The devastation in Florida proved massive. The storm had hit land in the last 48 hours, killing 14, wounding hundreds, and destroying thousands of homes and livelihoods. Many were homeless, many were without electricity, and freshwater was scarce. The President did the flyover in Marine One and allowed Mason to view the neighborhoods and the places of business that were devastated.
While the President remained safely tucked away in a hotel with half the Colony team, Mason gave testimonials on the TV about what he had seen, and to how much federal aid Floridians could expect. Mason did his best to cover his face with his hands often during close up shots, and even wore dark sunglasses.
The vampires stayed in their perspective cars with little to do much of the day, which was truly an exercise in boredom. Between this and the President’s schedule to visit Austin, Texas, it was going to be a long week.
Alex felt overwhelmed. Since the original state dinner passes had been forged, a new pass design was drafted and security measures were put into place – which included a change of venue. The team back in D.C. had already compelled the White House Social Secretary, Chief of Protocol, and Chief Usher into believing the White House State Dining Room had experienced a flooding and was unavailable for the State Dinner. Documents were forged from a fake construction and plumbing company which had worked on the room and its nonexistent damage. Even press releases had been made about the fake damage.
The away team worked divided, half with the President, the other half as the decoy. Alex shuffled her priorities between the five motorcade cars. Back home, the dinner’s State Arrival Ceremony had to be changed from the White House reception room to a ballroom downtown, the dinner itself was now in an adjourning ballroom. The executive chef, pastry chef, and florists desperately tried to adjust to the change. Alex had spent the last twenty minutes on the phone with the White House calligrapher’s assistant who was busy faxing the change of venue invites to all those attending. The calligrapher could not understand why Ben’s last name was now Preston. After a series of impressive lies, the invitation was successfully changed.
Alex spent more time on the phone than talking face–to–face with each person, and her voice was threatening to give out. She had another dozen calls to make before she could call it a day and she was ready to relax in a hot bubble bath.
Eventually the motorcade ended their day at the Jamestown Imperial Hotel, a luxury five–star hotel which catered to Hollywood big shots and state dignitaries. It wasn’t every day the hotel received such an honor as the president of the United States, but the security was top–notch. The President had already entered through a service entrance earlier that day. Now Mason, with all the fan fair, entered through the same door. If this President had not had the label of being the “People’s President” the group may have flown back to D.C., but this one liked reaching out to his people, even if it was his decoy who did the actual reaching.
The top three floors of the hotel were reserved for the President, with Secret Service on the roof, the floor below, the lobby, and every nook and cranny that could be imagined in between.
The Secret Service secured Mason in the presidential suite as the rest of the team found their way to their own rooms. Alex was used to staying in hotels that promoted their rooms as “charming” and “quaint.” This room she shared with Sulie was posh. The beds were queens and in separate rooms. She guessed the bathroom and bar fixtures were less than a couple of years old, same with the rug, living room furniture and drapes. The windows were drawn shut, but she could imagine the view was spectacular. She thought the job she accepted was just dealing with the vampires. She had not bargained for her new traveling itinerary, or for the pleasing accommodations. Taking this job really was the best decision of her life.
Security was through with the luggage checks, and she noticed her suitcases in the second bedroom. She unpacked just enough to hang up her suits so they would not be wrinkled, and to dig out her toiletry kit. An emergency blood kit was stored in a secret compartment of her suitcase. The majority of the blood supply for the team was hidden in plain sight – in Sulie’s medical supply kits.
Alex ran her fingers over the nearly invisible pocket which held the five small syringes of blood and thought of Raymond. She had wanted to talk with him on the airplane. Once that fell through, she had hoped to talk with him at some point during the day, but he had flanked the President earlier that day, sat on Marine One with the man, and had called it an early day. All while she went from one flooded neighborhood to the other with Mason. Any discussion over last night would have to wait until later.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Raymond and Sterling sat shoulder to shoulder in a cramped security room filled with monitors displaying different areas of the hotel. The President remained locked down for the night, but security always had someone on duty, even into the small hours of the morning.
A knock sounded on the security door, and Sterling grinned from ear–to–ear as he let Alex in. “Look Dad. Alex decided to join us.”
It pleased Raymond to see her. There had been no chance throughout the day to apologize for his previous behavior. “Sterling, aren’t you due for a break? Maybe Alex could help me for while you take one.”
“Actually Sterling, that would be nice. Please give us a few minutes. I have some business to discuss with your father.”
“Sure. How about if I get all three of us some coffees?” Sterling suggested.
Raymond watched as the grin on his son’s face faded to a look of concern. When a woman said she needed to talk alone for a few minutes, it usually meant a heart–crushing blow was about to happen.
Once alone, Alex apologized. “I am so sorry about last night. It was unprofessional of me to drink as much as I did. There is no excuse.”
“It's fine.” Raymond became more confused than ever. He should be the one apologizing. “Look, I should never have crossed the line last night. I didn’t know how much you had to drink and I never should have … wait, do you remember what happened last night?”
“What do you mean?”
Confusion, thy name is relationship. “You were drunk last night. I got you home, put you into bed. I didn’t want to take advantage of you … hell, I planned to feed you something called Frosted Flakes …”
Her hand covered her mouth as a gasp escaped. Her eyes widened. “I don’t remember any cereal. I drank a few glasses of wine to calm my nerves before meeting the team. Then, at Fang Manor, I lost track of how much I drank.”
“What was the last thing you remember?”
A smile crossed her lips. “Pulling you into my bed.” Her devilish smile was wicked, her look seductive as hell, but it confused Raymond even more.
“Wait. Why were you so mad at me this morning when you boarded the plane? How did I offend you?”
“I wasn’t mad at you.”
“I heard your thoughts Alex. Who was the ‘Stupid bloodsucking bastard’ that you were mad at this morning? If it wasn’t me, then who else on the team upset you?”
Alex’s eyes grew wide in disbelief and she let out a hardy laugh. “I was bitten by mosquitoes this morning, that’s all.” Watching as the information sank in, she added, “Raymond, you should have talked to me. You went all day long thinking I was mad at you? I’m so sorry.”
Raymond laughed. “I’m so relieved.” He took in a deep breath and glanced back at the security monitors. All was well, so he focused back on Alex. “Look, next time I’ll just talk to you and ask you what’s going on. I don’t want there to be any miss communication between us.”
“I agree. I want us to be open with each other.”
Raymond hugged her, but after a moment of silence, he said. “I want to share everything with you Alex. I need to tell you about what happened to Wilma.”
Alex pulled away from the hug just enough to make eye contact with him. “Who’s Wilma?” she asked.
“Sterling’s mother. My dead wife. I want you to know what happened and ho
w she died.”
Alex’s body stiffened, “How did she die?”
“I killed her.”
CHAPTER THRITY–ONE
“I don’t believe you.” Alex shook her head as her chair slid away from him. “You are such a good man. I can’t believe you killed her.”
Raymond heard the cracking of her voice and noticed her eyes glance back to the closed door. Her heart rate had sped up, and she was now perspiring, which caused her honey scent to fill the tiny room. With widened eyes, she watched him intently.
“No. It wasn’t what you’re thinking,” Raymond quickly said. “I killed her with my arrogance and my pride. Not with …,” he held up his hands, “… not by … this.” His hands waved around his mouth suggesting his fangs. He took a deep breath, slumped in his chair, and rubbed his jaw with his hand.
Raymond cleared his throat as he felt Alex regaining her calm. He watched as she relaxed in her own chair, her hands gently placed in her lap waiting for him to continue. He never told this story in its entirety to anyone before. Both Sulie and Sterling knew some of the tale, with the rest of the Colony members knowing just hints of what had happened. Only Raymond knew the entire truth. Now, he wanted to share the truth with Alex.
He bit his lip, feeling the tiny prick of his fang as the tooth brushed his inner cheek. “The year was 1820. As a nineteen year old, I had not transitioned. I still ate human food, my fangs had not fully extended, and my blood remained mostly still human in me.” He rolled his eyes, “Actually, I was a punk kid who thought he knew everything about life. I lived a waiting game until my Jahrling Year when I knew I’d become one of the strongest and most enduring creatures to walk the planet.” He let out a nervous laugh. “I was such a delinquent back then.”
Alex leaned toward him, her voice calm. “Most teenagers are like that. At least they are in my experience. It’s called growing up.”
He nodded. “And like most teenagers, I became rebellious. Sure, as vampires we mingled with humans. Our neighbors were all humans, I attended school with humans, and …” He closed his eyes and murmured, “I shared my bed with a human.”
Raymond’s opened his eyes, but furrowed his brow with a look of defiance. “We are told, very early on, that we do not date humans.” He stressed the word human, not paying attention to his current audience. If Alex took offense, it did not show. She sat motionless listening to his story.
“We don’t soil our bed with them,” he said as tears welled up in his eyes. He took a deep breath, slowly nodded, and again let out nervous laughter. “My father held a seat as head of the Council. He had big plans for me, which included a vampire bride to unite our family line with another one just as wealthy and powerful.”
Alex looked confused. “What Council?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It's nothing to be concerned with. Eventually, on his death, I got his seat on the Council so that I could represent my family line and coven.”
“Wait,” Alex interrupted. “So the Council is some sort of … what?”
His hands waved in the air dismissively. “Not important to the story.” He cleared his throat and continued, “I didn’t want to marry the woman my parents chose for me, and my father would not have approved of me socializing with human women. When I met Wilma, I didn’t tell him about her. I didn’t share the truth with my mother either. Only Sulie knew.”
A blush of contempt colored Alex’s cheeks. “So you were embarrassed for sleeping with a human.”
“No.” He shook his head, “That wasn’t it. I fell in love with Wilma. She was as beautiful, and as frail, as a flower.” His fingers raked through his hair. “We lived in Milford, Pennsylvania, a small, modest town – even in the 1800s. Wilma was a classmate of mine. She had long golden hair, and she was the sweetest woman I’d ever met. Her freckled face …” He now pointed over to Alex, “… looked much like yours. Her smile could light up a room, and her body …,” he paused. Looking over to Alex, he shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, she was a human. She was my human.” He glanced up at Alex, “Our budding relationship seemed easy enough to hide from my parents. After our schooling ended, I worked at her father’s mill, which was called Sterling Flour and Corn. It gave us plenty of time to be together without anyone knowing.”
“Her last name was Sterling?” Alex asked.
Raymond nodded. “Yes. I named our son after her. It seemed proper. Anyway”, he cleared his throat, “I loved Wilma; She was everything to me. She was religious and I wasn’t sure how she would take the news of me being a vampire.” Raymond reflected on that. “Actually I did know in my heart. I was sure she’d take the news poorly, so I didn’t tell her my true nature.
“I loved her, and she loved me. One night, out of wedlock, I made love to her. She was so innocent and pure, and she had no clue what it was she was making love to.” He slammed his fist onto his knee. “It felt wrong to do that to her, but my feelings of love and lust carried me away. I made love to her within my own lie of omission. And to my heart’s greatest joy, she loved me with all of her heart and wanted me as a woman would want a man. Of course, I seemed human. I never bit her because my fangs hadn’t fully extended. I wouldn’t be able to drink blood for a couple more years.”
Raymond leaned forward, and rested his forehead in the entwined fingers of his hands. “I wanted to tell her what I was, but I was a coward. I pretended to be human and thought that perhaps it didn’t matter if she didn’t know. Then she told me she was in a family way with our son. I asked her to marry me that very day. Her parents disapproved, but we were married within a couple of weeks. Of course, back then, marriage was the honorable and expected thing to do.”
Alex leaned forward. “What about your parents? How did they take the news?”
He straightened back into his chair. “Furious. More so when they found out about the baby – a half–breed.” He noticed Alex had cast her look downward onto the floor, not making eye contact with him. “My parents did the best they could, but they were prejudiced beyond belief.”
She glanced back up at him. “A mixed marriage can be difficult.”
“Mixed?” He looked at her. “That’s putting it kindly.”
A moment passed in awkward silence before Raymond continued. “Anyway, we lived together in our home at the edge of the town. We had a plot of land her parents gave us. We lived as husband and wife while she carried our child. Those months were the happiest time in my life, even though she never knew me for who and what I was.”
Raymond paused. His eyes welled up with tears. “I knew she was human when I went into the relationship.” Raymond chose his words carefully here. “I loved her for what she was, a human. She never had to be a vampire to own my heart. I gave it to her. I never saw the division between human and vampire like my parents had.” He glanced over at Alex, “I still don’t, not where it really counts.”
“Why not turn Wilma? She could have been a vampire,” Alex said.
“Not with her being pregnant. I wouldn’t be able to turn her until after the baby came … so I kept my secret.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We can’t turn a pregnant woman or a child. They die in the attempt. A child can’t handle the turning and will die during the turn, and that usually kills the mother.”
A gasp escaped Alex’s throat. “Oh my.”
Raymond nodded. “I fully intended to marry Wilma before we had a child together.” He shook his head. “I respected her and, well, unplanned pregnancies happen, whether you are human or a vampire — not that I ever regretted having Sterling. I love him dearly. I wanted Wilma to know exactly what I was and to accept me and want my child – a vampire child.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I also wanted Wilma to be turned before we had children so our children would be purebred vampires and not half–breeds. Not that I see anything wrong with half–breeds, but it would be easier on him within our culture.”
“But Sterling is a vampire. It doesn’t matter that
he had a human mother,” Alex said.
“I know that. But there is some stigma to being a half–breed.” Raymond rolled his eyes. “God. I hate that term.”
“I don’t understand. I know they’re slightly weaker than purebreds, but they are immortal and stronger than humans. What stigma are you talking about?”
He explained. “Half–breeds are usually the result of a male vamp compelling a human woman into his bed without her knowledge, or even forgoing the compelling and raping her. It happens all the time if the male vampire succumbs to blood lust after a feeding.” He sighed heavily. “It's not that all vampire men can’t control themselves. It just sometimes happens. So half–breeds are generally thought of as unwanted children from their mothers, at least the ones that survive. It's a difficult pregnancy, usually ending in miscarriages. Then if a child is born, most usually die during their transition into adulthood unless they are told what they are and how to … feed.” Raymond rubbed his temple. “The children that survive should never be made to feel that they were unwanted or unwelcome in their parents’ lives.”
“But you and Wilma loved each other. That’s different,” Alex assured him.
“Of course. Sterling may have been unplanned, but not unwanted. Wilma was very excited about the idea of having a child. So was I.”
Alex reached out and put her hand on Raymond’s shoulder as he continued.
Eternal Service Page 19
