The Soul of a Vampire #3

by Rachel E Rice

  I felt my legs weakening because the journey was too long traveling back and forth to the states without food.

  Knowing I shouldn’t have taken the chance to locate Zoey, I did against my judgement. I had to watch out for her. Besides I was jealous of Ryan to the point that I couldn’t function. And that’s not at all good for a vampire.

  There were so many things that I had to be weary of now that I’m back in this hellish castle. I glanced behind me and at every open door to see if I was being followed because all of the beings around here were loyal to Aare or Samantha.

  They didn’t fear me for obvious reasons. I no longer fed on the blood of humans and they knew instinctively from the gossip passed around by Aare that I wasn’t to be feared.

  If I didn’t feed on human blood, I couldn’t maintain the strength I needed to fight my enemies. I stumbled into two guards and they turned and laughed at me. My own guards in my own castle and they knew what everyone around here knew, that as long as Aare and Samantha were alive, they didn’t have to fear me. I wasn’t strong physical the way I needed to be. Everyone knew it including me.

  Ducking into Zoey’s room as a child, I found the space behind the wall and pushed at it and it opened up, and there I lay until the evening as the sun set when I would wake and feed in the nearby forest.

  There was no way I would risk letting Samantha get near me ever again. And that’s why I came to the conclusion that I had to find her sister and have her help me to be rid of Samantha once and for all because there wasn’t any love lost between any of us for Samantha.

  I would take care of Aare in my own time.

  Just like Aare and me had a healthy hatred for each other, her sister hated her more.

  When I woke I departed early and I would be back before Samantha and Aare missed me. I traveled through the corridors of the castle as I had done when Zoey was a child and I had discovered this wonderful maze when I too was a child. From one room to the other I would I move about. I knew everything that went on in the castle. All the secrets and lies.

  I knew my mother and father’s thoughts before they slept each dawn. I knew how my mother loved Zoey and wanted to keep her human. And my father said it wasn’t practical. It would be too dangerous for her to have a human as an adult strolling around the castle.

  “She would fall prey to one of the vampires, so it’s better for one of us to change her,” my father had said. My mother didn’t want to hear of it but my father was persuasive.

  “She will ask questions when she becomes older,” he had said to my mother. “She’s fifteen and will have to be changed,” my father demanded. It was then I decided to take her with me but when Zoey started to ask questions of me, I had to send her back to her parents. She deserved to live a life without the memories of the castle and me and I tried to wipe out her thoughts. But I didn’t know that would be temporary.

  I heard the conversation between my father and Aare when he wanted to take another queen at the insistence of Aare.

  “You are king and you have a right to have who you want by your side. Mother is behaving like a human. She doesn’t want me to change Zoey,” Aare said to him. “You should have someone younger than mother who thinks the way you do, father.”

  Aare must have convinced father to destroy mother and in that way Aare was able to seal father’s fate when he turning him against mother. I had gone to see to Zoey and stayed away for six long years.

  Chapter Thirteen-Zoey

  Five months had passed and Ryan took a leave of absence from his job as a detective. His new occupation was trying to make me happy. I had begun to show my pregnancy after a few months of unbearable vomiting up my breakfast. I spent more time hanging my head over the toilet than sleeping. I knew the inside of that commode better than I knew how I looked which wasn’t pretty. Not the toilet or I.

  When morning sickness became a thing of the pass, I was grateful to get back to being me because some mornings I thought I would die. Ryan would sit at my bedside and watch me all night. I didn’t know if that was for my benefit or his. I didn’t know if he was guarding against someone coming to kill me or if he wanted to keep Sebastian away. But if Sebastian wanted to see me, nothing would stop him, and especially not Ryan.

  I woke one of those mornings and he was sitting in a large chair sleeping. “What are you doing in here?” I asked, yet I was grateful that someone cared enough.

  “I had to make sure you were alright.” I knew it was that but much more. He had heard me talking to someone and he knew who it was even if he didn’t want to admit it.

  We had been adjusting to each other. He didn’t appear to sleep and I slept all the time. Now I had gotten used to the idea that I would be with him. And the thought of us marrying had crossed my mind. But Ryan asked me once and we left that open. For some reason I knew he would never ask me again.

  It was up to me now to say what I wanted and felt for him before he committed himself. This became a difficult decision to make. He didn’t want to be hurt and neither did I by rushing into a marriage. I wasn’t ready to let go of Sebastian no matter how much I had convinced myself of this.

  “Ryan you may not like what I’m about to say, but I need to see some friends. I have no one,” his eyes shot to me, “but you.” I didn’t say it right. I never knew how to say things to Ryan because he had been hoping for something that wasn’t there.

  “Sure. Anything, but I thought you didn’t have any friends but Terry.”

  “That’s right all I have is you and Terry and I want to see her. We can travel by plane and then rent a car. I know where their cabin is located in Alaska.” He weighed my words, then stood and walked to the window and peered out at the ocean, with his back to me.

  It was difficult reading his face until he turned with a raised eyebrow, a closed smile and he inhaled.

  “If you really need to see her I can’t see any wrong in going to Alaska. Maybe I’ll fish. I understand that the Salmon is plentiful there.” His face appeared to brighten.

  “I really want to see her. I need her to be the godmother to my son if something happens to me.”

  “Nothing will happen to you, and I’m here to take care of you and your child. Why would you want Terry?”

  “If something happens to me, how can you raise a half human and half vampire child? There are things he will need to know and do to survive and Terry and Lauren are more equipped to handle something like that.”

  Ryan walked over to me and sat on the bed and reached for my hand. “If something happens to you, I don’t want to be without you. With your child I will always be with you.”

  “But he has a father.”

  “I will be his father. The father’s not here, and the father made me promise to take care of you and marry you.” There lay a deep silence between us. We were never going to come to an agreement about me and my child. I knew that now. Ryan had already assumed the role of father and husband and nothing was going to deter him from that part he wanted to play in my life.

  “I still need to see, Terry,” I whispered. “Let me make arrangements.” He glanced down at me and shook his head in agreement.

  “Do as you wish.” His voice drifted into silence.

  And he left the room after giving me a kiss on the forehead. I could tell he wanted and needed more, but he was a patient man and patient men will wait for what they want for as long as it takes. I suspect Sebastian had that way about him too. Why else would he go all those years watching over me? He could have gone on with his life such as it is and found someone else.

  But then he did and then along came Samantha to destroy everything he had waited for—me. And if I let her she will eventually kill me and my baby. She will perhaps destroy me if I’m not cautious, but I will die before I let her get near my child.

  It was then I made up my mind about Ryan.

  I made the arrangements to travel to Burrow, Alaska to see Terry and Lauren. We had one last stop in Anchorage and then our final stop
in the North of Alaska. It was good not worrying about whether it was day or night or whether Sebastian had eaten or not. It was good to be with someone of my own kind, I thought.

  Waiting at the airport for us stood Lauren and Terry holding hands. Two of the palest and handsomest couple. As they stood together waving at us as we entered the terminal, people would turn and admire them.

  The admiration made Terry smile and happy. You could see it on her face and because we were there to see them.

  “Look at you,” Terry said turning me around. Then she hugged me and we stayed in that embrace much longer than we should have. I could tell Ryan didn’t know what to say to Lauren. He just glared at him. Lauren had a distrust of Ryan especially since he was a policeman, and a self-styled vampire hunter.

  “So Ryan, kill any werewolves or vampires lately?” That was Terry’s way of making a joke. I gave her my patent look, narrow eyes, and she didn’t go any further.

  “No. But the day is still young,” Ryan said with a wide smile and he glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow. That was not the way I wanted to start out.

  “I came here for a good time and to be with my dearest friends,” I said to Ryan who mumbled something under his breath. Terry heard him as we walked away and out of the terminal to the car after retrieving our checked bags.

  “What do you have in here?” Lauren asked as he helped Ryan carry the luggage and a sack.

  “A crossbow,” Ryan said, “it belongs to Zoey. Just in case Terry can’t keep her mouth shut and Aare and Samantha finds us.”

  “Terry won’t put Zoey in danger because it will put us in the same spot. And as far as the crossbow, be careful it’s not used on you.”

  Ryan didn’t say a word and kept walking but then he turned to Lauren, “And that goes for Sebastian too. He may be stupid enough to look for Zoey and lead them to her knowing she’s in hiding. And Terry, I hope she stays away from my island,” Ryan said.

  “You can bet your ass I wouldn’t be caught dead on that island. I don’t know how long Zoey will be able to tolerate an isolated place like that anyway. She’s a city girl, remember,” Terry said to Ryan. He ignored her and kept walking to the garage.

  Looking around, Ryan said, “I don’t think I can live in a god forsaken place where it’s cold year round and there’s a cloud cover like this,” Ryan said looking up before his eyes searched mine.

  “If Aare or one of his vampires got a hold of you it wouldn’t be a choice. You would come here and pray they never found your ass. It’s just arrogance and stupidity on your part,” Terry said. Ryan glared at her.

  “Please don’t. Let’s be civil to each other,” I begged.

  Biting my lip I wished Ryan would let up so I could enjoy my stay. I would prefer not having this conversation because of the strain it put on my visit.

  I glanced at him letting him know I wasn’t happy about him talking about Terry. It wasn’t fair and Lauren wouldn’t appreciate him criticizing his wife especially since we had to be there a few days. Look to Ryan, he lowered his eyes apologetically he knew he had gone too far but he wouldn’t apologize to Terry or Lauren.

  Lauren had better manners than Ryan, and Lauren although hundreds of years old still felt like a teen and tried to respect his elders or he knew he was stronger than Ryan and he didn’t have to show it.

  Looking at Ryan shivering even with a heavy coat, I knew he didn’t want to be in the coldest part of Alaska, and he felt uncomfortable around Terry and Lauren, and his way to mitigate that uneasiness was to act like a dick. That was one part of him I didn’t know about until now. But then there were so many things I didn’t know about him or Sebastian. I hoped there were no more surprises coming soon.

  Finally Lauren answered Ryan. “Terry isn’t the one you have to worry about,” Lauren said with an unexpected smirk. He opened the car door for Terry, and Ryan opened the door for me. As soon as we entered and buckled up, Lauren zoomed away. He and Terry never bothered to put their seat belts on. Why should they? They were dead already.

  It took fifteen minutes to their home facing the Chukchi Sea. The car came to a sudden stop. “This is beautiful, Terry. Could you find a more remote place and it’s so cold.”

  “We came here on our honeymoon and then we bought this house, and well, we’ve been here alone ever since,” she glanced at Lauren and they both broke into a smile.

  “I’m glad you like it. We’re just getting things together. I apologize if it’s not as comfortable as what you are used to. I hope when you have your baby you would come and visit me and Lauren more often. Not Ryan of course,” Terry said as we entered her beautiful two storied red wood house.

  I walked through the house and to the back to see a wide deck. “Do you use this?”

  “We sit out here at night and count the stars,” she side with a grin. “We lay out here and fuck under the stars. We fuck all the time.” Her eyes sparkled. She turned to see Ryan listening to her. “Are you doing any fucking lately, Ryan?”

  I knew she would get in a dig. It wasn’t like Terry to let anything pass especially since she thought Ryan didn’t like her. I don’t think it was Terry he didn’t mind, he just didn’t think he would be caught up in this kind of life style surrounded by werewolves and vampires.

  But then Ryan should have been used to this. His business was murder and mayhem. This should have been easy yet he was having a hard time with it. I saw it in his face. I heard him groan at Terry.

  “You should be hungry Zoey. I’ll have your food ready soon. I’ll probably have a bite with you,” Terry said.

  “I didn’t know you ate food?” Ryan said.

  “I don’t, but maybe I’ll have you for dinner,” she said and flounced into the house with a mischievous look on her face. She glared at Ryan and then winked at him.

  Ryan turned to me wide eyed. “She’s just kidding. Don’t you know when someone’s just kidding?”

  “Normally I would, but these aren’t normal people.”

  Chapter Fourteen-Sebastian

  After the hunt, and after I fed, I had a sick feeling rattling through my body. I didn’t enjoy hunting and hurting animals. It was easy for me to hunt men who deserved to die. Some of the men I stalked had murdered for the pure enjoyment of it. And it was easy then to slay them, but I took no pleasure in those kills.

  But the thought of staring an animal in the eyes, and they knowing I would slaughter them and they would whine from fright. This haunted me more than ever.

  I remember saying that to my father when he first changed me five hundred years ago.

  Then he said to me, “You have to feed on humans in order to live and stay strong. If you can bring yourself to kill an animal then you have to hunt men. The animal’s blood will keep you alive but it will not make you strong and to exist as a vampire you have to remain strong.”

  “Isn’t there a different way I can live?” I said to him.

  “Yes, but you will never be strong enough to claim your rightful place next to me.” I wanted to please my father until I saw what Aare was capable of and had turned my father’s mind against me. He saw me as soft, but strength takes more than feeding on mortals. That is cruel, and my beliefs were reinforced when I saw the atrocities Aare perpetrated on unsuspecting mortals.

  In my father’s eyes power was strength, and to have the power you needed, you had to have control over mortals, and to do that, you had to hunt and feed on them. They were to be at the bottom of the food chain in order for vampires to rise. I argued with him and realized that his mind wouldn’t change. He was too old to change.

  Stepping into the castle room there stood Samantha in all her false charms and beauty. When I returned this time she and Aare were sitting alone as if waiting for me. “Oh there you are my husband.” The sound of her voice made the hair on my arms prickle up.

  “Now that you’ve returned,” She paused looking to Aare and then to me, “I need a vacation. After all I’ve been watching over everything in your absence.
Keeping the peace among the vampires and werewolves.” There would be no need for a truce between them if it wasn’t for Aare and Samantha stirring things up and pitting them against each other.

  “Where are you going?” I said dryly. I didn’t want her to know how happy I was to learn that she would not be around for me to carry out my plans. I hid my eagerness. I stared at her without blinking. I held my breath.

  “Aare and I are going to Spain. I hear they have this tomato festival every year and there will be lots of young men and women celebrating the Running of the Bulls. You know how the Italians love their vino, and well we thought we could pick up a few boys when they got drunk. Not for me, but Aare of course.” And she reached out to touch Aare’s hand. He looked at her with eyes insensitive to everything and everybody except Samantha.

  He reminded me of myself a hundred years earlier.

  “Yes of course, Samantha,” I said lowering my eyes. I didn’t want them to see my true feelings.

  Aare appeared to be dazed and his dead stare in my direction signaled that Aare had been feeding on Samantha’s blood. She didn’t want to kill him like she did me, she just wanted him to do whatever she required and she didn’t want him to protest. I suspected that she needed some fresh young blood for her potions and that’s why she convinced him to go to Spain.

  I welcomed the peace from her and Aare. I had made plans of my own. “You have my permission. Go and enjoy yourself.”

  She stood for a moment looking at me and then she walked up to me. She passed her hand over my hair and held my face in her hands. “I didn’t ask for your permission.”

  Turning quickly and reacting too hastily, I grabbed her face in my hand, “I give my permission because I don’t give a fuck what you do,” I said with a cold voice, surprising myself and her.