Song of the Vampire (Vanderlind Realm Book 3)

by Gayla Twist

  “Fine,” she said with a vexed sigh. “We’ll go to the safe house.”

  “We’ll take Dimitris and Kirk with us,” I told her. “They can explain the whole thing was a hoax, in case we run into any more bounty hunters.”

  A little noise escaped Elaina’s lips, as if she was about to protest that she and Paolo would be a better choice. But then I think she realized that it would be embarrassing to have me flat-out reject the offer, which I fully intended to do.

  “Several of our kind died because of this stupidity,” I said while taking Haley’s hand and rising higher in the air. “I’m sure the Bishops will want an explanation.” I didn’t believe that Haley or I would come under any scrutiny, but I was going to contact our ruling body as soon as we returned to the castle to make sure that the blame was placed squarely where it belonged. Elaina, Paolo, and the rest of them would have to justify their behavior. And the Bishops would probably not look favorably on the excuse that there was a false rumor that vampires could have babies.

  I allowed myself to unclench a little, once I had Haley back at the castle, safe and sound. We’d made it back in record time and still had a good thirty minutes before sunrise.

  First I saw to Haley and our guests’ comforts. I actually didn’t feel the need to extend Kirk and Dimitris any hospitality, but I couldn’t have them feeding off the mortal staff, so sustenance had to be provided. Then, I instructed Viggo to prepare the same guest room where the men had spent their recovery. And I also assigned the same amount of guards. Kirk had tried to stake me and Dimitris was the one who had signaled the other vampires as to our location, so I didn’t trust either one of them. But of all the bounty hunters, they had the personalities that I found the least irritating.

  Alerting the Bishops was as much of a challenge as I’d anticipated. Most members of our ruling family were quite old and shunned the very idea of a telephone. And the younger ones followed suit to appear wiser than their years. I swear, half of them would prefer to be contacted by carrier pigeon. But I didn’t want Elaina and the rest putting their own spin on the events surrounding Haley’s kidnapping. And my own kidnapping, for that matter. I was sure that, given the chance, Elaina would find a very creative way to justify her behavior.

  I ended up not being able to speak to a Bishop directly, but I did convey the whole nightmare to a trusted underling and I left a very specific message that I needed to be contacted immediately by a higher-up. It was the best I could do, and I felt satisfied, for the most part. I seriously hoped that Elaina, Paolo, and the rest of them would face serious repercussions, but somehow I doubted it.

  It was after I hung up the phone that I began to have the weary feeling that comes over the undead after the sun has risen. Fortunately, the castle was lightproof, but that didn’t prevent me from feeling any less exhausted.

  I was looking around for Haley to say good day when Viggo approached. “If you are looking for Miss Haley, she has retired for the day,” he said in his low, dour voice. “She asked that you check in on her before you retire.”

  “Thank you, Viggo,” I said before heading for the stairs. I had to wonder if my progeny was up to something. It seemed unlikely that she would try to seduce me after all she’d been through. But any other time and I would have been suspicious. Still, I wouldn’t have been able to shut my eyes without at least checking on her, so I turned my feet in the direction of her rooms. I knew I should count myself lucky that Haley didn’t fully realize how much I desired her. Sometimes it was all I could do not to break my resolve to be a gentleman.

  “If that’s you, Dorian, come in,” Haley called in response to my knock. “Anyone else, please stay out.”

  I opened the door just as Haley was exiting the powder room. I almost turned on my heel when I saw her freshly showered and wrapped in a creamy silk robe. But then again, I couldn’t blame her for her attire; the robe hung to the floor and was perfectly modest. But her skin must have still been damp when she’d put it on because it clung to her in a way that was tantalizingly revealing.

  “It’s amazing how sometimes a shower can make you feel so much better,” she said, giving me a smile. “Did you get everything straightened out with the Bishops?”

  “I think so,” I said. I didn’t want to lie, but I would call again tomorrow night if I hadn’t heard back from someone who held at least a reasonably high office. “I just wanted to check on you before I said turned in for the day.”

  Haley frowned. “You’re not going to stay?” She cinched the belt of her robe tighter around her waist. “I can put something on.”

  “I really shouldn’t,” I told her. “I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

  Haley gave a small nod. “Can you at least hold me? Just for a little bit?”

  She looked so forlorn that I found I couldn’t say no. “Just for a minute,” I relented

  Haley pulled back the blanket and sheet before slipping into the bed. I kicked off my shoes while shrugging out of my jacket. I was so eager to feel her next to me that I ended up just dropping my coat on the floor.

  As soon as I laid back, Haley immediately snuggled into the curve of my chest and it felt like heaven. I could have stayed there forever, just holding her. Tomorrow I would speak with the Bishops, tomorrow I would find a way to help Misty and her father, but tonight I would be with my true love.

  After several minutes, Haley said in a small voice, “Did you enjoy kissing that other girl?”

  “What?” I had been so blissful that her question caught me completely by surprise.

  “That vampiress on the estate where they were keeping you,” Haley said. “Did you enjoy kissing her?”

  “Darling, no,” I said, rolling us over so that Haley was on her back and I was above her, cradling her in my arms. “Misty is beautiful, and someone who I believe is genuinely a good person, but kissing her just felt wrong somehow. I think, even though they erased my memory, they couldn’t erase my feelings. I still remembered you on some level.”

  And then I was kissing her with all the passion, and love, and desire that was in my being. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around me tightly, every inch of her body pressed against mine. I needed to stop; I had to stop. But I didn’t want to. All I wanted was for us to be lost in each other’s arms for eternity.

  “Haley,” I gasped wrenching myself from her embrace, my voice sounding ragged with desire. I pulled away from her so suddenly that my shirt must have become tangled with the fabric of her robe and tugged it open, revealing one of her perfect breasts. She’d been clinging to me so passionately that I don’t even think she even noticed.

  “We have to stop,” I told her, fully intending to exit the room immediately.

  “No,” she said, reaching for me. “We don’t.”

  I meant to be a gentleman; I meant to leave. But instead of getting to my feet, I found that I was cupping her breast, rubbing my thumb over the firm mound of flesh. Haley released a gasp, her body rising on the bed to meet my touch. Before I could stop myself, I was lowering my lips to the tight rosebud that was her pink nipple.

  Epilogue

  Haley

  “We’re here,” Dorian said. “You can look now.”

  I pulled the scarf from my eyes. Across a modest dance floor, I saw a blindfolded orchestra on a tiny stage.

  “I know it’s not Antarctica,” my maker said, with a sheepish grin. “But it’s the same band. Or, at least, most of them.”

  There were the sounds of the jungle all around us, birds squawking and howler monkeys calling to each other. I was in a light cotton gown that billowed around my legs every time there was a slight breeze. As a member of the undead, I didn’t sweat, but somehow dressing in silk or satin with so much humidity in the air didn’t feel right. But that was probably just my mortal memory; I’d seen plenty of vampiresses in lavish gowns, even though we were deep in the jungle.

  We were spending two weeks at a resort on the Amazon River in Brazil. It was out in the middle
of the water, composed of platforms and walkways, and held up on stilts. Jacque Cousteau had designed the whole thing to have as little impact on the Amazon as possible. I loved it there.

  Water had been the next on our list of undead adventures, after fire and ice. There were plenty of more daring options, — some of the undead got their thrills diving into the Devil’s Throat at Iguazu Falls — but after the recent turmoil that we’d just survived, Dorian suggested that something a little more serene might be a better choice. Besides, spending time deep in nature’s heart – or Earth’s lungs, as some scientists referred to the Amazon – was pretty darn spectacular all on its own.

  I couldn’t believe that Dorian had brought the orchestra to another remote location. Where next? Easter Island? But I was also thrilled that he was going to sing for me. I really wanted to hear the end of his song.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, looking a little nervous. I loved how, even after all we’d been through, Dorian could still sometimes be hesitant and shy with me, like a little boy.

  It felt like my heart was welling up in my chest. “More than ready,” I told him. I stepped forward and kissed his cheek. “I can’t wait.”

  Dorian levitated up to the stage and instructed the orchestra that they were about to start. I’m not sure why he felt the need to blindfold them, but I had a feeling that it was something rich men did in the movies back when my maker was still mortal.

  I’d been so happy since we’d cleared everything up about my dad, and this was the icing on the cake. Yes, there’d been some hassle with the Bishops, but Elaina, Paolo and the rest of them were the ones who caught the real grief.

  And then we had to fly down south because Dorian had made a promise to help that Misty woman save her father. Plus, he wanted to get her away from her creepy uncle. I would have been jealous, but when I met Misty, she turned out to be a wonderful person. Plus, by that point, Dorian had made his singular, passionate devotion clear to me on numerous occasions. To put it mildly, I was practically O.D.ing on bliss. And now he was going to sing, just for me, out here in the jungle. It was too much.

  Dorian looked incredibly handsome in a linen suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. How he managed to keep the shirt from going limp in the heat of the tropics was a mystery. And when I’d asked him his secret, he just gave me a confused look like the problem had never occurred to him.

  Tapping a conductor’s baton on a music stand, Dorian brought the musicians to attention. He had my full attention, too. I’d had such a crappy life that I could hardly believe how much I was enjoying my death. I felt butterflies in my stomach when the orchestra started to play. And those butterflies fluttered up into my chest when my maker began to sing.

  To be with you here in the moonlight

  Taught me all the things I’ve missed

  To dance with you under the starlight

  I become lost in your kiss

  I know this time, I’ll run away with you

  To any tropic isle you name

  I know this time, I’ll sail away with you

  To any foreign port you proclaim

  While the orchestra kept playing, Dorian hopped off the stage, walked briskly over to me, and then swept me up in his arms. The next thing I knew he was spinning me across the dancefloor. It felt like champagne bubbles were popping in my head.

  As the musicians finished their verse, Dorian expertly guided me back to the center of the floor. “I’ll be right back, darling,” he whispered, giving me a quick kiss before returning to the stage.

  To kiss you and call you my darling

  Brings back the memories of your charms

  My fears and regrets so alarming

  Quickly get lost in your arms

  I’ve wasted years on false romances

  That seemed to end as soon as they’d begun

  I thank my stars for second chances

  And showing me that you’re my only one

  “Your song is so wonderful,” I exclaimed, once Dorian had finished his performance and he was back in my arms. “And you’re a really good singer. Like, really good. You should definitely try to do something with your talent, even if you are undead. I’m sure there’s more orchestras like this one who would love some fresh material.”

  This made him practically beam. “I might,” he said, trying to suppress his pleasure at my enthusiasm. “But for now, I’m happy with an audience of one.”

  That was the only original song Dorian had prepared, but we spent the next hour dancing under the moon. It was a perfect night and I couldn’t believe that it was happening to me, the girl who had grown up being called foster trash.

  Eventually I felt my stomach begin to rumble. I knew I needed to eat. As if reading my mind, Dorian led me off the dance floor and over to a small patio that had a few tables and chairs. After getting me settled on a chaise lounge, he leaned down and gave me a kiss that held quite a bit of promise. “I’ll be right back.” Straightening himself up, he added, “I told the staff to keep everyone away, included themselves. But I should have planned ahead so that we could have something to eat.”

  I gave him a contented smile. “Don’t worry about it. This evening has been perfect.”

  After he left in search of a waiter, I spent several blissful minutes with my eyes closed, just enjoying the orchestra while the jungle providing its own melody all around me. Eventually the sound of footsteps caught my attention. Someone was approaching the patio, but I could tell by the rhythm of his footfalls that it wasn’t my maker.

  I opened my eyes to see a man leaning against the patio railing. He was gazing out at the orchestra and the empty dance floor. The stranger had broad shoulders and silver hair, although his face was unlined. I assumed he’d been in his mid-thirties or early forties when he was turned, but that he had started going prematurely gray while still a mortal.

  “So, are you and Dorian Vanderlind a couple, or is he just your maker?” he asked. “Albeit a very friendly one.”

  It seemed like a weirdly personal question to ask a complete stranger, so I didn’t exactly feel obligated to answer him. “Why do you ask?” I said, as a way to turn his nosiness back on him.

  “I was just wondering,” he said.

  “I guess you’ll just have to keep on wondering,” I told him. “But I’m not available, if that’s what you’re trying to figure out.”

  “Pardon?” he said, squinting at me, his head cocked to one side.

  I’ve heard women say, “It’s always nice to be nominated,” when a man hits on them, but I was too wrapped up in Dorian to put any energy into feeling flattered, so I simply responded by giving him a tight-lipped smile.

  “Oh,” he said, pulling back slightly. “Haley, no. I didn’t mean anything like that at all. That would be…” He sought the right word. “Gross, to say the very least. I mean, yuck.”

  “Okay…?” I said, wondering how he knew my name. If he actually was trying to flirt with me, then he was doing a remarkably bad job. And if he wasn’t trying to flirt with me, then I had no idea why he was standing there. “What’s your deal, then?”

  “Alright,” the man said. He tugged at the collar of his dress shirt, looking a little nervous. “Without trying to sound too much like Darth Vader...” He dropped his voice down to a James Earl Jones level. “Haley, I am your father.”

  The End

  Thank you for reading Song of the Vampire, the third book in the Vanderlind Realm. If you enjoyed the story, please consider posting a review on Amazon. If you flip to the end of this book, Amazon will automatically take you to the review page. Reader ratings are crucial to authors, so I would really appreciate it.

  Xxoo ~ G.T.

  Next up? I’m going to save Jessie from a Bishop inquisition. Yes, I am finally starting Book 6 of the Vanderlind Castle series. In the meantime, if you’re up for reading about beautiful young men in peril, plus find out more about the inspiration for Dorian’s suit of leather and welder’s mask, check out Adrianne A
mbrose’s The Urchin. Or, if you’d prefer a romantic comedy with a bite, try Fangs for Nothing.