by Maya DeLeina
“Whoa, how does this work?”
“When we are turned, our human blood mixes with that of our vampire maker. Agglutination occurs and—” explained Eilian.
“Agglutination?” Ryan interrupted.
Eilian used his hands to help with the description. “The mixing of the two different blood types, human and vampiric, causes clumping of the blood in the human body. Once this happens, the blood stream cannot deliver oxygen to the tissues and the human body dies. This is when the vampiric blood takes over, fully regenerating the shell that remains. But not all of the human cells are ever destroyed. With each turning, the ancient vampire blood properties are entwined with what remains of a human. The Defender finds the human-based properties left in the blood stream, attaches to their cells, and replaces compounds that were destroyed in the turning.”
“No shit!” Ryan shook his head in disbelief. “What exactly does Defender contain for it to work?”
Eilian was prepared with his long, drawn out scientific explanation, but this was Ryan he was speaking to. A simple statement poured from Eilian’s lips, “Basically, Defender is made up of the chemical properties of melanin. It’s like this. When a human gets sunburned, it’s because they were exposed to excessive light and the body wasn’t able to produce enough melanin, a film of pigment, to protect the skin. Now, when we’re exposed to light, we simply burn, because vampire cells don’t produce melanin.”
“And this was only created recently? Why didn’t this come out earlier?”
Steffan jumped into the conversation. “It couldn’t. Ancient vampire blood was simply that…ancient. Little or no human properties ever existed, so the Defender compounds didn’t have any host cells to latch onto. It’s only due to time and the continual mix of human and vampire blood from turnings and human-vampire mate claims that the ancient vampire bloodline is not in its purest form.”
“It’s the same concept for why Consumption works,” Eilian added.
“Consumption? What is that?”
“Consumption is the marketed name for c360. It’s a pill that allows us to eat and drink for a six-hour period. It restores taste buds, alters the palate to savor flavors other than blood, and works to digest the intake within the body. My Catrin loves this discovery.”
Ryan paced around the room. “So with Defender and Consumption, I can re-enter the human population without being detected as a vampire?”
“Yes,” Eilian answered. “As we have all done for some time now. The town of Manitou is crawling with vampires. You’re a part of our immediate family now, but we’re just one of the families that make up the entire lair here. You’ll see, there’s a family that runs the bed and breakfast, another owns a restaurant and other families are embedded in various sectors in the community—law enforcement, government records office, media, morgue and in hospital administration.”
“Vaughn, he’s out in the sunlight, is he one too, but just on Defender?”
Eilian responded, “Vaughn is a human feeder. We feed on him for blood sustenance. We enthrall him to erase any memory of our feeding, but during the process, we instill a deep sense of loyalty and allegiance to our family to protect us, without fully knowing who or what we are.”
Steffan slowly walked toward Ryan. He raised one eyebrow and didn’t blink, mimicking the look of an enthrall trance. Melodically, Steffan spoke, “Vaughn never told you about us being vampires because he doesn’t exactly know. His mind only knows to protect us from outsiders. The guards, maintenance crew, builders, mailman, attorney…they are all our feeders and retain their human existence.”
“You know, I’ve heard stories about this town being home to witches, warlocks, wizards, and vampires. I never believed in that stuff! So there is truth in vampires. Am I to believe there are witches, warlocks, and wizards as well?” asked Ryan.
“So we hear. We don’t cross paths with other beings out there. We pretty much stick to our own kind,” Steffan explained.
“And the entire family uses Defender?”
Eilian sighed, his gaze following Steffan as he made his way to his favorite Tibetan antique chair. “Everyone apart from Steffan. Now, he uses Consumption religiously, but we found the use of Defender may diminish abilities for some vampires. I just can’t figure out what the trigger is…why some have no effect and others do. For Steffan, he wants assurance that he retains all of his abilities at full strength to help him search for his mate.”
“A mate? Good god, man, you’re holding out on this stuff for sex? How long has it been, Steffan?” Ryan laughed.
Steffan balked, sitting straight up in his chair. “Hey! I have and continue to bed many, many women. Human females are incredibly susceptible to a male vampire. They’re enraptured with everything about us. They already come to us primed, in a precarious and vulnerable sexual state.” Steffan shook his head as he gathered his hair, locking it tight at the base with a rubber band. “In fact, sometimes, it’s too damn easy. What Eilian is talking about here is something completely different…a mate. A mate is not just sex. It’s the truest form of compatibility between two people. I have yet to find my mate match, be it vampire or human.”
“How would you know who’s your mate?”
“Eilian, I’ll let you take this one for our friend here. I don’t think I have the strength,” said Steffan as he slumped in his chair.
“Compatibility between two vampires is distinguished by scent. Each vampire has a certain unique scent embedded in their blood when they’re turned. The scent mixtures between two vampires can tell them if they have the ability to enhance one another, share in the same interests, and have similar intellect, humor, and moral qualities. And, most importantly, if have the same sexual appetite to satisfy each other. The mating ritual is called the claim. For two vampires who choose each other as mates, they each bond by consuming each other’s blood. The claim allows them to be connected through thought and other sensory mechanisms, for eternity.”
Eilian adjusted in his seat in preparation for his next explanation.
“Now, compatibility between a vampire and a human is much harder to reveal. It’s distinguished by touch and scent. At birth, blood components combine to produce an energy pattern that is unique to each human that embeds in their tissue. A vampire can pick up on the mating compatibility once the two tissue properties come together.”
Eilian got up and demonstrated by grabbing an empty bottle of synthetic blood Ryan had left on the counter.
“The sensation a vampire receives in a positive tissue match from an inanimate object is different for each connection. Some have reported feeling electric currents shoot through them, others go numb, and others have reported uncontrollable spasms. The mixing of the vampire and human tissue can reveal the basics about the connection strength—humor, intellect, morals, attraction, sexual passion, and other mutual qualities and bonds. Once a positive connection has been made, the human tissue releases a scent that’s meant to serve as a tracking mechanism for the vampire to find his human mate.”
Eilian placed the bottle back on the table as he continued. “Now, the hard part is that compatibility is only distinguishable through touch and only if the object was handled by a human within the last twenty-four hours.”
Ryan looked a bit confused. “I don’t get it.”
“Tissue properties that humans imprint on objects dissolve after twenty-four hours. This is why finding a truly compatible human mate is so hard.”
Ryan clarified his confusion, “No. I meant I don’t get why a vampire doesn’t just touch a human to see what kind of response their body has.”
“You could do that, but then things like physical appearance and sexual attraction may give you a false positive reaction. Touching an inanimate object and receiving a reaction without seeing the person, that’s the only true compatibility test.”
“How does a human become a vampire then?”
Steffan continued on for Eilian. “The ritual is completed in three phases. It�
�s all about the blood exchange and infusion—completely different than just a simple turning.”
Steffan took a deep breath in and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He leaned his body forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke to Ryan. “The first phase is completed when the vampire samples the human blood flowing through the jugular vein, similar to that of feeding, but without the enthrallment. In the second phase, the vampire drinks from the femoral artery, just inside of the upper inner thigh.”
Steffan reached down and pointed to an area near his groin. Ryan smiled at the image as Steffan resumed. “The ritual is completed when the vampire drains the human of most of their blood, right before the point of death. The human then feeds on the blood of their maker. If the mating selection was truly compatible and not tainted, the claim allows them to be connected through thought and other sensory mechanisms.”
“What do you mean tainted?”
“Feeding through the jugular and femoral artery of a human is…” Steffan closed his eyes and shook his head. “The most erotic experience for a vampire. It exceeds the sensation of any sexual gratification.”
“And that is exactly why this is a problem for many. It feels too damn good,” Eilian said.
“Exactly,” sighed Steffan. “If the vampire doesn’t acquire the necessary connection by touch and scent and performs the ritual based on their need for gratification only, the claim can be tainted. In most cases, even though the blood was infused together, the mental bond is not created. In rare cases, the human and vampire blood goes through a recognition-rejection phenomenon and they each die a slow and painful death.”
Ryan’s confused look washed over him again.
“It’s like a human getting a blood transfusion from a sheep. They don’t mix. The human dies…not even the power of the vampiric blood can override it. Again, that’s in the worst cases. It’s rare, but it has been known to happen,” Eilian explained.
“So, if you make a mistake, in most cases, your bond with your mate is not strong and you sort of go through, like a divorce or something?” Ryan asked.
Steffan rose from the chair and paced the room. “Not exactly. In either case, whether it’s choosing a human or vampire mate, the claim ritual is still meant to bond mates. The claim is sacred. It connects the two physically and mentally for eternity. If mates are separated from each other against their will, both mates will continue to exist but will slowly deteriorate from the separation until they are reunited. If one mate is extinguished, the remaining mate has a century to locate another mate match or will expire themselves.”
“An entire century? I don’t think I would have a problem finding another woman. I wouldn’t need an entire century to find her!” Ryan boasted in confidence.
“Have you not listened to what we said? We’re not talking about sexual conquest here. That’s not the issue. You can get that whenever you want it. And like I said, for a vampire, it’s very easy to have any woman you want.”
Steffan leaned against the wall, his obvious failure to find a mate came through his words. “The mating compatibility is so rare, very hard to uncover. That’s why the process allows for one century if something happens that was beyond the control of the mates. You must not confuse the act of sex with that of the act of the claim. The families that make up Ambrose Heights, our family, they’re truly lucky.”
Steffan cleared his throat. “Now, remember, if there is a tainted claim because the ritual was only done for sexual gratification, the mates will not form a mental bond. Once the turned mate leaves their maker, the process of depleting begins and will result in death for the maker. It’s a punishment of sorts.”
“You know what? I think I’ll just choose sex and not worry about this whole mating selection process. This is too damn complicated,” Ryan concluded.
“If that can sustain you, that would be a wise choice,” Steffan remarked.
“What of the families here? They’re all mated, except for you, Steffan?
“Eilian and Catrin, Aeron and Gwynn, claimed each other as vampires. Rhys claimed Brynne, a human. Griffin, he claimed another vampire, but she extinguished, and he is on his last decade to find another suitable mate. Haydn is not mated, but he is not actively searching either. Let’s just say, he is enjoying his existence to the fullest right now,” Steffan explained of the other couples that made up the family at Ambrose Heights.
Ryan took a deep breath in and shrugged. “I don’t know. This is all overwhelming. I can eat, go in the sunlight, but I have to be careful with my sexual encounters. I’m going back to bed.”
“Yes. You need your rest,” Eilian and Steffan said in unison.
Ryan climbed their staircase and headed down one side of the catwalk to his room.
As they watched Ryan make his way down the catwalk, Eilian asked, “Are you sure he retained any intelligence during the turning?”
“Give him time. He’s trying to learn, but if it doesn’t affect him directly at this moment, his attention span is very minimal. It’s like trying to teach a seven-year-old about the laws of physics,” Steffan blurted in realization. “Shit, I didn’t tell him about the house yet.”
“Speaking of the house, let’s see what the progress is, shall we?” Eilian ran back to the foyer.
Outside, daylight still burned.
The blackout Roman shades safely shielded the sun’s harmful rays from seeping into Steffan’s home until the timer would send them open. Like Eilian, Steffan was curious if the new owner of 6417 Ambrose Heights Court had made his or her appearance.
Eilian punched in his override code for that particular window, and the Roman shade sailed up the length of the window. Steffan stepped back into the dark recessed corner of the room as Eilian stood in the full sunlight and peered through the window.
“I see the moving van,” Eilian reported. “I see Fat Eddie eating something in the cab of the van and talking on the cell phone. I don’t know if this is possible, but it looks like Fat Eddie got, well, fatter. It looks like they’re wrapping up. The plastic floor covering is being pulled out of the entry and being placed back in the van.”
The house was situated first on the street and quite a distance away from Steffan’s house that sat in the bend of the crescent-shaped road. Eilian, however, could easily make out all of the details even from that distance.
From the darkened corner of the room, Steffan began to speak, “The deed was transferred to an Anya DeVera—”
Eilian interrupted Steffan, “Now that’s the part I still don’t get. Ryan sent the proposal to buy the house from us. Why wasn’t the house in his name? What name was it under again?”
“Anise DeVera. From what the attorney said at closing, Ryan purchased the house under an associate’s name for business purposes. This must be her sister who inherited the house. We’ll have to talk to M.J. and her team to get the latest transgression reports and find out what happened to Anise. I never intended for a mortal to move into our neighborhood, one we didn’t already have an evaluation on.”
“I know!” Eilian looked down at the floor, shaking his head. “I guess we will have to do some recon on her.”
Steffan continued as he changed the subject, “Keep looking. Can you see if it’s an entire mortal family moving in? If we have to, it would be a much easier task to enthrall one and not an entire family. And one is much easier to have as a feeder, if the palate is right.”
“Actually, it looks like this is her coming up in the SUV now. I don’t think she was here earlier.”
Eilian watched as Anya got out of her vehicle and thanked Fat Eddie and his crew. He caught the detail of a most delicate symbol tattooed on the back of her right shoulder before she wrapped herself in a shawl. As the moving truck turned around and started back down the road, Anya went back to her vehicle.
Eilian was delighted to report the news of what he saw next. “No children. No boyfriend. No ring on her finger. No dogs. Just a…a cello”
“A cello?�
�� Steffan smiled. “Nice.”
* * * *
Anya’s long, black hair flowed all around her face in the wind.
She raised her sunglasses and settled them on her head in effort to keep her hair back and out of her eyes. She took a moment to examine her surroundings.
It was quiet. No cars. No children. No one was outside.
In the distance, she could see the home high on the hill. It looked like a castle right out of the countryside somewhere in Europe. She walked to the edge of her driveway and tried squinting out a better detail of the home.
Is that a formal English garden?
“Oh, I gotta see this!” she said out loud.
Anya hurried and placed the cello in the house, closed the door, and jumped back into her vehicle. She backed the SUV down the driveway and headed down the street.
Anya pulled in front of the castle, marveling at its dominating architecture and the maze of boxwood hedges that sat on the lawn. She stepped out of the car to get a better view.
* * * *
Suddenly, the red jasper in Steffan’s pocket started to vibrate.
He reached for the stone and was surprised by its warmth and, most importantly, the absence of any electric sparks that once radiated from the stone. The electricity had been replaced by an intense sensual sensation that permeated his body, centering its strength on his crotch. He grasped the stone tighter, not wanting to let go of the erotic experience. He braced himself in the corner of the room as he released a moan. The woman’s scent that had filled his nostrils since the day he first touched the stone was more pronounced. The fragmented images he had held started to reveal more of the woman, her almond-shaped eyes and dark, black lines etched on brown skin.
