragon dream and Elijah leaving to “gather his thoughts”. All the horses were accounted for. He was not out riding. Val asked anyone she came across if they had seen Elijah. No one had. She called him again — no luck. This was the problem with a two hundred room home — he could be anywhere. They had never found another secret place like the cave they'd had in Copenhagen so Val had no idea where else to look.

  Val fought against the helplessness that threatened to consume her. Something deep down in her gut told her that he was in trouble. “Where could he be?” she yelled in frustration.

  “Try not to worry. He may simply need more time. Surely he’ll return soon,” Mari said.

  Val hoped she was right but knew that something was wrong — terribly wrong. When the sun was on the rise, Val went to Riddick. “Take as many of our best men as you think you will need and look for Elijah. Split up so you have more of a chance of finding him. I’ll wait here in case he returns.”

  Riddick nodded and was gone. He was always happy to take action. Val paced in their room, glancing at the large balcony doors in hopes of seeing him there. Mari sat on the sofa to keep her company.

  “It’s not like Elijah to get upset over a dream,” Mari said.

  “I know — that’s why I’m worried. This isn’t only about a stupid dream.”

  Val stepped out onto the large balcony and scanned the horizon for any sign of him. “The winds have changed. This morning they blew in from the north; now they're coming from the south.”

  Mari stared into the distance as well. “Does that mean change is coming?”

  “It feels like it,” Val said.

  Mari nodded.

  Riddick barged in. Val’s heart sank even farther at the expression on his face.

  “We followed his scent and found this,” he held up a cell phone, “then we lost the scent entirely, as if he vanished. Our men are searching the area as we speak.”

  Val took the phone and slid her finger across the bottom of the screen to open it. She typed V-A-L-L — Elijah’s code. The phone opened to reveal the background picture of the two of them, mostly naked revealing their matching tattoos. Val showed the phone to Mari. There was no mistaking that it was Elijah’s. “What does this mean? Why would he leave his phone behind?”

  “I suppose he could have dropped it,” Mari said.

  “Vampires don’t drop anything, not by accident anyway,” Riddick said.

  “Maybe he doesn’t want us to contact him?” Mari failed to hide the concern in her voice.

  “Most likely he dropped it on purpose so we would find it,” Riddick offered.

  “That’s what frightens me. Is he telling us that he’s in trouble?” Val asked. She rubbed at the pain in her stomach.

  They heard a commotion downstairs. The three vampires took off in a flash.

  Chapter 13 New York 2020 A.D

  “Let go of me! I have to see her,” a man’s voice rang out. This was followed by the loud cracking sounds of vampires fighting. Mari and Val exchanged a concerned look as they recognized the voice. When they reached the main foyer, they could see ten guards trying to restrain Teller, Abdullah and the twins. The guards were not faring very well.

  “Stop,” Val yelled, “Let them go!”

  This the guards did at once. Teller was on his knees so Val joined him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He placed his arms around her waist as the shock ran through them. It was a moment of total pleasure. Val could forget her troubles, even if it was only for a brief moment.

  “Apparently he does know the Queen,” one of the guards said.

  “I’ve come to warn you,” Teller whispered. “You and Elijah are in danger.”

  Val pulled away enough to look into his eyes. His eyes were dark, he was truly shaken. Val’s heart raced. Elijah is in trouble. “You may be too late,” she whispered. She pulled Teller to his feet as she stood. Val didn’t let go of his hand. It was as if she had to feel his electric touch; it stabilized her, which she greatly needed. Val bowed slightly to Teller’s comrades. “It is good to see you all again, Abdullah, Cosmin, Costel.”

  They bowed deeply in return.

  John had appeared at the sound of the commotion. He never missed anything that happened within these walls.

  “Gather the leaders of the Court for a meeting in the Great Hall,” Val ordered.

  With a nod John was gone. Riddick followed after him.

  Mari gave Teller a hug. “It is good that you are here. Yet, I’m still furious with you.”

  Teller gave her a weary smile. “I am truly sorry for not saying goodbye. Surely you understand why I had to leave?” he emphasized his point with a glance to Vallachia.

  “Yes, well, I’m relieved that you are alive and well,” Mari said. She took Teller’s free arm in hers, as they headed toward the Great H
all.

  “It’s wonderful to see you both. I only wish it were under better circumstances.”

  Val shot a worried look to Mari.

  “I had better talk to you in private before meeting with the entire Court. That way you can decide what to tell them,” Teller said.

  “Why would we not tell them everything?” Val asked.

  “To avoid panic. You may want to choose a … certain level of discretion.”

  “You’re beginning to frighten me,” Val said.

  “Good. You should be. Listen to my story; then you can do whatever you think is best. Where’s Elijah? He needs to hear what I have to say.”

  “He has been missing for more than a day now. I have men out searching for him.”

  “Then we can’t waste another moment.” Teller spoke quickly. “A couple of weeks ago I was walking the streets of Shanghai. I was alone and it was late, when a coven of vampires surrounded me. None of them were familiar, which was odd, as I know everyone in those parts. The vampires attacked. I fought them off but some of them were chanting in … some strange language. My mind grew blurry, it was as if I couldn’t think. One of them injected me with something. I assume it was an incredibly high dose of anesthetic. It must have been enough to knock out a vampire because I slowly slipped into darkness. When I woke, I found myself in heavy chains on a hospital bed. The only faces I recognized were those of Neacsa and her faithful servant — whose name I don’t remember.”

  Val inhaled shapely. “Your wife … or Ramdasha’s widow — whomever she is? She is alive.” Her heart pounded against her chest as she envisioned this exact same thing happening to Elijah. He must have been captured by her as well!

  “Doesn’t Neacsa go by Elda?” Mari asked.

  “I first knew her as Neacsa. She will always be Neacsa to me,” Teller answered.

  “What happened next?” Val asked.

  “They kept me drugged and I only caught bits and pieces when the drug would wear off enough for me to regain consciousness. Then they would knock me out again. What I was able to gather was that they thought they needed my blood. I’m not entirely sure why. In the end it became apparent that it was not my blood they needed after all. Neacsa grew frustrated because whatever they were trying to do was not working. They said something to the effect of, ‘He must not be the one. We need the blood of the Queen’s true love.’ Some of Neacsa’s people were certain that I was the one they needed, so Neacsa was convinced to try one more time. They took more blood and she said that if it did not work this time then they would kill me. What was it they said about why I had to die? … ‘To ensure that the chosen ones could not come to be’.”