by Vivian Lane
WILLIAM
Echoes of Ossiria #1
William doesn’t get involved with clients, but when Catherine is dumped in his lap, she soothes his loneliness and makes him want things he shouldn’t. One night with her will be worth the risk.
This story is intended for readers over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.
eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away, as this is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
By Vivian Lane
Based on characters created by K.C. Taylor
Edited by K.C. Taylor
Published by Phantom Ridge for Willowick Publishing
Copyright 2015 Vivian Lane
The right of Vivian Lane to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First Edition
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Echoes of Ossiria
Dive into a world with modern-day paladins, secret organizations, demons, vampires, magic, seers, and curses. Our heroes will have to learn how to save the day, or die trying.
#0.5 - The First Vampires
#1 – William
#2 – Catherine
#3 – Knight Rejects
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Chapter One
1986
Between The Agency and the fucking Shadow Knights, I’d been driven out of London recently. I was licking the wounds to my ego in the English countryside and running a supernatural courtesan school with my favorite employee/genie, Alicia.
She helped me with my little sister once upon a time in exchange for freeing her. If vampires had friends, she was probably my best mate—though there weren’t many to choose from. The one person on Earth that knew all my secrets.
“Boss, Tallis is on the line. He has a new girl he wants you to train,” Alicia said, walking into my office. She was the type to have Vidal Sassoon cut her hair when she wanted a change.
“Bloody wanker! The last girl he sent back needed reconstructive surgery. Tell him no deal.”
She popped her gum. “He’s willing to pay double, and he wants you to teach her personally.”
“Why?” I demanded. Wait, I knew why… “He wants to turn her, doesn’t he?”
Alicia smirked, and nodded. “That’s why they pay you the big money. He wants a new toy to mold and wants the girl ready before the Season is over.”
“Posturing prick…it can take up to six months to put out a qualified courtesan, and that’s with round-the-clock private tutoring. Tell him no deal. I can’t make a girl into a lady for a vampire in two months.”
“Okay…but he’s already over the Atlantic.”
Shit. “Fine…I’ll look at her, but that’s all!”
Alicia left the office grinning. Tallis had deep pockets.
I was parked in the parlor when they arrived. If business hadn’t been slow recently, Tallis would never be let through my door, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of meeting his car. He wanted my services; he had to come to me.
So I was comfy on the settee, a glass of scotch in my hand, and I rose as he entered with a young woman on a leash.
“Long time, no see, Willy. I’d almost think we weren’t family anymore.”
“We were never chummy, you ponce. Nor are you my family. This the girl?” Tallis let go of the leash so I could walk around her. She kept her gaze on the floor. “This is what you bring me? She’s totally green! You expect me to turn out a human in two months? No deal.”
“Hundred grand says you can, and will.”
“If she was part demon. For a human? Six months, and no less than five hundred.”
“She’s already smart, so you only have to instruct her physically,” Tallis countered.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna bloody turn her, anyway. Just have at it and save yourself the dosh.”
“It’s better my way! Two-fifty for two months. You can’t afford to turn that down, Willy. Word gets around, you know…”
Don’t kill him, don’t kill him… “Three hundred on a tentative contract. If she isn’t close in six weeks, then you have to give me the appropriate time.”
“Done! You won’t mind if I check in periodically, of course.”
“Of course. Any subject you want her to focus on?”
Tallis dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “Do anything you want to her, I don’t care, as long as she remains…untouched. I prefer to take care of that break-in personally.”
“Whatever.” Her virginity or lack-there-of was no concern of mine. “Alicia! Escort the wanker into the office so he can sign a contract.”
“Happy to!” she sang.
Alicia was just putting the finishing touches on the paperwork when I entered the office a few minutes later. She handed both of us a fountain pen. Tallis stabbed his hand, then wrote his name on the paper in blood. I did the same.
“See you in six weeks, Willy,” Tallis said, and left with his entourage.
Alicia shook her head. “If it wasn’t for the money, I’d have told you to pass on the deal. That girl is a train wreck.”
I shrugged. “She has decent bone structure. There’s potential, but it’ll take a year to get her to the same level a demon could accomplish. Tallis and his grand schemes…always took too long for the kill. Contact our A-list. We’re going to need the best to have a soddin’ prayer of making that deadline.”
“Yup. Aren’t you glad I instituted that policy about no refunds?”
“Eternally.”
The girl was still where we’d left her. She froze when I grabbed her chin and lifted it to look her in the eye. “What’s your name, girl?”
“Catherine,” she whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.”
My fingers tightened on her chin. “You will answer questions I ask and only questions I ask. Are we clear?”
“Yes.”
“You’re what, eighteen, nineteen?”
“Eighteen.”
I nodded in confirmation. “American…university student?”
“Yes…” Fuck. Meant someone might be looking for her as we speak. Couldn’t be helped now.
“The rules here are simple. You do as you’re told when you are told, and you will be treated well. Disobey me, or any of your instructors, and you will be severely punished. Understand?”
Catherine nodded. I let go of her chin and unbuckled the collar around her neck, then snapped my fingers for a servant.
“Take the girl to the kitchen. I’ll retrieve her shortly.”
The servant bowed, and took her arm. “Yes, sir,” he said, and led her away.
Immortality brought an ever-present fight against boredom, and this deal with Tallis certainly wasn’t boring.
Didn’t know about that part when Cassandra made me.
Chapter Two
The girl was to stay in the kitchen until I came for her. She sat at the table. “Get enough to eat?” I asked.
“N-no, sir,” she mumbled. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.
I snorted. “Tallis never did remember the practical things.” I opened the refrigerator, then tossed a carrot on the table. “
You’ll be on a strict diet, here. No snacks or sweets or junk. Finish that, and I’ll take you to your room.”
Felling a bit peckish as well, I heated a mug of blood. Her eyes stayed on the table while she ate.
“Come on. It’s getting early.”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and nodded, rising from her seat. I steered her where I wanted to go with a hand on her shoulder. We went up two flights to the top floor and down the hall, where I stopped and unlocked the door.
“This door has no internal lock. It will be locked from the outside whenever you are in here until we know you can be trusted. Don’t bother trying to escape out the windows—you can’t.” I turned the light on.
“My things?” she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Tallis was very thorough,” I said. “The loo is through there. Nothing fancy. Understand, Catherine, that anything can be given or taken away depending on your behavior.”
“Yes, sir. May I ask a question?”
I nodded consent.
“What exactly am I here to learn?”
“Many things. By now, you might’ve guessed you are not among human life as you know it—you’re among demons. As many species of animals on this planet, you’ll find just as many demons, and they range from barely more than animals, to highly powerful evil beings. In Tallis’s case, there’s not an ounce of humanity left in him. The pompous bastard likes to make certain appearances, and that’s where you come in. You’ve heard of a courtesan?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, in the absence of his sire or his childe, both of which have run off for their own schemes, he chose you. He likes to have a lady on his arm that enjoys the bloodshed as much as he does. That’s where turning you comes into play. But…Tallis has his games, and so he wants you built up before he tears you down. Did he hurt you at all before bringing you here?”
“A cut on my ankle.”
“Let me see.”
She sat down on the bed and removed her shoe and sock, wincing as the sock pulled the scab away. I grabbed her ankle and turned it so I could properly look at the wound. The edges of the cuts were pink.
“I’ll send someone up with a first aid kit. This looks on the verge of infection.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I let go and straightened. “Get some sleep. Your lessons start this evening.” Then I left, locking the door behind me.
After some sleep, I sent a servant to fetch her at sundown.
We convened in one of the classrooms. “Good evening, Miss Mitchell.”
“Good evening, sir.” She took a seat at a desk.
I turned to the woman at my right. “This is Mrs. Crumb. She used to run a finishing school for girls. She will instruct you how to pass in high society. You will do anything she asks of you.”
“Yes, sir,” Catherine said.
“When you are not with Mrs. Crumb, you will memorize this book.” I dropped the book on the desk. Zezzik’s List of Demons A-Z. “You will be tested on this book in two days. Every wrong answer will result in a demerit.”
Catherine opened her mouth, then promptly clamped it shut, and raised her hand and waited to be called on.
“Yes?”
“Just to clarify, the whole book, sir?”
“The whole book, Miss Mitchell. I’ll leave you in Mrs. Crumb’s capable hands.”
Mrs. Crumb had her for four hours, then Alicia took over with different subjects. Only six weeks to make the girl fit the role Tallis wanted her to play, so I had to push her harder than any other student we’d trained.
I watched it all on a monitor in my office. There were cameras in every public room and hallway of the house. I admired the girl’s control over her temper, and laughed at her embarrassment. They’d drive that out of her eventually. You couldn’t be a shrinking violet in a roomful of demons.
A contact was monitoring the police bulletins in Los Angeles for any report of a kidnapping. The females I trained usually came here willingly and with a career in mind. Harboring a kidnapped coed was asking for trouble, especially in the modern era.
Catherine had been in lessons for eight hours, so I sent someone to escort her back to her room to study. I had a camera there, too, and watched her toss the book on her bed and walk over to the window, gazing out at the grounds for a couple minutes before sighing and turning back to the book.
She took out a pair of reading glasses, propped herself against the headboard, and opened the encyclopedia. “How do you even pronounce these names?” I heard her murmur. She was taking notes!
Tallis had really found a bookworm in this one. Sure, she seemed to have the smarts to take in the knowledge, but could we turn her into a debutante in six weeks? She’d braided her long hair back the same as I’d seen it yesterday, wore no make-up, and walked like a complete klutz in heels. Turning her would take care of the physical grace issue, but Tallis wanted her finished before that. She needed to learn how to dance and how to fight.
My mind drifted briefly to how my ex had moved in everything she did…
And shook off that tangent right quick.
It still hurt to be alone sometimes.
Alicia gave me a purpose, a hobby to fill the time alone. She wanted to create a profitable business, and I had the knowledge for the task. All about power, baby, and any demon passable in society was obsessed with it.
Our first graduates were demon prostitutes looking for a better life, but soon we had young ones fresh out of puberty coming to learn the tricks of the trade in order to land a better mate. Upper-class males began to seek them out looking for a companion. Pretty eye candy, as it were.
But I hadn’t been hands-on in the business until my office in London was recently bombed. Didn’t know the culprit, but the lack of evidence pointed to a Shadow Knight. Sneaky bastards. At least the paladins from The Agency would fight you fact to face.
I wasn’t one of those whiny, tortured wankers that seemed so popular in vampire fiction in recent decades. I had no problem with killing. I liked drinking blood (it tasted great). Couldn’t care a lick about being a good boy. If I obeyed human laws, it was only in the interest of self-preservation.
I let Catherine study for a few hours, then sent a servant to tell her to prepare to go running, and watched her curse as she hunted through the boxes for sweats and trainers. I then went upstairs to fetch her from the room.
“Four laps around the house is a mile. I want you to do two miles,” I said. She grimaced, but started jogging. “And I better not catch you walking any of it!”
Her pace was slow, even for a human. We’d have to work on that. At the end of eight laps, I listened to her heart rate, then ordered her to do another four. I needed to know the point she would give in to muscle failure.
She stopped after five miles, not from muscle fatigue, but from wheezing.
“Are you on medication?”
Catherine shook her head “no”, unable to speak, yet. England was a lot colder than California and she obviously wasn’t used to this much exercise.
“Sit, before you fall down, for chrissakes!” Humans are so bloody fragile. I tossed her a bottle of water. “Go inside and shower. Supper is in thirty minutes.”
Sometimes, Catherine reminded me of Annabelle. My little sister, immortal nearly as long as I had been, had once been quiet and studious and sweet like this college girl now.
But she wasn’t talking to me again. She was temperamental like that. Preferred to live like a ‘free spirit’ and refused to join the family business…not that I wanted her involved in all the depravity I engaged in, but I could never talk her into corporate life, either.
So, I gave her a monthly allowance to gallivant around the world and—hopefully—stay out of trouble. Least she could do in exchange for me slaughtering half an island to rescue her.
When I entered the dining room, Catherine was sliding to her chair. She sat just as I took my place at the head of the table. “You’re late.”<
br />
“Not on my watch,” Alicia said. I glared at her. She grinned.
“Dinner, sir,” one of the servants said, setting a plate in front of me. Other servants set plates down in front of the rest at the same time. Catherine was served a chicken breast with fresh lemon, steamed vegetables, and a glass of white wine.
None of my girls spoke, waiting for me as the host to start eating before touching their plates. I kept an eye on the human girl to grade her usage of what she had learned. To my side, Alicia prattled on about business.
Then dessert. After supper was traditionally TV time for the students, but Catherine was sent to her room with more books.
Surprisingly, she handled the first week pretty well. The girl had a sharp mind. Her appearance left something to be desired, though.
“You’re not sleeping.” She showed up to class heavy-lidded, with dark circles under her eyes
“Not well, sir.”
“Why not?”
“The hours, sir. I keep waking up when it’s daylight.”
Sighing, I considered her human frailty. “Your hours will be adjusted.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Grumbling, I left the classroom. This is why my business normally didn’t include mortals. I wrote out a new schedule for the girl and left it in her room.
Chapter Three
Week Two
Catherine’s eyes widened at the announcement of week two’s new focus—dancing.
“Put your eyes back in your sockets, girl, it’s only two waltzes.” I smiled. “The real challenge for this week will be learning how to fight.”
The house contained a small dance studio with a mirrored wall and ballet barre. She walked into the room where I waited for her in her heeled dance shoes. Walking to the stereo, I pressed “play” for a piece of music. “Come all the way in, girl, you’re wasting time! Now, the waltz is the simplest and easiest of the ballroom dances. It runs on three-quarter time. One-two-three, one-two-three…”
