The Turning: Book Two in The Medici Warrior Series

by Emily Bex

  Smiling, he looked at all of them, knowing this would be central.

  “I knew that would trouble you. You will find the feeders in the States a little different from our homeland. There is a feeder compound near D.C. It is where Luca, Gi and the rest of the house staff already go to feed, and I have made arrangements for your arrival. You will be allowed to feed from them at the compound. I cannot stress this strongly enough. Feeders do not come on my grounds. I find one and your balls are gonna be shoved up your ass so far, you will be eating them.”

  Shade held up his hand, “I know some of you have established feeders here, you will have to change your routine a bit, but American feeders will fit your taste quite well, I assure you. I have no doubts. We will do a nightly run. You will be taken to the compound and given a specific amount of time to spend there. We will split the group into two. You will go every other night. I will allow you to leave the hunt in the city on your chosen night to feed. For now, that is how we are going to roll with feeders. And let me tell you one thing, and hear me well brothers, my mate hates feeders. If she so much as sniffs one out, you will deal with the hell she unleashes, not me. She may look small, but she is a powerhouse when her temper is flared. Be off then. One hour, we fly!”

  The warriors filed out, heading back to the camp and their barracks to pack up their gear. Shade felt there were things left unsaid between him and Marco. He seemed to have left the meeting quickly, and Shade knew it must be hard for Marco to see Shade go without him. Shade headed to the camp and found him in his quarters with the door ajar.

  Marco knew he would come.

  Walking in, Shade drew on his strength, and suddenly, this wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. “Marco...”

  Marco looked up. “Took you long enough, old man. Losing your mind as well as your senses?” Giving Shade a quick smile, he couldn’t let him see how hard this was for him. “Listen, you are a hard nose son of a bitch, and the best warrior I ever met, and I need to ask you to take care of her, Shade. She is all I have in this life. Work and being a warrior doesn’t come close to what she gives me and I’m not going to lie, brother, I want to strike down those eight going back with you and just come along. It is a comfort to know she is with you. She is so soft and gentle, and I would fucking go out of my head, if she were with anyone else, si?”

  Shade felt his pain. He gave him a brotherly hug and they stood there, like old fools in a piss pot of misery. No one but a warrior would understand the depth of their feelings.

  “Si, Marco, si. We are two miserable old fucks in love. You can say whatever you want, but I understand it better than I ever thought I would be capable of. She is in good health, brother, well taken care of, she is happy. But damn it, why the hell didn’t you fucking tell me about the two of you? I would have fucking brought someone else to the States with me. I promise you, once I get this settled, you are coming for a visit, or we will all come back home for a long while. I promise you, as master and as your best friend.”

  Releasing him, Shade turned to walk to the door and halfway out, he heard Marco’s response. “Fly brother, take out the hell that plagues you and come home. Turn her, train her to be the mate she should be, the mate you deserve and bring her home to Florence. Your bambinos need to be born here, trained here, and live in the legend that is Medici. Per sempre, Medici!”

  Marco watched him walk out, and his heart ached for the woman he left in Shade’s care.

  22

  Kate had her cell phone alarm set for sunset. She awoke to the sound of the alarm, and put on her uniform of jeans, t-shirt and running shoes. She opened the door of her bedroom carefully, to find Luca sitting outside her door once again.

  “Well, at least Shade will be home soon, and you can actually get some sleep.”

  As Luca stood up and started to walk with her down the stairs, he responded, “That may depend on which warriors he brings back with him, and what time they arrive. I’m pretty sure master will need to sleep, and someone... as in me... will need to get these warriors settled in.”

  Luca followed her into the kitchen where Reynaldo had a huge breakfast prepared. She ate quickly, then followed Luca outside for a warm-up and their nightly run. She had improved her observation skills, so she rarely missed any of the things Luca detected. And like he had said, she wasn’t always able to identify what it was, but she knew something was there. She still didn’t have the skills to pick up scent like he did, and he said that would probably not come until she was turned.

  Turned... he used that phrase often during their training time. Kate had no idea when Shade would turn her. He did not speak of it often, and said he would know when it was time. They completed the ten-mile loop and returned to the house where she began the cool-down. He walked inside to bring out the equipment he would use tonight, and directed her to start push-ups and sit-ups. He began setting up a bench while she continued her reps.

  Luca turned to her once he had the bench assembled. “This is a weight bench. I want you to lift free weights. I have a weight bench in my room. I use it all the time. You might want to think about putting a small gym in the house. Maybe you could use the nurs... uh, the spare room?” He had almost said the nursery.

  The nursery... could she ever hear that word again without feeling the pain wash over her? “Yeah... I'll think about it.”

  She saw the expression on his face, the frown, he was angry with himself for bringing it up. Kate wanted to say it was okay, but it really wasn’t, and talking about it brought it all back anyway, so she let it go. “So, show me how to do this.”

  He showed her and then instructed her on how he wanted her to use the weight bench, and silently cursed himself for mentioning that room. She had come such a long way, but her pain was still just below the surface. He gave her 30 pound weights. They were a lot to start, but she had been working with the swords and climbing, and he thought she could manage it. He would increase the weight as she built her strength.

  He pushed her through the weightlifting. Here was an exercise that would allow her to escape inside her head. Count the repetitions, let her mind go blank. As they wrapped up, she turned to him, and was almost afraid to ask what exercise he had planned next. But there was another question in her head, and those were the words she spoke instead. “Luca, what’s it like to be turned?”

  He stopped in the middle of taking the weight bench back inside, as he heard her question. “I have no idea, Kate. I was born vampire. It’s the only existence I know. And I’ve never turned anyone. We are taught that turning a mortal is not to be taken lightly. It is a huge responsibly. Have you asked Shade?”

  “I... he talked about it briefly, not in detail. I mean, I sort of know what he has to do, but I don't know what I will feel... the experience, you know? Has he turned others?”

  Luca looked at the ground. This was not a conversation she should be having with him. “I don't know for sure whether he has turned others or not. You’ll need to discuss that with him. I can't help you with how the experience of being turned feels. I can tell you that once you are turned, you will be stronger, your senses enhanced. All the skills you have been learning with me will be escalated, heightened. You will still have things to learn, like how to teleport. I doubt you will be taught to hunt, since you will only feed from master. But teaching you how to survive as a vampire, how to navigate our world, that is your maker's responsibility.

  “I will tell you not all maker's do that, honor their responsibility to the mortal they have turned. And then we have rogues, they are created by vampires who turn humans and then give them little if any support. This is different from a turning in that the mortal never feeds from the vampire prior to being drained. And they do not feed from their maker after they are drained. The rogues are looked down upon in our culture. They shame us all by their actions. They are frequently the vampires we battle, as well as the vampires they themselves then create.”

  He watched the concern on her face and thought h
e had shared too much, or confused her with this explanation. “Are you afraid, Kate?”

  “I’m not afraid. But it’s a huge decision. I must leave behind my mortal friends and family because they will age, and I won’t. And there’s still so much I don't know. But I have no choice, do I? To not be turned would mean I would have to leave Shade, and that’s not an option. I can't live without him.”

  “Talk to him. He’ll answer your questions as best he can. None of us, including Shade, may be able to tell you exactly what the experience is like... what it feels like, since none of us have had to go through it. But I do know Shade will be with you every step of the process. Now come, we have a lot to do tonight before Shade gets back. Tonight, we are back to weapons training.”

  “Swords again?” she asked.

  Luca shook his head, “No, tonight, we advance to bows. Not the crossbow yet. We will start with a longbow.”

  He gathered up the bow and arrows and showed her how to mount the quiver for the arrows on her shoulder, how to reach back and withdraw the arrows quickly. He set up a target for her, and had her practice shooting the arrows. The exercises with her arms and shoulders had improved her strength, and she was able to easily retract the bowstring. She hit the target board every time. At least she was on the board. Now with time, they would improve her aim.

  Kate felt frustrated that she couldn’t land a strike near the center, let alone hit the actual bull's eye. She dropped the bow down in front of her and growled.

  He laughed at her frustration and especially her growling. “Patience, little warrior. You expect to master everything with your first attempt? Warriors train for a lifetime. It will come.”

  He let her practice for about an hour and then wrapped up. He was not sure exactly what time master would get back, and he sure as hell didn’t need Shade landing right in the middle of their training session, pissed off, with eight warriors right behind him to kill Luca’s ass.

  “That's enough for tonight, Kate. We’ll start again tomorrow night. We’ll need to be more careful... of Shade... and the other warriors on the property.”

  She watched as he gathered the weapons and carried them back into the house. She followed and headed for the stairs and straight to the shower to get ready for Shade’s return. She made sure to use her rose scented bath gel in the shower, and in her hair. When she emerged from the shower, she slipped on a clean gown, and slid into their bed, and waited, and waited. Maybe he wasn’t coming? Maybe he was delayed? Luca would know.

  She put on her robe and walked back down the stairs to Luca's suite. His door was ajar, and she tapped at the door and looked inside. She didn’t see him anywhere. She called his name, but he didn’t answer. There was a canvas on his easel, uncovered but angled so she couldn’t see it. She shouldn’t enter. This was his space, but her curiosity about the canvas drew her in. She walked quietly into his room over to the easel, and gasped at what she saw.

  It was her, dressed in leather armor and on bended knee with her head bowed. She held a sword and a rose.

  Luca had walked outside to have a smoke. He had some things that were heavy on his mind. He had stepped so far over the boundaries with Shade when he chose to train her. Walking back in, he instantly picked up her scent. He looked to see her standing in front of the canvas. “Kate, is everything all right?”

  She was spellbound by the painting on the canvas. “Luca... is this... me? Did you paint me as a warrior?”

  He sighed softly. “Yes. You’ve come so far, you’ve worked hard. It has been on my mind, and when that happens, my fingers leak the images to the canvas. I wanted to give this to Shade, as a gift, once you are trained and he knows you can handle much more than he thinks. Do you like it?”

  Kate ran her fingers lightly over the canvas, “I do like it, but what I really like is that you see me as a warrior. I know you have called me little warrior, but I didn't really think that, in your eyes, I could live up to that. I know I’ve put you in a difficult position. It’s never far from my mind. I need you to know how much I appreciate what you’re doing for me. And this... This is an honor, and I'm not sure I deserve it.”

  Pacing further into the room, he faced her. “You can’t train just anyone to be a warrior. It takes heart to become one. You have the heart of a warrior. It drew you to master, one warrior’s heart to another. You’re a fighter, a survivor, and I tried to incorporate all the things I see in you within the canvas.”

  His words touched her heart, as they always did when he shared what he saw in his paintings. “I saw the paintings you did of Marco, for Theresa. They were beautiful, Luca. You have so much talent. And what's this... this other canvas?”

  She reached for a canvas that was propped against the leg of the easel, the back of the canvas exposed. Luca started to reach for her hand, as if to stop her, but she had turned the canvas over and was looking at the image. This one needed no explanation, she knew what he was trying to portray.

  “Luca,” was all she could manage before the silent tears flowed.

  It was another portrait of her, more abstract, but the imagery was clear. Her head was bowed in grief, her expression filled with pain as her hand partially covered her face. Her hair surrounded her head and ran like blood off the bottom of the canvas.

  “Kate, I am so sorry, I never meant for you...” Taking her in his arms, he held her softly, knowing he shouldn’t, but he needed to comfort her. “Please, forgive me. I shouldn’t have been so careless to leave it here. You must be strong, remember our lessons, be strong for master. He returns tonight. He wouldn’t want to come home to see you sad. He has missed you. Come, let me take you back to your room, he’ll be a few hours yet and you need to rest for his return.”

  Kate wiped away her tears. “I’m glad you painted it. It’s exactly like I felt, like I was being pulled down into the blackness. You saw that. You understood that. It’s why you sat with me and ultimately, why you trained me. I don't regret seeing it. It’s everything I went through, captured in one image. You have the heart of a warrior, but the soul of a poet. That’s how I see you, Luca. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. It just caught me off guard. Please, don't worry. But I will ask... please don't destroy it, but don't display it either. It holds my pain on the canvas. Let's leave it there.”

  He walked with her up the stairs, returning her to her bedroom. Kate turned and kissed him on the cheek. “You have been the best of friends. I don't have the words to express how much you have helped me.” She entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Her words went to his heart like a sister, when she kissed his cheek. Spinning on his heels, he headed down to the staff quarters to check for the tenth time that all was prepared and ready for master’s return.

  23

  Teleporting into the staff quarters, Shade waited until all the warriors made it inside. Watching them was hilarious. They couldn’t believe the staff actually lived here. He was pleased that the trip had gone without event, and everyone had made it here without a problem. “Please, gather around and have a seat, I have a few things to go over before I leave you.” As they gathered around in the central room of the staff quarters, he sent a message to bel telepathically, “Mi amore, are you awake?”

  Almost immediately, Luca strolled in and it was like a party. The warriors hugged, exchanged fist bumps and started joking with each other, and they hadn’t been there fifteen minutes. Luca spotted Marcello and his response was as Shade expected. They went to each other and united in a big bear hug, accompanied by several hearty slams on each other’s backs.

  Then he heard her soft voice in his head, “Lover, I’m awake. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Mi amore, I am home. Please come to the staff quarters.”

  She jumped out of bed. This was not the welcome home she expected. What do you wear to meet warriors? She brushed out her hair and applied some make-up to her pale skin, adding a touch of crimson lipstick. She pulled on a pair of jeans, a pair of knee high black b
oots, and a soft red sweater. He liked her in red. She headed out in the direction of the staff quarters.

  She could hear them before she got close to the building. They were laughing and talking loudly, some in English but most in Italian. Did they all even speak English? She hadn't even thought of that. She wasn’t expecting to meet them right away. She felt ill prepared and nervous.

  She opened the door and stepped into the room that had been set up to serve as Gi's central room for meeting with the staff. There was Shade, and Luca and eight other tall, burly, loud, imposing, intimidating men. On closer inspection, she made that seven tall, burly men, and one shorter, more lanky built man, with hair longer than hers. They all fell silent as she entered.

  Shade had picked up her scent and turned slowly, as the warriors fell silent in her presence. “Mi amore!” He held out his arms. She ran and jumped into them, straddling him, wrapping her legs around his waist. He covered her face with kisses and nuzzled into her neck. He loved that she made no mind to hide her affections in front of this mob of warriors. “I have missed you, bel, so damn much. I have a few warriors to introduce you to. Don’t be frightened. They are all from my coven. God, you feel so good in my arms!”

  She released her legs from around his hips and stood next to him, ready to meet his warriors. Shade turned to address his warriors, “Some of you have met Kate, and some of you haven’t. We were only at Castello a brief time. You are welcomed now to our home and you will act accordingly.”

  They went down on one knee and lowered their heads. “Alzati guerrieri di Medici!”

  As they stood, he introduced them to her, and they each expressed their gratitude and honor to be here.

  “Bel, I have saved the best for last. Marcello, Luca... come.

  Mi amore, may I present Marcello, he is Luca's cousin. He has been chosen by the battalion to be their representative while they are residing here.”