All I could think of was her.
It pissed me right the fuck off when I saw her sitting around the table with the witches. Witches from the Coven of Shadows.
It was unacceptable for a witch to be with a vampire. But that didn’t usually stop them.
A witch from the Coven of Shadows though... that was another story.
The coven had witches with powers from the old world. Pure in essence, pure in everything. The same as my brothers and I were different from other vampires.
We of the Order of Raphael were pure bloods too. As in we were of the direct lineage of the vampire Raphael. To us, he was like Adam to the human race. The first vampire to be created. The first to possess true powers. Unlike the pop fiction vamps humans romanticized about we didn’t need blood, and we didn’t need it to survive. We drank it though. Animal blood. Drank it for the taste. Our kind were unlike any other and different from the other types of vampires
The other types of vamps, the soulless mixture of abominations that had been created over the centuries, needed human blood. They were the kind we tried to control. They were the kind that we worked endless hours trying to ensure they lived by the laws and didn’t overstep boundaries.
“What do you think father would say?” Virgil asked.
That was a good question. What would father say?
I sat on the window bay and looked at the two of them.
“Who knows what the fuck he would say?” I grinned.
Ivan frowned at me. “He helped set up the constitution Tristan. In his time etherstones were a thing people had to worry about. People of that time worked hard to get rid of them.”
“At least old Abram isn’t suggesting that right?” I laughed. My brothers did not find my humor amusing at all.
Ivan was the eldest of us at two hundred years old, Virgil was one fifty and me a hundred. The order of our leadership was however based on insight, according to our father.
Ivan was leader, me next in command, then Virgil. That was how Father set up the order to run prior to his death twenty years ago.
Before us was him and our uncle, Neo. The Order was always run by brothers.
One to lead and two at his side, and when we voted for something the votes were taken in order of importance in that fashion also. It simply meant that if I decided something and it was against the two of them they couldn’t go against me.
For us that meant we were mostly always at each other’s throats. When it came to business.
On a personal level, there wasn’t a soul I would trust more than my brothers.
“Tristan, now’s not the time to play around.” Virgil stated joining Ivan on the sofa.
“Who’s playing around brother? Not me. You all trust Abram so much you voted to keep him as president of the council.”
“You voted with us.” Ivan straightened up.
“Because you voted to support him and we would have been in the minority. There was no point voting for anything else.” Every fifty years there was a vote for the new council leaders. Abram had been in charge for the last three hundred years. To me it was a case of people sticking to what they knew and not willing to try something new. A something new might have even been to give Claire a chance and put her husband to the back seat.
I loved a woman who could talk and give as much as she got. Prudence was like that. She could do it too if everyone wanted to keep things in that family.
Abram though... he thought he was God with his clean cut ways and holier than thou attitude.
“That’s not the point now. I vote for the stone to be investigated further and I hope you won’t dick around and vote against me.” Ivan glared at me.
I simply shrugged.
“I vote we let the wolves do all the heavy lifting. That Lucian has a mouth on him. Bet he’d love to bite old Abram’s head off and eat it.”
Virgil chuckled but stopped when Ivan cut him a sharp glance.
“It was funny.” Virgil shrugged. “I could imagine it.”
“Don’t encourage him with his foolishness.”
“Ivan, bro, get your head out of your ass. I’m right. The only person who was chewing old Abe out was Lucian. He was right too. I agree with him completely.”
A vampire agreeing with a lycan was cause for some sort of holiday observance because even though we sat around that table all in union with each other, vampires still had a thing against lycans and vice versa.
The man was right though. Damn right.
“You really think Lucian was right?” Ivan sighed and gave me his full attention.
I nodded. “Oh yes. Let’s think about it. Who is Caleb?”
Virgil shook his head. “I don’t even know. Until today I didn’t know him, or that he existed.”
“Dragon shifters don’t tend to mix with anybody except humans. They aren’t part of the constitution.”
After the big war centuries ago, they went their separate ways. Most of their guardians however continued to guard magical beings. It was what they did.
“Exactly, so we have this Caleb person and he suddenly gets someone to create an etherstone so he can claim his kingdom and be king. Come on guys?”
They were starting to see my point. “It makes no sense.”
“Oh, it makes sense alright, just not the type of senses Abe’s making it out to be or what we’re thinking. Sure I agree that Caleb showed his use of the etherstone was personal to him, but I think it was just something he did on the side. I think it was part of a bigger plan. Pandir was for him, but he was working for someone else. For a different cause.”
They both looked at each other then back to me.
Ivan stood up. “What are you saying Tristan?”
“Smells like Razul’s followers to me.”
They both tensed.
I was surprised no one had suggested that at the council meeting. It was the first thing I’d thought after Abram told us what happened. I thought it was almost obvious. No one mentioned it though, and I was too fascinated with my new toy to continue an argument that would go nowhere.
Abram put the cards on the table and I knew how things worked. If he thought the stone should go to the Shadowlands, he’d make sure the votes went that way.
I didn’t fail to notice how he just adjourned the meeting without asking if we had any questions first.
Again, if I wasn’t so fascinated with my new toy I would have said a thing or two about that.
“Razul?” Ivan asked tensing his jaw. “What made you think that?”
I hopped off the window bay. Ivan was so noble. Looking at him I could tell he thought it too. Maybe not as obvious as it was to me but it passed through his mind.
“It’s obvious Ivan.”
Razul was a hell god who’d wanted to take over all the realms. He wanted unlimited power and to rule over everything and everyone.
The war centuries ago sent him to the deepest corner of the underworld. A world deep in the chasms of the darkest realm of hell. It was a place where there was no return. Yet his acolytes resurfaced every once in a while with all their attempts to free him.
“The last attempt was nearly successful,” Virgil offered.
“Damn near.” I smirked.
The whole thing happened before anyone could really get involved, and if anyone had they wouldn’t have had the power to do anything.
It took a wraith possessed sentinel and a syph to stop the necromancer and the sorceress who were trying to free Razul.
Dante, the wraith possessed sentinel was a fallen angel. The kind of guy I could get on with because we shared the same sort of characteristics, and had that abhorrence for authority. The syph, who was now his fiancé was something I never knew existed. She had the ability to copy any power she chose.
The necromancer and the sorceress Balmora were going to use the Syph to steal power from a star that could unlock Razul from wherever the hell he’d been placed in hell.
Dante stopped that from happening but he also rewrote history
by changing Balmora’s path. It took the flaming swords from the Garden of Eden, the help of Dante’s brother Malachi, who was a sentinel too, and all the power in the world to stop that from happening.
Beings like that didn’t just come around often. And, not in the same place or the same time.
It looked like Razul’s one shot.
Unless someone else found another way.
“What now brother? If you suspect it’s Razul’s followers we have to say something. Can’t leave it to the wolves. They didn’t guess that.”
“They will, it will become obvious when people think about it. I’m just not sure who will make the point and stand up to Abram’s idea.”
“We will.” Ivan nodded. “We fucking will. This isn’t about changing some law or something random like that. There’s more to this and it needs checking out.”
“Fine. Let me know when you want to talk more about it.” I was done with this for today. I had some research to do before tonight. Research on Gabrielle.
Ivan frowned and gave me a look of pure disapproval. “We’re talking now Tristan.”
“No, I’m done. I gave my piece.” I headed toward the door.
“Leave the witch alone Tristan.” Ivan called out stopping me in my tracks.
I turned to face him and smiled. “What makes you think I’m going after the witch?”
“Really?” Ivan tilted his head to the side, allowing his blonde locks to drift over his shoulders.
“I haven’t said.”
“You were staring at her through the whole meeting. You’re lucky Prudence didn’t try to kill you.”
“You’re right by saying try. She could try and she would fail.” Pru and I had a sort of love, hate relationship. More on the hate side. She thought I was an asshole who had no regard for the laws, and made it his duty to tempt young witches into breaking the rules.
She was right. To some extent.
“She could give you a run Tristan.” Virgil laughed.
“Sounds like you want a run with the witch, brother. Prudence needs to get laid, have sex with someone other than herself. A pretty girl like that locked up in a castle with all those rules and laws will make you too pent up and lack social skills. Do her a favor and set her free.”
Poor Virgil, he tried to be serious, he really did but he couldn’t always do it and keep a serious face on with some of the things I said.
“Stop distracting him.” Ivan raised his brows. “The new girl, Tristan. Stay away from her. She’s a witch from the Coven of Shadows. You know what that means. You know it. Do not venture down that path.”
“Yes sire,” I teased, bowing my head, and turned to go on my merry way.
Ivan could be such a prick sometimes. Who the fuck did he think he was talking to. He thought just because he was older and in charge he had some advantage over me. Like everything else he told me to do, I was just going to ignore him.
Asshole, he was the one who needed to get laid.
I didn’t need a reminder of the law. It didn’t apply to me in this instance.
Nope, it did not.
The little witch and I had a secret, but that wasn’t why we were both exempt from the law.
She could travel the dream plane, that meant she could also walk the ghost roads. And the astral planes. Any kind of plane where the soul could be separated from the body.
Witches could not do that.
Witches, vampires, lycans, werewolves, dragon shifters and some fae folk all had some element of human characteristics between them. However, of the bunch, witches didn’t have that element of control over their souls. They couldn’t separate the body from the soul. Had to do with the magic. The magic was tied to their souls.
My brothers and I weren’t undead like the other types of vampires. So, we had souls, could have children, when we died we didn’t fade away to ashes and we could walk around in the sunlight.
Different, just like her. My dearest Gabrielle who was no mere witch.
She was something else entirely.
She was something else, and right now it looked like I was the only person who had the privilege of knowing that.
It was a good feeling.
Books first. Very few things made me head to the library for anything. She made me curious to find out more about her.
I sensed something more at work with her. Same as I knew that stone was just a piece of the puzzle. Part of the bigger picture.
So, library first then fun later.
Chapter 4
Gabrielle
***
It was getting late and I was getting more tired by the minute.
My bed was screaming for me to jump in it but I couldn’t do it.
Earlier when I went to sleep I couldn’t wait to see him. I’d been going for naps a few times a day since I’d been here and telling everyone I was still suffering from the effects of the ordeal three weeks ago.
Nothing was further from the truth.
While Pru put it down to the effects of being sucked into a portal and recommended as much bed rest as possible until I felt better, I’d rejoiced for the alone time I got. A few times I called Ariyah. But, I spent more time asleep getting nasty with Tristan.
My God, I couldn’t believe it was all real.
I was really with him. sure not my physical body but my soul, or possibly my astral self.
That was what the books said it could be.
I was in the library looking through a number of reference books and journals on astral projection and soul separation. I’d been reading and reading but hadn’t come across any witches who could do it. There were a few creatures however who could.
Vampires were one. Vampires from the order of Raphael. Vampires like Tristan.
I didn’t even know there were different types of vampires.
I didn’t read much about it because I was so eager to find out more about my power.
“Hey you.” Pru smiled when she popped her head in and looked up at me on the upper deck with a mountain of books on the table.
She came inside holding two mugs of what I knew was hot chocolate
She brought some to me last night.
I relaxed a little just seeing her.
“Hey, thanks for this. I really appreciate it.” I gave her a warm smile.
She sat down and set the cups on the table. “I know you do. Sorry I didn’t come check on you before. I had some stuff to sort out at the school.”
Pru was a teacher at the magic school. She taught potions and magical cures. It sounded interesting and there was talk of me joining in on some of her classes. I was looking forward to that.
“Was everything okay?”
“Yes. Teenagers, God. I can’t remember being any kind of trouble when I was one. Not like some of these.”
“What happened?”
Pru laughed and ran a hand through her hair messing it up. “Really, you want to know about that? You don’t want to talk about Mr. Asshole staring you down in the meeting earlier?”
My shoulders slumped. If only she knew, or maybe it was best that she didn’t.
“Well, I just figured since I was new ... um he wondered who I was.” I couldn’t even get the words out properly before Pru started laughing.
“Gabrielle, we’re close to the same age right? I’m thirty. You’re twenty eight. We know how men work. Vampires are worse than the men that you’re used to, and you have to know how to deal with them.”
“What do you mean? How much worse can they be?”
“Back in the human realm did you ever come across a guy who would just look at you in such an obviously scandalous, sexual way in front of everyone, and think that was okay?”
“No, but there are some guys who would do that I’m sure. Maybe.”
“Oh please. The guy who did that would be asking for an argument at the least. I know if I saw someone looking at me like that I’d want to call the police or someone like that if I were in the human realm. Here, I’d just h
it him with a fire ball.
“Pru, I don’t know what to think.”
“Just avoid them and if you see him again don’t speak to him. Seriously, he’s not worth the hassle.”
I doubted it was that easy. I’d already jumped straight into the fire from this afternoon. What the hell would she have thought if she saw us together in my room?
Avoidance though was exactly my plan. That’s why I was doing my best to stay awake. No sleep for me tonight and if I didn’t fall asleep I wouldn’t get sucked in to temptation in my dreams.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be at the meeting.” Best to cover all bases, especially until I knew a little more about my powers. ‘There’s no need for me to join you guys at the next one. Right?”
“It’s not normally that bad, but I hear you. Father just wanted to introduce you and show you to everyone. He has a thing about being upfront.”
“They don’t trust him?”
“I fear so, and they aren’t exactly the friendliest bunch.”
“Those vampires certainly had their opinions. The head of the werewolves too.” I thought I’d jump back to the subject. Reading was great and gave great knowledge that I could use, but hearing her opinion was worth a lot more.
“They’re always like that. Today they were more vocal I guess, and with reason. If your worried about the asshole don’t be, he’s just rude and obnoxious.”
“What’s their story? Their different right?”
“Yes, completely. Forget everything you’ve read about Vampires. These guys are a whole other race of immortal beings. I don’t even fully understand their power and I suspect they want to keep it that way.”
“They can separate their souls?”
She looked impressed. “Wow girl, you have been reading. Did he freak you out that much?”
“I just wanted to know more.”
Curiosity lit up her bright blue eyes. “Translation, you thought he was hot.”
“No.” I would have sounded more convincing if I’d kept the tremor out of my voice.
“Again, you don’t have to lie to me. Lie to my mom, definitely to my Father. Not to me though. With Juliana, watch your back.”
“She doesn’t like me does she?”
“No.”
Tempted by The Vampire Page 3
