Vampire Princess of New York (Arnhem Knights of New York)

by Susan Hanniford Crowley

  “It is a good plan, King Max, but some of the Nesters cannot be mesmerized. We’ve tried.”

  “They haven’t been mesmerized by me. For that reason, I’ll be needing any ancients in the house to join me. Cassius, have you recovered from your injuries well enough?”

  “Yes, my King. I will stand with you.”

  “The older the vampire the better. The mission is capture and mesmerize. We’re going to help them forget us. Pierre and Louis, I need you to keep watch electronically. As soon as I contact you, you are to hack and take down their website. Be sure to save all the information from it and any files attached to it. We’ll be bringing back their computers.”

  “Yes, my King,” Pierre said.

  “Jacques, if you would be so kind to assist Lasalle with the defense of La Maison Rose?”

  “My honor, King Max.”

  “Please, call me Max.”

  “Max, then. I am putting La Maison Rose on lockdown. No one leaves but the King’s team. Four knights on the gatehouse. No packages allowed in. No humans allowed in,” Jacques commanded.

  “Father, we need to get one of their gray hoods. It drained my vampire powers and even sapped my human energy when it was on. I don’t know what happened to the one on me.”

  “I picked it up.” Hatcher tossed it on the table.

  “Good. Lasalle, I want this analyzed.”

  “Donovan?”

  “Yes, Max.”

  “You are now the protector for the Queen and the Princess.”

  Evelyn rushed to the King’s side. “But Max, you . . .”

  “Evie, you cannot be in any kind of danger.” He kissed her and pressed his head to hers.

  Noble knew they were mindtalking and blocking all others. That’s what lifemates did.

  Holding her hand, he walked over to Noble and knelt on one knee. Bless, I almost lost you. I couldn’t bear that. The French vampires told me you suddenly appeared in Donovan’s arms during the fight, after you’d been abducted?

  He teleported me to him before the sunset.

  No vampire has ever done that, Max added.

  She smiled. Donovan did.

  Bless, you don’t have to be the Crown Princess if you don’t want to be. I was wrong to push that on you. It’s enough that you’re my daughter.

  Noble eased herself to the floor and hugged Max, with one arm bringing Evie into that hug too.

  When they stood, Max shook Donovan’s hand then pulled him into a family hug of the four of them. Thank you, Donovan, for saving my Bless’s life.

  She’s mine too.

  After a few minutes, Max left them to join the vampires waiting at the door. “Now let’s go catch humanity sleeping.”

  Chapter 33

  Evie lay on the bed because she wasn’t feeling well and fell asleep. Donovan sat with Noble curled up in his lap as he watched the newest movie version of Dracula on the TV, when he heard the soft knock. Noble moved off him so he could get up and open the bedroom door.

  Max stepped inside and whispered, “It was a success, so far. Cassius and six other ancients are waiting for the four unaccounted for. Is she asleep?”

  Donovan whispered back, “Yes, she was telling us about the cute shop of baby clothes. She wasn’t feeling well, so I encouraged her to lay down. We can move to another room.”

  Max smiled and gathered his wife in his arms. “It’s not necessary. I’ve got her. Thank you for watching over her.”

  “Anytime,” Donovan said.

  “Are you feeling better, Bless?”

  “Yes, Father.” She got up and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Good night.” Max carried Evie out with him, and Donovan closed the door.

  Noble went into the bathroom. Staring into the mirror, she pulled her hair out of the bun. Donovan stood behind her brushing it out.

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Your mother and doctor recommended that I help you. Sha, you have to give your body time to heal from the poisoning. Besides I enjoy it.”

  She laughed, but loved his touch in every way.

  After they were done, he carried her to the bed. She caressed him to tempt him.

  “Not tonight. Not until we get the okay from your doctors.”

  “This is our honeymoon. What fun is that?”

  He kissed her. When they came up for air, he held her close. Noble lay against his chest. “Noble, I will usually say yes to you, but in this case, you have to heal first. I want you and the Bébé to be well.” He spoke to her mind, I love you, Noble. Sleep. Dream with me, and I’ll satisfy your every desire.

  You’re becoming a very talented vampire. When I’m well, I’m going to have you until you beg for mercy. She kissed him hard.

  Donovan smiled and stroked her hair. I’m looking forward to it.

  Three nights later, they were sitting around the table again, this time celebrating the final dissolving of the Nesters. The last slayers were found and their memories altered. Noble knew it was hard for Max when he came across the ones from the car that took her. They had discussed dissecting her. It was in their brains. Max restrained his fury as a father, and did what was best for his kind and kin.

  Now they all laughed with the French vampires around the table, finishing a grand meal. As the Arnhem Knights retreated to the large meeting room on the main floor, the family moved to a parlor off the main bedroom.

  Max and Evie took the love seat closest to the blazing fireplace. Jacques, Margot, and Louis took the sofa and Donovan and Noble the other chair. The seating was a loose half-circle around the fire.

  “How did you become a vampire, Francesca?”

  “We hadn’t heard from you, Mama. Then Grand-mère died. I had nothing. When I told the priest I was going to Paris to find you, he gave me some coins, and with Grand-mère’s last sweet bread wrapped in cloth, I started walking. Afraid, I went to Domrémy first to pray, to ask the aid of Sainte Jeanne D’Arc. Then I walked until it was dark.

  “You went alone?” Margot asked.

  “I had no choice. There was no one to walk with me. The first night I was attacked by bandits. They took the little I had, tied me to a tree, and talked how they would use me. I was fortunate that they drank themselves into a stupor. It was my one chance to get away, but my bounds were too tight. Then I saw her.”

  “Who?” Louis asked.

  “The Maid herself in armor and sword. She cut my bounds and said one word, ‘Run.’ I ran until morning and found refuge for a few hours in a small church many villages away. I don’t know how many days or weeks I walked begging food and sleeping in churches.

  “When I came to Paris looking for Marie Therese Aquilla, no one knew you. Unable to find you, I worked cleaning jobs and fell into the spirit of the Revolution. I held a sword shouting protests to free the prisoners. Then we stormed the Bastille. I was shot and remember falling.”

  Margot wept and leaned on Jacques.

  “Max picked me up, carried me away, and made me a vampire.”

  Max interrupted. “She was a magnificent warrior. Still is for that matter. I told her that she was the noblest of creatures. I named her Noblest.”

  Noble smiled and added, “I named myself Noblesse, because I thought I was damned. It took me a long time to adjust to being a vampire. Max, being an excellent father, was very patient. He taught me how to be a civilized vampire, and how to run what would become an international business.”

  Margot sighed and wiped her eyes. “You became a vampire because of me.”

  “No, Mama. I believe that I’ve been watched over. I have not always felt I was fortunate, but now I know I am.” Noble kissed Donovan on the cheek. “I’m a very happy vampire. Don’t cry, Mama. How did you become a vampire?”

&nbs
p; Margot smiled and held Jacques’s hand. “I was working in the kitchen of the palace, when Princess Sophie became ill. The queen heard I had experience as a healer and asked to see me. Only nobility could touch the royal children, so the queen had me finely dressed and called me ‘Lady Aquilla’. She told her ladies that I was robbed while traveling, and afterward mistaken for a commoner. She said that the name belonged to a noble family of Italy. I did not argue with the queen. The baby princess was gravely ill, and she asked me to help her care for the child.”

  Louis looked straight into the fire, pain etched on his face.

  “I tried everything I could think of for the little one, but she died. The queen did not blame me. Then I became ill, and she hired Jacques and his sister Gabrielle to care for me. She did not miss that I cared for Jacques, who did a variety of jobs at the palace.”

  Jacques said, “When I knew your mother was dying, I changed her. The queen heard she had died and paid me to provide a proper burial for the ‘sweet lady’. I had to buy a casket and have a mass and burial. I purchased the plot in St. Marguerite’s. In the middle of the night, I dug her up so she would not awaken terrified of being buried alive.”

  “What happened to your sister?” Noble asked.

  “When she became ill, I tried to change her too. She did not survive. Gabrielle is buried in the grave at St. Marguerite’s.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How did you become a vampire, Louis?” Max asked.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. You may if you wish, Father.” Louis continued to stare into the fire.

  “We smuggled Louis out of Temple Prison. He was only ten. We replaced him with another boy’s body already dead from disease,” Jacques said.

  “Some of the books say that there were witnesses with him when he died.”

  “Mesmerization is a wonderful tool.” Noble’s mother smiled and winked at Donovan.

  “But there is DNA evidence from the prince’s heart interred at St. Denis,” Noble said.

  “Ever hear of tampering with evidence?” Jacques asked. “It was in Louis’s best interest that the world think him dead.”

  “You aged him with Shuma Moot?” Max asked.

  “Yes. We needed to age him fast, so we could leave Paris for a while,” Jacques said.

  Louis looked angry and sad at the same time, but he didn’t add to the conversation on his life. Noble felt torment radiating from him. She reached into her pocket and took out the little book.

  “We are family here, wouldn’t you agree, Louis, my brother?”

  “Sure.”

  “A French writing desk that Donovan bought for me survived the explosion at the Arnhem Society, though it did break in half. In it we found the little book with the information about my mother and Jacques. It’s a dear book written by a mother, mostly about the love she had for her children.”

  Noble stood up and walked over to Louis, who looked confused. “It has helped a great deal in my life. I give to you, because by rights it is yours.” She handed him the book, and he opened it.

  “What is it, Francesca?” her mother asked.

  “It is a diary of Queen Marie Antoinette, hidden for centuries.”

  Louis’s expression melted into sorrow, as he read. A blood tear slipped down his cheek. “Thank you, my sister Francesca.”

  Noble returned to snuggle with Donovan in the love seat. The family sat quietly together watching the fire for a long time.

  Louis stood facing the fire, swinging his arm as if to throw, but in the last minute held the little book against his heart instead. He sat back down.

  “Max, I was thinking. There is an open meeting of the United Vampires of Paris. If you were to speak, who knows how many vampires might be willing to give up hunting. Will you come with me to the catacombs?” Jacques asked.

  “I will.” Max stood up.

  Evelyn stood up. “Me too.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Noble thought Evie was wonderful.

  “No, Evie, you’re . . .”

  “I will not, Max. You promised that wherever you go, I go. I made the exception when you asked me to stay and care for Noble. This time I’m going.”

  The family laughed, but Max looked horrified.

  Donovan, do you want to go? Noble asked.

  We will both go, he answered, standing with her.

  “We’re going too,” Donovan said.

  “Everyone doesn’t have to go,” Max said.

  “It’s settled. We’re all going to the meeting,” Noble said.

  “I’m concerned over the ladies getting sick.”

  “Do not worry, Max.” Louis sprang into action. “I will teleport them out, if they become ill.”

  Why do you want to go, Bless? Max complained in her head.

  Because, Father, I am French.

  “Of course, you will want to bring some of the Knights of La Maison Rose with you,” Jacques suggested. “It will make a good appearance before the crowd.”

  “Do many vampires attend these meetings?” Max asked.

  “They will when I spread the word that the King of New York will be there.”

  It took only a few minutes to call all the knights together in the main room. Max asked for six volunteers to be their honor guard at the meeting in the catacombs. Hatcher, Cassandra, Cassius, and Lasalle were the first to volunteer. Pierre added his voice.

  Jeanne walked up to the family. “I will go.”

  “We are going into the catacombs.” Noble remembered what Jeanne had said about hating the catacombs and living in fear.

  “I will go wherever my Princess goes.”

  Noble stayed close to Donovan. Following the French family through the streets of Paris, they went into a small restaurant and down into the basement.

  “This is the way to the catacombs?” Max asked.

  Two vampires came downstairs. “Yes, Monsieur Président.”

  Jacques made introductions. One of the vampires owned the restaurant upstairs. The two moved a refrigerator to one side revealing a cavernous opening.

  “Here,” Jacques said, “is one of the private entrances to the catacombs.”

  They followed the others down unlit corridors, floated over rotting wooden bridges, down into the depths past where pipes or wires intruded into an ancient world carved out from quarries. Entering a huge hall, part cavern and part carved ballroom, they walked past hundreds of vampires. Jacques led them up a platform where a council sat in chairs.

  One of the council members introduced their president to a cheering crowd.

  Donovan watched it all, taking it in. More vampires entered the hall, until they numbered a thousand or more. Jacques talked about his dream for the vampires of Paris, to make their lives better, to live above ground. He spoke of the new alliance with New York and Paris, and the blood banks Max’s company would be opening, which would also be hiring.

  Then he introduced King Maximillion and Queen Evelyn of New York. Max spoke in French about the end of the Nesters and the cooperation between the warriors of Paris and the Arnhem Knights.

  Noble touched her father on the shoulder. He smiled and stepped back, introducing the Crown Princess of New York. She said in her beautiful French like music, “I am French. I was born in a village that no longer exists called Petite Colline. During the storming of the Bastille, I was shot down, my human life ending. My father King Maximillion made me his daughter.” The crowd cheered. The French vampires loved her.

  “This is my husband, Prince Donovan, who is Louisiana French. Our family of New York is also your family. Margot LeClerc was my human mother, so the alliance between New York and Paris is a blood alliance.” At
this point, Noble sent the message to the others to join hands and then raise them. The crowd roared its approval.

  When they were quiet again, Noble continued, “New York stands with Paris. We are on the verge of a New Age that will change all our lives for the better. For those that wish, you can sign a list asking to move to the surface. It will take time to accommodate everyone, so please, be patient. Animal blood and donated human blood will give you the freedom of the modern age. There’s so much news to share, and Jacques will share it with you.”

  Noble stepped back and Jacques spoke again about the wonderful new life that they all could aspire too. Modern vampires didn’t need to hunt. There were better things to do. They would no longer live in the dark and the dirt. A new way of living awaited them all.

  Before long, the speeches ended. As the family walked through the crowd, vampires walked up to them and shook their hands. A woman stepped in front of the princess and fell to her knees.

  Jeanne stepped between them.

  “It’s all right, Jeanne.” Noble knelt and lifted the woman up. “Please, don’t bow.”

  “Please, we’re going to be able to leave the catacombs?”

  “That is the plan if you want it.” Noble hugged her, and the woman cried.

  Then the woman stepped aside, and they continued moving through the crowd. Noble heard a whimper behind her. Evie looked pale. She caught her before the queen fell. Donovan was quickly at her side and lifted his daughter into his arms.

  “What is wrong with the queen?” one woman asked, and within minutes her words were echoed throughout the hall on hundreds of lips.

  Noble smiled. “She is going to have a baby. It’s only a small thing, not to worry.”

  Margot was first by their side and put her hand on Evelyn. “She is going to be well and her son too.” People cheered.

  “We’re going to have a son!” Max smiled and took Evie from Donovan. “We’re going back to La Maison Rose. See you there.”