The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV

by Dawn Gray

  “She doesn't remember all of what happened that night, and it better not be your intention to remind her.” Julian snarled.

  “If you don't remember, Julian, I was there that night, and I almost lost her, too. If I could forget it, I would but I can't and just like you, I've felt every ounce of pain, every second of the day, since she left.” Nick said, shaking his head. “I'm not going to remind her; in fact, I'm not even going to mention it.”

  “Well, somebody better think about telling me something.” I said, sitting up on the chair. Both of them looked over at me as I pushed the throw off and stood. “You're male bonding is great and all, and I'm glad you’re getting along, but I have a memory in my head that doesn't have an ending, or an explanation, and right now, I think, is the right time for both.”

  “You're wrong.” Nick whispered. I walked over and stood near them. “You need more time to let your memories catch up with you before you hurt your mind with that one.”

  “I agree.” Julian spoke up and I looked back and forth between them.

  “Suddenly, you're both going to gang up on me?” I asked, and then smiled, knowing that it was better for them to be agreeing on something than ripping each other's throats out. “Okay, since the two of you want to be this way, I'll drop it for now, but when I decide to talk about it, the three of us are going to have a talk.”

  “Fine.” Nick agreed, nodding, then turned and walked out of the room. I moved to look directly at Julian, and he reached out to hold me, but I backed away a bit.

  “What?” He questioned.

  “Nick is our third, his eyes are brown.” I replied. Julian shrugged, then thought about it a moment before he looked back down at me.

  “So, now all we have to do is find our fourth.” He answered. “There was something I've been thinking about.”

  “Yeah, me too, and it's about Larado.” I walked over and sat down on the chair that I had been sitting in. “There's something not right about this whole thing.”

  * * * * *

  “Um, excuse me, do you mind if I interrupt?” Ashley spoke up, disrupting my train of thought. I looked over at her, and smiled, or at least I tried to smile. I was beginning to see why Quinn thought she was such a pain in the ass. I gestured to her, to ask whatever it was that was on her mind. “This is all beginning to sound like witchcraft.”

  “I'm glad you agree, because that's exactly what it was.” I replied and looked over at Julian, who was looking up at the door. I turned and looked over at Robert, who was standing there, smiling. “Robert, I'm sorry if we woke you up.”

  “I didn't realize that you had company.” He smiled and walked over to Julian, who stood when he came over. Robert stuck out his hand. “Julian, good to see you again. I hope my wife's not slacking off at work.”

  “No, actually, we're here for a different reason, but it's good to see you again.” Julian replied, pleasantly. As the two men shook hands, I glanced over at Ashley, who watched the two of them. “Robert, this is Ashley Wolf, my, um, girlfriend. She's interested in your wife's extra-curricular activities.”

  “Oh, another one involved in the supernatural.” Robert laughed and smiled at Ashley. “You've come to the right place. Caitlyn is an expert on things that don't exist. Vampires seem to be her favorite.” I shot a glance at Robert, scolding him with my eyes. “Oh, sorry, I hope I haven't offended you.”

  “Not at all.” Ashley replied, and smiled, awkwardly in my direction. “Actually, I'm a writer, myself, and her knowledge of vampires is amazing. Julian thought it might help me, in my work, to meet her. I'm sorry if we were too loud in our discussions.”

  “No, you weren't. In fact, I barely heard a peep. It was the alarm clock that woke me up.” Robert smiled.

  “Alarm clock?” I asked, and then glanced at the time piece on the mantel. “My God, it's quarter of five.” I looked at my two guests and smiled. “I guess time really does fly. I have to bring Robert to the airport for six, so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short, so, I can get Damien up and ready.”

  “I'll stay with him.” Julian smiled. Robert looked over at him, then back at me. “Really, I don't mind. There's no sense waking him up, just to put him in a car. You can let him sleep in.”

  “That's very nice of you, Julian...” I started, getting ready to protest, when Robert smiled and nodded.

  “I think it's a great idea.” He answered, which made me look his way, and then I shrugged.

  “I'll go home then, and you can meet me there.” Ashley added, looking at Julian, who nodded, and then she looked at me. “We'll finish talking later.”

  “All right.” I answered, and then watched Robert leave the room to finish getting ready to leave. I walked Ashley to the door and she stopped me. “Thank you for going along with us.”

  “He doesn't have a clue about what you really are does he?” She asked, in a whisper. I shook my head and sighed.

  “I tried to tell him once before, but he just didn't understand what I was trying to tell him.” I smiled. “It's just better this way, sometimes my “clients” are very protective of their secret and his ignorance makes them feel more comfortable being in my house.”

  “Maybe, we can finish our discussion tomorrow night.” She smiled and looked passed me at Julian, who stood, smiling in our direction, in the doorway to the den. I looked back at him, unable to smile back, and then I looked at Ashley, again. “Good night.”

  I nodded to her, watched her get in her car and drive away before I closed the door and walked into the room with Julian. He looked up at me from the fireplace and sighed, his green eyes seemed so full of emotions that it was hard to tell what he was feeling.

  “So, what do you think?” He asked.

  “Of Ashley or this whole mess?” I questioned as I walked over to him, with my arms crossed. Julian rolled his eyes, sighed loudly, and then looked back at me. “If you’re looking for my approval, Julian, I'm not sure if I can give it.”

  “Well, that's kind of selfish, don't you think?” He replied, sourly.

  “It's nothing to do with who she is as a person, Jules, but I know her track record with you, with how many times she's hurt you, do you really think I'm going to say that I want to see you with her, because, honestly, I don't.” I replied. Julian rubbed his forehead and looking thoughtfully at the mantel, as he leaned against it. Robert stepped into the doorway, holding my coat. I looked over at him, glanced back at Julian, and turned to go. “We'll finish this when I get back.”

  12

  It was close to seven when I entered the house, and that's when I noticed how quiet it was. I searched the lower half of the house for Julian, but didn't find him anywhere. It wasn't until I topped the stairs that I saw him walking out of Damien's room. He looked up at me and smiled, half-heartedly, and then he moved towards me, meeting me at the end of the railing. He looked down at me and shrugged, holding on to one of Damien's many teddy bears.

  “He had a nightmare.” Julian whispered. I nodded and looked down the stairs as the two of us turned and made our way to the living room. Julian stood there, at the end of the couch as I slipped my coat off and draped it over a dining room chair, then walked by him, brushing against him as I passed. I looked down at my fingers for a moment, then sighed and turned to look at him.

  “I'm sorry.” I whispered, shrugging. “It was rude of me to say those things to you about Ashley.”

  “You're entitled.” He replied.

  “No, I'm not.” I told him, quickly. Julian stepped closer to me and watched me fidget as I stood there under his gaze. “I'm selfish, like you said, because I can sit here and keep telling her that there's no way we can love each other, because of Robert and Damien, and then turn and tell you that I don't want you with her because of the way I feel about you. It's stupid to think that I should have you all to myself when I'm not even available for you to be with.”

  “Ashley can't stop how we feel.” Julian smiled at me. I turned to look away from what I s
aw in his eyes, but I couldn't as he moved, even closer to me. “Can she?” He whispered, standing less than a foot away. “Because, I love you just as much now as I did then.”

  “You can't, Julian, you should think about your future!” I answered. “You should be with Ashley, and you should start thinking about not loving me. It's going to get you in trouble.”

  “I can't forget us, Cait.” He said, softly. Feeling frustrated, I closed my eyes and relaxed, never seeing him advance, until his hands were on my face and his lips were pressed, heatedly, against mine. I reached up, touching his hands, thinking about pulling them away, pushing him away, but I just held on to him as his kiss became more demanding and the fire I felt between us started to get overwhelming.

  When he finally broke, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked down at me with sparkling eyes and he smiled.

  “It's been a long time since you've done that.” I whispered, swallowing hard as I looked up at him.

  “I know, too long.” He sighed. “Cait, this thing with Ashley and telling her about our past with each other, changes nothing.”

  “It changes everything, because you are going to be with her, no matter how we feel, apart or together, and I'm still going to be here married to a man that I never see, thinking about you being with her every second of the day, driving myself crazy, because I can't stand her” I sighed, and rubbed my face. I looked up at him, drew in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “I think you should leave.”

  “Fine.” He said, quietly, and then turned to go. I followed him to the door and watched as he turned to look at me. “Come to dinner, at the mansion, tomorrow night, the boys can play together and I won't have to worry about you being in this place by yourself with just Damien to protect you.”

  “What about Ashley?” I asked, softly.

  “I'll talk to her today; that is if she's awake when I get home, and explain some things.”

  “About us?”

  “No, I don't think I want to explain us to her anymore, not the “us” we are now. What we were two years ago, before she came home has nothing to do with what we feel now, except that it's stronger.” He smiled, leaned down and kissed me, softly, again. “I don't want to leave you, yet.”

  “But, it's probably better if you did.” I smiled, touching his face with my hand. “There are some things that are out of our reach still.”

  “I know.” He answered and stepped back, away from me, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door. “I'll see you later, and you don't have to come to work today.”

  “I kind of figured that.” I smiled and watched him step out the door. He walked away, and over to his car, where he turned and looked back at me, before getting in and backing out of my driveway.

  I closed the door, turned and leaned against it for a few minutes before going upstairs, changing into something more suited to sleep in, and climbed into bed to try to get a few hours of sleep before Damien woke up.

  * * * * *

  It was a cool night as we walked from our car to the house, with Damien bounding away by leaps ahead of me. We were casually dressed in jeans and shirts, but I knew that Julian would be in a suit, for that was just his way and the table would be set in some fancy way because nothing was done half way in that house.

  When we entered the building, we were greeted by a young man, named Jake, who took our coats and told us that the others were in the sitting room. Damien ran on ahead, knowing exactly where he was going because he knew this house, top to bottom and I smiled when I heard him call out Julian's name.

  I stepped into the room and stood in the doorway, watching my son and a blond haired little boy play with some new trucks that Michael had presented them with, and Quinn walked over to greet me. He informed me that Julian and Ashley were having a private discussion and would be out shortly, then he waved Lauren over and the three of us discussed the day.

  “Things went fairly well this morning when Julian got home.” Lauren whispered, reassuringly, as if I needed to hear that I hadn't broken up the whole house.

  “What did you and Julian discuss last?” Quinn smiled. “He came in awfully flush and preoccupied.” However, when I looked up at him, his smile faded. “That serious, huh?”

  “He asked me what I thought of Ashley,” I replied and shrugged, “and I told him that I couldn't give my approval if that's what he wanted, and he knew why.”

  “It's hard.” Quinn sighed, and touched my shoulder, gently, and then I watched him glance at Lauren. “We know how he feels about you.”

  “But, also know how he is with Ashley, too.” Lauren added. “It's going to be hard on all of us to keep this straight until you're done telling your side.”

  “I know, but how much about us should I leave out?” I smiled and then shook my head. “How much should she know?”

  “She should know everything.” Michael said, softly, as he stepped up to us. “This way here you don't have to think about what you did and didn't tell her, when you're around her.”

  “Oh, yeah, I could see the blackmail already if I told every intimate detail about when I came back.” I said, shaking my head.

  “Maybe, you should leave some of that out.” He smiled, and then looked up as the two of them walked into the room.

  I smiled at Julian, who winked back, then turned back to Ashley who had begun to ask me a question.

  “I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.” I said, looking her in the eyes.

  “No, I didn't think you did, you were too busy staring at him.” She sighed and crossed her arms. I glanced at Julian, once more then looked at her as I felt my face grow warm. “It all right, you know.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  “For you to love him, it's all right, because I know that you're not coming between him and me.” She replied, confidently. I looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but, I suddenly understood. I wasn't a threat because I was married. “He told me what went on between you two.”

  “He did, did he?” I asked and watched her nod. “What did he say?”

  “That you were there at the time and not me, otherwise he and I would have been together.” She smiled. I watched her eyes light up with mischief and I caught on to her little plan. “Did you really think that you meant something other than a quick piece of ass that night?”

  “You're a vulgar and disgusting pig.” I whispered, stepping closer to her. “And, it's not my fault that he hasn't been with you in all the years he's known you.”

  “How would you know?” She snarled. I could tell that little bit of information bothered her.

  “I have my sources.” I said as I crossed my arms and turned to go, but I looked back at her briefly.

  “By the way, I heard you were lousy in bed. No wonder he decided not to waste his time.”

  I stepped away from her, feeling the fury that seemed to flow off her very being, and then I felt a light hand on my shoulder and I knew it was her. I turned, slowly, to face her and looked at the red glow in her eyes.

  “Know this before you turn your back on me, O'Neal,” she whispered in a threatening voice, “I could rip you apart.”

  I smiled at her and shrugged her hand off my shoulder then stepped back.

  “I'd like to see you try it.” I replied and walked away.

  The second floor hall was lit by candles; safely placed in hurricane lamps mounted to the walls and I stopped to look at one of them briefly before I turned and looked in the direction of the figure that was walking out of the darkness towards me, holding his hands behind his back.

  “I thought you were in the Alps.” I smiled as I turned towards him fully.

  “Well, you know your sister and her instincts about trouble especially when it has to do with you. So, we flew right home and that's when I heard that little Ashley Wolf had returned. I came to see how you were holding up against your competition.” Nick smiled, raising his eyebrows. He reached out and drew me close, hugging me tightly to him.

  “
There really isn't any competition.” I laughed, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Since she's already so confident that I'm not coming between them, him and her, so, it's all right that I love him.”

  “Ah-ha, so she thinks.” Nick laughed.

  “I'm not trying to break them up.” I smiled, backing away from him. “All I want to do is gouge her eyes out with a couple of rusty nails so she can't look at him anymore.”

  “Brutal.” He smiled and held my hand. “Cait, tell me that you’re all right, so that I can pass it on to your worrywart, I mean, sister.”

  “I'm fine, just a bit, how should I say this, possessive.” I replied then shrugged. “After all, Larado did prophesize it.”

  “Oh, please, like you really believe that stuff.” He laughed, again and we walked back towards the back sitting room, where he and I sat together on the couch. “This should have ended two years ago; you should have dropped that bum of a husband and been with someone else.” He stopped and looked me dead in the eyes. “It's too late, isn't it?”

  “I'm afraid so.” I sighed.

  “What is it?” He asked, worried.

  “I'm pregnant.” I whispered.

  “You're...pregnant?” He asked, softly. I nodded at him, and then stood up. “Are you sure who the father is this time?”

  “That's not funny.” I replied and looked at him. “The baby is Robert's.”

  “You don't sound so thrilled about it.”

  “It's not that I'm not happy, Nick, but it’s one more thing tying me to him when I know he's off with someone, having an affair.”

  “Maybe, when this is all out in the open, you should think about divorcing him. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.

  “And, do what? I'm pregnant, with a four year old. How would I support us?”

  “Tell Julian to start paying you or start to charge for the services you give to the other vampires that you see.”

  “I don't think your brother could afford me if that's what I did.” I smiled and looked over at Nick, who smiled at me and shook his head. “He worries about you.”