by Gayla Twist
“Not that grandfather,” Jessie said between kisses. “I did have two of them, you know. And the other one I liked quite a bit.”
“I’m sorry I spoiled your surprise,” I said, feeling slightly ashamed of my wanton behavior.
“That’s alright, darling,” he said, nuzzling my hair. “You gave me quite the surprise yourself. Where did you get this amazing negligee?”
“Gloria,” I admitted.
“Hmmm…” Jessie thought this new piece of information over. “It’s nice to know the servants are plotting against me.” And then he laughed.
“So did it work then?” I asked, rolling on top of him. “Have you been properly seduced? Can we be together, now that we are properly engaged?”
This made Jessie laugh even harder. “Darling, there’s nothing in this world that I want more than to sweep you up in my arms and savor every inch of you,” he assured me. “But I am determined that the next time we are together in that way will be on our wedding night.”
“Okay, fine,” I relented, half pouting. “If that’s the way it has to be.” Then I looked at him and said, “But please don’t make me suffer through a long engagement.”
Jessie gave another laugh, but then kissed me rather passionately. “I don’t think I could,” he said, his voice taking on a husky tone. “Not after seeing you in this bit of froth that you’re wearing.”
There was a loud pounding at the door that caused me to jump. “Never mind, Viggo,” Jessie called out. “I don’t need them anymore.”
“It’s your mother,” Alice called through the door. “I need to speak to you right away.”
Jessie and I exchanged looks and then we both cringed. Yes, we were engaged, but it was too embarrassing to be discovered by his mother dressed this way. “This will probably be the most immature thing I ever say to you, Aurora,” my fiancé said as we both scrambled to our feet, “but would you mind hiding in the wardrobe while I speak to my mother?”
He didn’t need to wait for my reply. After scooping up my robe, I was already hurrying across the room.
“What’s wrong?” I heard Jessie say once I was tucked inside the wardrobe with the door closed. “Has something happened?”
“I’ve had a letter from your uncle,” Alice said. I could tell by the increase in the volume of her voice that she had entered the room.
“What’s Uncle Frank worried about? Did something happen to Dorian?” Jessie asked. Dorian was Jessie’s cousin, who was blond, very handsome and a bit girl crazy. That was really all I knew about him.
“No, this pertains to you and…” Here Alice faltered, as if simply saying my name filled her with revulsion. “And Aurora.”
“What is it?” Jessie’s voice held a sharp edge of concern.
“He writes that Lord Vagnar has taken a keen interest in your case.”
“Lord Vagnar,” Jessie said. “You mean the judge?”
“Exactly.”
There was a few moments of silence where I pictured Jessie was running his fingers through his hair. “That can’t be good.”
“It’s not,” she informed him. “If he takes a disliking to you, you’re as good as dust.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jessie said, a little too quickly.
“Your uncle writes that delaying your trip is only making matters worse. He urges you to leave for Budapest as soon as possible.”
“But Aurora is still a fledgling,” Jessie protested. “They can’t expect her to fly across an ocean and face trial when she’s just now adjusting to her new life.”
“The Bishops might not feel as much compassion for her as you do,” Alice pointed out. “They just want answers.”
“I know.”
I don’t normally suffer from claustrophobia, but Jessie and Alice’s conversation wasn’t exactly putting me at my ease. The walls of the wardrobe felt like they were closing in. I knew that I didn’t actually have to breathe anymore, but I suddenly felt the intense urge to hyperventilate. I wondered if vampires could actually pass out from a perceived lack of oxygen.
“You have to leave immediately,” Alice was saying.
“I know,” Jessie assured her. “We will.”
“And when you go, I want you to promise me one thing,” Alice went on, her voice steady, but there was a strain to it.
“What is it?” Jessie wanted to know.
“I want you to promise me that if it looks like things aren’t going your way, then you’ll give up Aurora to save yourself.”
I felt bile rising in my throat. Alice hated me. She was my maker and yet she hated me.
“I would never do that,” was Jessie’s reply, his voice instantly hard as stone. “How can you even ask me such a thing?”
“Because I can’t lose you,” Alice told him. “I can’t lose the only family member I have left. I can’t spend eternity alone with nobody to love and no one who loves me.” Her voice had cracked and I knew she was crying.
“That won’t happen, Mother.”
“But it can happen,” she insisted. “It might happen. Things could easily go against you. And then where would I be? Rotting away in this hideous castle for eternity.” She took a ragged breath. “No. I’d sooner face the sun.”
“Mother…” Jessie began.
“You have to promise me,” she said, cutting him off. “I know you love her and I know you think she’s Colette, but if push comes to shove, you have to promise me that you’ll sacrifice her to save yourself.”
“How can you ask me to do such a thing?” Jessie wanted to know. “How can you even think of such a thing? You, of all people. You are her maker.”
I felt my body trembling all over. I so desperately did not want to hear their conversation. It was like overhearing my own mother saying she didn’t love me.
“You helped kill your grandfather,” Alice pointed out. “He was your maker.”
“But he was a mad dog that needed to be put down. And still it took every ounce of strength that I had.”
“She’s not one of us,” Alice went on. “Yes, she’s a vampire now, but she’s not a Vanderlind.”
“Well she very soon will be,” Jessie informed her. “Just so you know, Aurora and I got engaged tonight.”
There was a long period of silence where I could only imagine them staring at one another.
Finally Alice said, “I think the two of you should leave tomorrow night.”
“Aurora isn’t ready,” Jessie insisted. “She’s not strong enough yet.”
“She has to be,” was Alice’s reply. “Things will be much worse if the Bishops send someone to take you back to Budapest in silver chains.”
“I know.” His words were barely audible.
“I’ll go tell her now,” Alice said and I could hear her moving across the floor.
“No, please don’t,” Jessie said. “I need to be the one to tell her.”
“She’s my progeny,” Alice pointed out. “I should be the one to warn her that both your lives are in danger.”
“She’s my fiancée,” Jessie said in a steady voice. “I will tell her.”
I heard the door to Jessie’s room close, but still I stayed hidden. There was no air in the wardrobe; I felt stifled, but somehow I couldn’t leave. My maker despised me. She wanted Jessie to sacrifice me if things got bad. Just hearing her say it was like a knife to my heart. But somehow I also understood. She wanted to save her son; the last surviving member of her family besides herself. I was nothing to her. Not really. Not in comparison to a mother’s love. And that understanding somehow made me feel better.
Jessie opened the wardrobe door and looked in at me. “I suppose you heard,” he said.
I simply nodded.
“Will you come out now?” he asked, holding his arms out to me. “Or shall I come in?”
“I’ll come out,” I told him, my voice surprisingly steady. Alice had definitely been right about one thing; I needed to be strong. I couldn’t always be crying and emotional. I
had to get my feelings under control and be smart. That was the only way we would survive the Bishop’s inquest.
“I’m sorry about Mother,” he said, his arm around my waist as I exited the closet.
“Don’t be,” I told him. “She just wants to protect you. I’ll never be a mother, but I think I can understand her a little, on some level.”
Jessie cocked his head to one side and gave me a penetrating look. Given the fragile state of my emotions ever since I’d been transformed, I guess my sudden composure perplexed him. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said with a firm nod of my head. I was alright. Surprisingly so. It wasn’t something I was going to share with my new fiancé, but I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with my future mother-in-law on another point that she had mentioned. If it came down to Jessie or me, I would make sure it was me with the stake in my heart. Jessie was too noble to ever think of sacrificing me, but that wouldn’t stop me. I would not allow Jessie to die. If it came down to either him or me, I was going to make damn sure that I was the one who would to take the fall.
Chapter 10
“Do you think you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Mother,” Jessie said, giving Alice a kiss on the forehead. “For the hundred and fiftieth time, I believe we have everything we need.”
“And you’re sure you don’t want me to come with you?” It was late the next night and Alice had transformed from the ruthless mama bear to a doting mother hen.
“I’ll send word if I think things aren’t going our way,” Jessie assured her. “Meanwhile, your abilities are much better spent here.” Detective Bowers and the rest of the police would not be thrilled if they discovered that I had left town.
And then there was my mother. We hadn’t said goodbye yet. I didn’t know if I was ever coming home. I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. And I loved her so much. But still I didn’t cry. I was tired of crying. I was just going to go to Budapest, explain to the Bishops everything that had happened to Jessie’s grandfather and Daniel, and then Jessie and I would be free to get married and live happily forever after. And I did mean forever.
I just needed to focus and not let my wildly swinging emotions, and my overwhelming craving for blood — and Jessie — get in the way of what needed to be done. There would be time to see my mom again. I had to believe that.
Viggo and Gloria were out in front of the castle, supervising the loading of our luggage and coffins into an ancient black vehicle that looked like a cross between a hearse and a station wagon. I noticed that some additional luggage was being loaded as well. Luggage that looked decidedly like it belonged to a female. Immediately alarmed, I hurried over. She looked very green around the gills, but she was doing her best to pretend like she wasn’t going to hurl into the shrubbery.
“You’re not possibly thinking of coming with us. Are you?” I asked.
“Of course I’m coming with you,” she said, a fine sheen of sweat glistening on her brow. “At the very least, you’ll need me to shepherd you through customs.”
“Yes, but…” I waved a hand in the direction of her belly. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, given the circumstances?”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured me and then swallowed a few times as if she was fighting back the bile.
“But will the baby be fine?” I asked in a low voice. When she didn’t answer, I turned on my heel and I approached Jessie. “I don’t know if you know this, but Gloria can’t come with us,” I informed him.
He knitted his eyebrows. “Why not? It’s not like she is going to be arrested,” he said. “And I’ve covered her debt, so they can’t keep her there or anything.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I mean. Gloria’s going to have a baby.”
This time Jessie’s eyebrows rose very high on his forehead. “She is?” he exclaimed, glancing toward her, and then at Viggo, and then back to me. Several expressions crossed his face and I thought I could interpret them all. He was surprised, and then thrilled for them, and then saddened that we could never have a baby, and then concerned that I might be upset. I was upset, if I let myself think about it, but I was doing my best imitation of Scarlett O’Hara and putting off thinking about all sorts of unpleasant things until tomorrow.
“Excuse me,” Jessie said, then he turned and walked directly up to Viggo. I watched the two of them. Jessie was tall by most standards; I had to guess he was about six feet. But he looked positively tiny standing next to Viggo, who loomed over stop signs, let alone people. The two men had a brief exchange and then Jessie broke into a smile and slapped the giant a few times on the back. After that there was more discussion where Jessie was saying one thing and Viggo was arguing another. Gloria approached and inserted herself into the conversation, as she should. It was obviously about her and the baby, of course.
Eventually something was settled and Jessie walked back over to me. “Gloria will stay here,” he told me.
“And Viggo?” I asked.
“He wants to come, but I told him it was impossible.”
“But…” I was about to protest.
Jessie held up a hand to stop me. “He can never return to Europe. It would be too risky. Especially now, with a baby on the way.”
“But…” I tried again.
“Please don’t, Aurora. I just finished fighting with him. He was insisting on escorting us, but I just don’t see how it’s possible, given the price on his head. And Gloria was on his side, if you can believe it.” He shook his head in dismay. “They can both be unreasonably stubborn. I don’t know how they ever settle any disagreement between them.”
“But Gloria isn’t feeling well,” I said, finally getting a word in edgewise. “Even if there wasn’t a price on his head, she’d need Viggo here to take care of her.”
“I know,” Jessie said, running his fingers through his hair several times. “That’s what I kept telling him. Don’t get me wrong, I value his loyalty, but there should be limits.”
Jessie looked so flummoxed that I couldn’t help but give him a kiss. “Someday you’ll have to tell me the story of how Viggo became so loyal to you.”
“It’s quite the story,” he assured me. “But there’s no time for it now. We have to get to the airport. Viggo will call Budapest while we’re in the air and arrange for someone to pick us up at the airport.”
The last time I had to fly to Budapest with Jessie to defend staking a vampire, I had been a mortal flying first class for the very first time. I had been terrified by the thought of facing a court of vampires, but also delighted with the indulgences of the luxury seats. But now I was going to face numerous hours locked in a coffin while we crossed the Atlantic. It made me claustrophobic just thinking about it.
“Do we have to get in the coffins right now?” I asked. It was dark outside and we had to drive to Cleveland to get to an airport that had international flights.
Reading the anxious look on my face, Jessie wrapped his arms around me. “No, not just yet. And remember what we talked about; you have to think of it like meditating.” I knew what Jessie and I had talked about for traveling by coffin, but I was horrible at meditation. My brain refused to switch to power-save mode. Reading my thoughts, Jessie squeezed me even tighter and said, “Darling, it’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” I told him. “And if I get bored, I can always look at my ring.” I absolutely loved my engagement ring and I couldn’t stop looking at it whenever I had a free moment. I knew Jessie said that the ring had been a rush order, but he must have ordered almost instantly after I had been turned. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jessie was as desperate to be with me as I was to be with him.
“I’m so glad you love your ring,” he said. “That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
I felt my hormones starting to ignite, which wouldn’t be good for anyone at that exact moment, so I pulled away from him and said in a brisk voice, “It’ll be dawn, soon. I guess we’d better get
started.”
Alice approached and pulled her son into an immense hug. “I need constant updates,” she told him. “Do not hesitate to call me over there if it looks like things aren’t going your way.” But she barely spared a glance in my direction. Her coldness stung, but I told myself I wasn’t going to think about it. I was simply going to go to the airport. I would take the time to worry about my maker hating me at some distant point in the future.
Jessie and I spent most of the car ride in silence, just holding hands. Gloria insisted on at least accompanying us to the airport and she sat up front with Viggo. They spoke in low tones in a language that I didn’t understand. I couldn’t tell if it was Hungarian or Russian.
Viggo pulled off the highway a few miles away from the airport at a deserted rest stop. No one seemed to be driving around at the tail end of the night. “I think it is time that you lie down, Mr. Wanderlind,” he said in his somber voice.
Jessie gave my hand a little squeeze. “Good idea,” he told the giant. “Best to get tucked away while we still have a bit of privacy.”
We all got out of the vehicle and then Jessie and I crawled into the back where we had the coffins. “I know this isn’t anything close to what you want to be doing right now,” Jessie said, both of us hunching over and inching toward our respective caskets. “But I promise you that it won’t be that bad.”
I suppressed a grimace and replied, “If you say so.”
“Ladies first,” Jessie said, gesturing toward the body sized box in front of me. It was actually rather pretty, as far as coffins go, with a pale, polished wood for the exterior and a pale blue lining for the interior. Jessie gave me an encouraging smile.
“Okay,” I said, reluctantly reaching to open the lid. I dreaded the thought that Viggo would lock it behind me once I was safely tucked inside. But the lid wouldn’t open. I wrenched my head around to look at Viggo from my bent over position. “It’s already locked.” Jessie tried his coffin lid and it opened right up.
