vampires of san francisco 07 - suckers lost and found

by mcbrayer, jessica

  “I don’t think she is up yet,” Julian says.

  “She’s feeding the babies,” Diel says.

  “Here she comes now, Aidan,” Helena points down the walk.

  “Hannah, darling, I found you some lunch, sweetheart.”

  “Oh Aidan, I could just kiss you! Where is it? I’m dying of thirst!”

  “Come take my hand dear. I’ll take you to him.”

  Hannah delivers the babies to Diel and runs to Aidan so they can pop out.

  “That was really sweet of Aidan to do for Hannah,” I say.

  “I know,” Sebastian says.

  Aidan and Hannah pop back. Hannah has a gleam to her eyes and looks a lot calmer. Aidan is laughing.

  “That’s some good shit they have here,” Hannah says. “Good thing I just fed the babies and our metabolism is high. Wouldn’t want to pass that on to them. Damn, I feel good. I should have known that something was off about him. I was just too damn hungry.”

  We all laugh at her.

  “Who has their luggage ready to go?” Aidan asks.

  “We do, Aidan,” Julian answers for him and Helena.

  “We do too,” Hannah says.

  “Good, I will send it on.”

  He glimmers the luggage away. I never get tired of watching Aidan do his magick. Liam and Andrew come out with their suitcases. Aidan sends them on their way immediately. Faster than any airline and no customs to go through.

  Julian gives Helena a lascivious look. I know they are aching to get back into their soundproof room. I hope Sebastian and I are like this in five hundred years.

  “I think Liam and I are ready, Aidan. Lily and Sebastian, have fun on your trip. Buy me lots of presents. Just joking. Be careful, some of these small towns will think you are possessed of demons with all the noise you make,” Andrew says and then he hugs me and shakes Sebastian’s hand.

  Aidan takes Liam’s and Andrew’s hands and pops out with them. He is back in no time. Hannah, Diel and the babies are next. I go to the babies and smell their little heads before I kiss them. I can’t believe how much I love them. If only Aidan’s wedding gift works. Hades bumps my hand so I will pet him. Aidan grabs his collar while holding Finn.

  “It was a righteous cruise. Had a mega good time but it’s time for me to sleep in my own quiet bed. I have a lot of work to do tracking those websites and need my beauty sleep. The boys were driving me crazy at night. Love you both, have a good time and I will see you soon,” Hannah says. She reaches around Fiona and gives us hugs. Diel hugs me and squeezes Sebastian’s shoulder.

  Aidan pops them home. He comes back and sits down. He summons some coffee and tea for us. Julian and Helena will be staying the rest of the day with us to make sure the King leaves on schedule. We spend an hour in amiable conversation before the King joins us.

  “Bella, I just got a call from one of my subjects. They wish to entertain you and Sebastian three days from now. They said they have something special in mind. I told them you would be delighted to come. I hope I did not misspeak,” the King says knowing full well he has. The King pulls me aside. “The subject is one that is ruthlessly trying to take over the throne. I said I would give you his invitation. While he is not me, he is still a very powerful vampire in Italy.”

  “Basilio, will we be in danger?”

  “No, bella. I told him you are under my personal protection and that you are not to be touched in any way. It’s an unspoken law. He will not touch you.”

  “Where is this event?” Sebastian butts in and I am grateful.

  “Just down the road from here. I’ll have Armand Google map it for you. We will leave directions before we depart.”

  “I can’t guarantee we will make it, Your Majesty. We have altered our honeymoon plans slightly,” Sebastian says.

  “You will do well to attend, Sebastian. It could be disastrous for you socially to slight him. And you may well find some answers.”

  Seeing no way out of it Sebastian says, “In that case, we would be delighted to attend.” “Good, now, bella, come and let me kiss your cheek goodbye. I have important business in Venice that I can’t put off any longer.”

  I go to the King. He takes my hands and kisses my cheek an indecent length of time. I can feel Aidan and Sebastian tense up. The King grins at me with a sparkle in his eyes. He knows exactly what he is doing to them.

  “Remember, anything you ever need of me, I will be there.”

  “Thank you, Basilio.”

  Armand delivers the papers with directions and the name of our host with the date and time of the event. Then the King makes his exit. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

  “Thank God that is over,” Helena says.

  “Not completely. We have to go to this cursed affair. It sounds like it will be just as bad as something Basilio has cooked up,” Sebastian growls.

  We decide to take a Vespa tour of the wine region of Tuscany. It is supposed to be fun and it is. Seeing Aidan, Julian and Sebastian on little Vespas is hysterical. Helena and I with our scarves wrapped around our hair whip in and out of the men. Of course the other human tourists have more difficulty the more they imbibe. It is very funny to watch. The wine is excellent, the countryside is picturesque and the company is incomparable.

  Too soon it is evening and time for Julian and Helena to go. Aidan has glimmered four cases of new wine back to the manse for them and eight cases for us. We fill Aidan in on our secret when he asks why we were buying so much extra. We need to start our own wine cellar. He is excited about helping me decorate the new house as soon as he finds Manda.

  “Manda would love to help too.”

  “We will find her, Aidan,” Julian says and grips his forearm in the custom of oath making. Aidan’s eyes widen. I think he knew we were serious but his action is as a sworn oath and Julian is really old school about things like that. He will die in his pursuit if necessary. Aidan shakes his head as he shakes Julian’s hand.

  “Thank you friend, brother,” Aidan says to Julian. Sebastian grips his shoulder tightly letting him know that he is just as committed to Aidan’s cause as Julian.

  Julian and Helena come over and hug and kiss us. Aidan kisses me on the forehead and whispers he loves me.

  Then he grasps hands with Helena and Julian and pops out. All of a sudden it is blessedly quiet. Sebastian and I look at each other and grin.

  “Mon Dieu!” Sebastian yells.

  I start laughing like a little girl. He is ecstatic. It is marvelous to watch. He scoops me up and swings me around and carries me back to our bungalow.

  We decide to light the candles and take a long bath. We lie in the hot water and talk, more freely than ever before. I don’t know if it is because we are married or because we are finally alone.

  When we finish our bath we barely make it to the bed. By the time we finish it’s almost dawn so we snuggle in together. Sebastian will be leaving me to sleep in the morning to run some errands. He doesn’t want to but they need to be done so we can enjoy the rest of our time together. I go to sleep in his arms and wake up to him dressed in jeans and a v-neck sweater crawling into bed to hold me. He has a sheepish look on his face.

  “I almost made it,” he says. “I wanted to be holding you when you woke up.”

  “I don’t care. You’re here now. Hold me.”

  “Gladly.”

  “Did you get all the errands run?”

  “Yes, we are down to one car and we have reservations for a flight home in a week.”

  “Excellent,” I say as I snuggle into his body.

  “Why don’t you get dressed and I will go get you some coffee?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  I get out of bed and find some clothes that aren’t too badly wrinkled. I will need to find a dry cleaner in a couple of days. I’m glad I thought to have Aidan take my wedding dress home for me.

  I shuffle out onto the veranda and find Sebastian walking towards the bungalow with a steaming cup of coffee.

&nbs
p; “That looks so good. The only way it would be better is if you were naked,” I grin at him.

  He laughs.

  “I think that would hurt if I spilled this.”

  “I think you are right and I might lose one of my favorite parts of you,” I say and wink at him.

  He hands me my coffee and bends down to kiss me.

  “You little vixen. Sit and enjoy your coffee while we plan our day. I’ve already checked in with Aidan. So far nothing has happened. He is following up a lead Hannah got this morning so he won’t be available. I hope he can follow a trail to Cristian. The King’s man still hasn’t found him.” Bast runs his fingers through my hair and down my cheek. “What shall we do today, ma petite?”

  We decide to go horseback riding through the Tuscan countryside as part of a tour of some more vineyards. Horses know when vampires are on them and sometimes it makes them nervous, especially the older the vampire is. Sebastian is confident it will work; he’s been riding for over three hundred years.

  I change into jeans and a tee shirt and we head out in the car. It is a splendid day and it is refreshing to have all the sunshine after spending an overcast winter in San Francisco.

  When we get to the stables the horses are uneasy around us. Sebastian, ever confident, goes to the largest horse he can find and starts talking to it. It soon settles down and he is able to mount it. I pick a nice gelding and after a few moments have no problems. The tour and ride is three hours long. I don’t think of one nasty, stressful thing the whole time. I feel completely normal. Like a new bride on her honeymoon. Sebastian rides up next to me and takes my hand for a while and then the guide yells at us to get back in line. Sebastian laughs every time. Everyone around us smiles and wishes us congratulations on our nuptials. It is a wonderful day. We buy more wine and have it shipped back to our house.

  On the ride home we talk about the day and make plans to take a walk in the moonlight later. First we are going to take another shower so we don’t smell like horses. Of course our shower leads to wild, hot sex. It is a few hours before we are ready to take our long walk. The nice thing is that we are not dependent on anyone’s schedule but our own.

  The next two days go by quickly. We visit the leaning tower of Pisa, go to the PRADA outlet and do some other shopping. I call Aidan and talk to him for a while each day. Still no news. He is frustrated and anxious. I check in with Helena and Julian and all is well with them. Before we know it, the time has come for the grand affair at the King’s subject’s house. The man’s name is Giancarlo and the house is a small castle.

  We leave the villa at six-thirty as the event is supposed to be about a half an hour away and the gala starts at seven-thirty. We want to give ourselves time in case we get lost. Although I’m not sure we could have, given the excellent directions from Armand. It is a black tie event. Good thing Bast has the extra tux from the King’s soiree. I am wearing a little black dress and the diamonds that Aidan has given me.

  When we get to Giancarlo’s estate, Sebastian and I just stare. It is way over the top. There are peacocks walking around on the lawns and valet parking attendants. We are handed out of the BMW and make our way through the huge doors.

  Giancarlo greets his guests as they come in. He remembers me as soon as he sees me.

  “Mrs. St. John. It is a pleasure to see you again. You probably don’t remember me, but we met at the King’s ball. It is my honor to have you and your new husband here tonight. Please continue on through those doors for some refreshments. The entertainment will not start for another half hour. I will join you as soon as the rest of my guests arrive.”

  “Thank you, Giancarlo. We look forward to it,” I say.

  Sebastian takes my hand back and leads me into the next room full exclusively of vampires. I have never seen so many vampires as I have in Italy. They must turn them here every other week. Most vampires are vicious creatures and being in a room of them makes me nervous. I reach in my purse for my hand sanitizer.

  “Easy, ma petite,” Sebastian whispers into my ear. “All will be well.”

  “Have you ever seen so many, Bast?”

  “Yes, in France and Spain. Only in America are we spread out so far.”

  Sebastian goes to get us two glasses of red wine. A nice looking couple comes up to us to talk.

  “Is this your first time to one of Giancarlo’s parties?” the woman asks in heavily accented English.

  “Yes it is,” I say.

  “You will enjoy it. Of course it can get messy. I always tell him it would be better if we dressed in jeans, but he likes to keep things formal,” she laughs.

  Her partner laughs with her and they walk away. What on earth are they talking about?

  “Sebastian? What are we getting into?”

  “I don’t know, cherie, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

  ELEVEN / LILITH

  We make small talk with several more people. Some remember me from the ball others, while others are meeting us for the first time. Giancarlo comes into the room and announces that the entertainment is about to begin. He joins us and puts his arm around my waist to guide us. Sebastian lets out a low growl and Giancarlo quickly moves his hand away.

  “Mr. and Mrs. St. John, if you will come this way, we will get you a front row seat. I believe you will especially enjoy this. I don’t think you will see anything like this in America. It is such a shame,” he says while shaking his head.

  He leads us through the house and down a stairway into what used to be a cellar or dungeon of sorts. The stone-lined walls hold sconces which have been upgraded to hold electric torches. In the center of the room is a pit and around the pit are chairs on risers so everyone has a good view. The room smells of old blood and death. There is a sprinkling of wood shaving across the floor that is pungent and of the kind people use to soak up things. Why on earth are they here?

  The vampires seat themselves. Everyone is dressed to the nines. Lots of expensive bling and black ties. Giancarlo leads us to the front and we sit down. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I have to use my hand sanitizer again. If I had my handi-wipes with me I would have used one on the chair.

  Sebastian grips my hand as everyone settles and an emcee jumps down into the pit. He announces in Italian that the first fight will now begin. He says the contestants are both newly born, three months old. Giancarlo translates for us. This is bad. I look over at Sebastian and his face is stony. He grips my hand even tighter to warn me not to say anything. We can’t let on that this bothers us. We are surrounded by a room of excited vampires that would tear us apart as soon as look at us once the blood lust took them over. We are disposable Americans.

  The crowd is babbling and talking over each other. Everyone is fidgeting, texting on their phones or exchanging money. The emcee is lifted out of the pit and two young vampires are thrown in. They have the minimum of clothes on. And their smell is overwhelming. You can tell they have been starved. You can see it in their sunken eyes. This is what they are doing with Manda. I am sure of it. The vampires look like Manda did in that picture. Oh please Goddess, let her be here tonight. Let us find her. Giancarlo whispers in my ear. His fangs are descended and it revolts me.

  “They are told they can eat if they win the fight.”

  “What happens if they lose?” I ask.

  “They die in battle,” he shrugs.

  My stomach rolls. Sebastian has a death grip on my hand now. I can feel the bones rubbing together and I squeeze back slightly so he will relent a bit. He looks down at me and mouths “Sorry.” The two vampires start circling each other. One is blonde, I think. He is so dirty that his hair is greasy and matted. The other is taller and red-haired. They look like two mangy dogs used in pit fighting. The red head snarls at the blonde and their fangs are fully extended. The sight sickens me. I pray to the Goddess that the fight is quick and painless.

  The two vampires’ hands extended into claws and as they slash at each other. The red head leaps for th
e slightly shorter blonde in a frenzy. He grabs the blonde’s head and claws at it. The blonde vampire backs up as best as he can. They are both barely functioning from not feeding. They stumble and stagger around from their weakness. The attacking red head is winning though. He tears a chunk out of the other vampire’s neck and blood is everywhere. The crowd has their fangs out and are yelling encouragement to either the blonde or the red head depending who they bet on. I see money exchanging hands. Sebastian and I sit very still.

  It doesn’t take the red head long to finish his wounded opponent off. A few more bites where he sucks as much of the blonde’s blood as he can and then someone throws in a stake. The red head leaps on it and stakes the wounded vamp. It is horrific. The audience cheers. More money passes hands and there is some jeering among the losers. I have seen more than my stomach can handle.

  The bodies are taken out of the pit and the next are brought in. An older man and a young woman. I can’t take it. I know it’s Manda before I can even see her face. She stands like a majestic model with poise. She is filthy, though, and snarling.

  I stand up.

  “Stop the fight!”

  Everyone keeps cheering on the fighting vamps. Giancarlo is looking at me like I am mad, as in crazy. He’s right about the mad part. I kick off my heels and stand up on a chair to yell louder. I feel Sebastian steady me.

  “Stop the fucking fight! Now! Let that woman go. I want her, now!”

  “I don’t know how things are done in America, but we do not throw tantrums at formal parties here in Italy.” Giancarlo shakes his head and his lip raises in a sneer. He looks at Sebastian. “Would you get your wife down, now, and escort her from my house. You are no longer welcome.” Several people start booing and hissing. The vamps near the ring have stopped the fight while we have been arguing.

  “I will kill you if you don’t let that woman go now,” I say, gritting my teeth. My hands have balled into fists at my sides. I unclench one and reach into my handbag to retrieve my phone.

  “Who will you call, werewolf whore? The police would just be a snack for us,” Giancarlo growls. He’s met with a menacing growl from Sebastian. Me, hit number two on my phone, Aidan’s preprogrammed number, and text 911.