“Yeah, yeah, you were right,” she grumbled and rolled her eyes.
“Get some rest, love. I’ll be right here when you wake.” He leaned over her and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“No need. I know you’ve got stuff you need to do.”
“And one of those things is you.” He smiled, and traced her lower lip with his thumb, “I haven’t had the chance to be the hovering husband yet.”
“You don’t need to hover,” Morgan muttered, as her eyelids drifted lower.
“Let me worry about that. Right now you need to rest for a while,” Nicholas whispered, and slid in bed beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled, as Morgan snuggled close. After a few minutes, her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep.
9 – NEW ORLEANS – SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
JOSHUA STEPPED OUT of the Louis Armstrong airport terminal, and into the warm sunshine. He took a deep breath and let it out, happy to be breathing fresh air for the first time in almost eighteen hours. After a few minutes, he shook himself and was about to call Charles, when he glanced up to the sky, high above the sun burned bright, just a few degrees shy of its apex. The vampire had said someone would meet him, but so far Joshua hadn’t seen anyone. He was reaching into his pocket to call a cab, when a large black SUV pulled to a stop in front of him. He was just about to step away from the car, so he’d be visible to his ride, when the driver opened the door, and an errant breeze carried something unexpected to his sensitive nose. It was the scent of damp, fresh turned earth, mixed with the stale shed snake skin–like scent that he associated with just one creature.
Vampire. The thought bounced around in his skull like a crazed pinball high on meth. But it’s the middle of the day! How the hell is this possible? They’re not supposed to wake for at least another six hours. Joshua watched, as a man stepped out of the car, ran his left hand through sandy hair, and began heading his way. Six feet at least, more a swimmer’s build, than a weight lifter type. Finesse and agility, instead of brute strength. As his mind spun, the vampire walked over to Joshua, and held out his hand.
“Nicholas Falstaff.” The vampire’s voice was a neutral tenor, and a slight smile curled his lips as he offered Joshua a hand. “You’re Joshua, I take it?” Nicholas asked.
“Uh. Um.” Oh shit. He’s the Assassin. Even though he was a werewolf, not a vampire, he’d been taught who the Council’s Lead Enforcer was, by the elders of his pack. I may not be one of them, but I know enough about their kind to know who he is, and what that means. Joshua shook his head, knowing that he looked like a fool. “Yeah. I was expecting a chauffeur,” he answered, his New England accent becoming more pronounced than usual. He shook Nicholas’s hand.
“Yeah,” Nicholas chuckled, with a wicked smile curling his lips. “Scheduling problem,” he answered, picking up Joshua’s single bag. “Is this everything?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve gotten too used to traveling with Morgan. That woman is a clothes–horse,” Nicholas muttered under his breath. “Hop in and we’ll get you out of this humidity.” The vampire nodded toward the SUV.
Though Joshua knew it was impossible, the vehicle seemed to grow as he watched. Is there any way I can get out of this without tipping Nicholas off, or looking like a real asshole? I might not be a vampire but Morgan told me enough that I know I’m technically breaking their laws. Joshua stood, considering his options for a few moments, while the vampire held his heavy bag, as if it weighed nothing. He moved to the back of the SUV and popped it open. Maybe I shouldn’t have packed so many books. Joshua thought, remembering the strained look on the skycap’s face at Heathrow, and the costly baggage fee he’d had to pay. Feeling the fine hair on the back of his neck stand on end, Joshua turned his attention back to the matter at hand, like the vampire watching, wanting me to get into a car with him. Yeah, that’s not seeming like a very good idea right now, for a number of reasons.
“You’ve been invited as a guest of Morgan Blackstone. All laws of hospitality will be followed. You will not be harmed while you are her guest,” Nicholas answered the question that Joshua hadn’t asked, a strange mix of apprehension and fascination in his blue gray eyes.
“But she did not invite me,” he responded, moving closer to Nicholas so their hushed whispers would not be heard by the humans over the din.
“The invitation was extended by a member of her Blood Family, on her behalf. Considering the situation, I would hope that is enough to satisfy you, Professor.” Nicholas’s whispered response was laced with the beginnings of an anger that Joshua hoped to never feel full force.
“Technically that is a gray area. I know that Charles is more Alexander Telvan’s blood than Morgan’s.” Joshua knew he had to either stand his ground now, or take the risk that The Assassin might decide he knew too much, and end his life. And there’s no coming back from death for me. Get nipped by a girlfriend at the wrong time of the month, and your life is never the same.
“You know enough of our laws to get yourself into trouble, pup.” There was the fine edge of a growl to Nicholas’s words, as his eyes grew darker.
“That’s not Council Law, and you know it. All of our kinds have agreed to certain, shall we say, niceties, so the humans are less likely to ask uncomfortable questions. So we have all agreed to play by certain rules when interacting with one another.” There was a hint of forced civility in Joshua’s voice, as he found himself going toe to toe with the other man.
“You have a point,” Nicholas muttered. The vampire was silent for several moments as if he were taking care to select his next few words. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft that it was difficult for Joshua to hear him. “As Morgan’s husband,” Nicholas paused as though that was something he didn’t admit too often, “I am inviting you to be a guest in our home during your visit to New Orleans. In accordance with the treaties, no harm will come to you while you are under our roof.” As he spoke, his voice grew stronger. The vampire walked to the passenger’s side door and pulled it open, then watched, waiting for Joshua to make a decision.
Joshua took a deep breath and let it out on a slow, controlled exhale, before he stepped up to the car’s door and met the vampire’s eyes. “I accept your invitation and offer of hospitality,” he answered, before he slid into the SUV and pulled the door closed behind him. My my my Grandma, what big fangs you have. A voice that sounded very much like his mother echoed in his mind. The better to drain you dry with, my dear, Joshua thought, as Nicholas stepped into the driver’s side and buckled his seat belt. “Not like he’ll die if we crash.”
“Not likely, but I don’t appreciate being pulled over, so this keeps both law enforcement and myself appeased.”
“I said that out loud didn’t I?” Joshua covered his face with one hand.
“Yes. That would be why I responded.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not really thinking clearly.” He shook his head and sighed. “Chalk it up to jet lag and surprise. You’re not who I expected to meet me at the airport.”
“I thought that we should meet,” Nicholas answered, as if it were natural. The vampire sighed, and looked over his shoulder, waiting for an opening in the crush of cars trying to leave the airport.
“Why?”
“You know enough to get into trouble.” Nicholas glanced at Joshua. “You should know who I am.”
“You’re the Lead Enforcer,” Joshua answered, using Nicholas’s formal title. “The bogeyman for all bad little vampire boys and girls.”
“Correct.” Nicholas turned back to the flow of traffic.
“And you’re Morgan’s husband,” Joshua muttered, turning the new information over in his head. “Why didn’t she mention that? Every woman I’ve ever met mentions her husband at some point. And she doesn’t wear a wedding ring.”
“Due to my position, we decided that it would be safer if we kept our marriage a secret.”
“Is that why you volunteered to be my chauffeur?”
/> “Yes. I had no idea that my wife was speaking with a werewolf, let alone sharing some of our secrets with a Folklore professor which, to be honest, on a professional level has me concerned.”
“I have no intention of divulging what she’s shared with me.”
“No one ever has the intention, yet it still happens rather frequently; all things considered,” Nicholas replied, with a sigh, as a car blasted its horn at him for trying to move into the flow of traffic.
“I didn’t choose to become a werewolf,” Joshua admitted, though he didn’t know why. “A girlfriend bit me in a moment of passion.”
“Damn that sucks.”
“Yeah. I had no idea shit like this existed until then. Anyway, it made me want to learn more about our world. I don’t do it to share with others.” Joshua took a deep breath. “There may come a time when I change my mind, when the world moves to a point where it can accept these things. Then I may put it out there. If not, the information I’ve collected will go with me to my grave.”
“So, now you spend your time learning about the different kinds of no longer human creatures who wander this earth?”
“And those who had no connection to humans to begin with,” he admitted with a shrug. “The ones that would freak humans out, if they realized existed. I’m interested in all aspects of this strange world.”
“That is a rather dangerous attitude to have, among most of the creatures you’re dealing with.” Nicholas’s voice was far off, as though he was distracted. They rode in silence for almost five minutes while Nicholas navigated the streets. Joshua alternated between watching the scenery pass and watching as Nicholas drove with practiced ease. Every so often the vampire would glance at Joshua, and the corner of his mouth would quirk in a momentary smile. “Go ahead. I know you must have about a million questions. Ask.”
“You’ll answer?” There was a note of disbelief in the professor’s voice.
“I can’t promise that I’ll answer every question,” Nicholas admitted, “however, since Morgan trusts you I will answer what I can.”
“Well, I guess the first one is sunlight. I thought you guys were supposed to be adverse to it. You know, disintegrate, go up in flame,” Joshua chuckled, “turn into a disco ball?”
Nicholas let out a quick bark of laughter before he answered. “Much like humans and werewolves, we vampires have different talents and strengths based upon our age, beliefs and bloodline.”
“So one vampire might go up in flames when another won’t?”
“And a third might become a walking sparkler.”
“No way.” Joshua exclaimed, incredulous.
“No. The sun has an effect on all of us. It weakens our abilities and makes it so that any damage that we sustain lasts longer. That includes natural damage, such as the effects of ultraviolet light.”
“So it’s all about the ability to heal the damage done?”
“Yes.” Nicholas paused and tilted his head to the left. “When one of us does succumb to the sun’s rays, it’s something akin to a torch.”
“Churches? Holy objects?”
“I find churches rather calming, as does Morgan. In fact, when in Ireland she has a tendency to visit her local parish priest to discuss theology.” He chuckled and flashed Joshua a quick smile. “I don’t know if it annoys him or not, but she does give rather large donations to the church’s charities. I was born before any of the established religions that the world knows today had come into being, as was Marcus.” He frowned, as if trying to remember something, “I know that Charles cannot abide walking into a church, while Christophe has no such trouble, both were devout Catholics before their rebirth.”
“What makes you what you are?”
“That I don’t have an answer for. I know what the Council says, and I know what the first of our kind say happened, but I can’t be sure.”
“So you do not believe that you are damned?”
“I have a different concept of damnation than most humans. Did I make a deal with a demon for this life? No. And to my knowledge neither has any other of my kind.”
“So, what’s happening with Morgan? Is she awake?”
“I am a little bit surprised that it took you so long to get around to Morgan.”
“I admit professional curiosity has gotten the better of me.”
“She’s awake, but the brew that you told Charles about isn’t working.” There was a tightness in the vampire’s voice, as he spoke.
“How so?” the professor asked, turning in his seat to face Nicholas.
“She can’t keep it down.”
“Have you been changing the formula?”
“Not yet, but we’ve talked about adding blood to it.”
“You want to add blood?” The young werewolf asked a hint of incredulity creeping into his words. “I told Charles that the formula was exact.”
“Well, it does no good if her system can’t process it,” Nicholas countered, as he turned onto a tree lined street.
“You have a point, but I have no idea what that will do to the effectiveness.” Joshua glanced out the window beside him. There was a high cement wall running the length of the block; he frowned as they passed the gate. “What’s in there?” he asked, eying the row of freestanding structures within the walls.
“That’s Lafayette cemetery. One of the famed cities of the dead,” Nicholas answered, as he slowed the car and turned into the drive.
Joshua turned his attention to the house in front of him and let out a long low whistle. “I thought Charles said this was a townhouse.”
“Well, it is, in the eighteenth century sense. It was in town, rather than being a plantation.” Nicholas put the SUV in park, and set the emergency brake, before killing the engine. Without another word, he stepped out. “Let’s get inside before that sky decides to open up on us.”
Joshua stepped out of the car and looked up to the sky; dark clouds were rolling in from the west, overtaking the cheerful blue. He turned, to see Nicholas open the back of the car and reach in to grab his bag. The vampire moved fast, almost too fast for human eyes to register, as he slammed the hatch closed, and moved to Joshua’s side.
“Show off,” Joshua muttered under his breath, knowing that the vampire would hear.
“Jealous,” Nicholas countered, as he strode up the stairs. He opened the front door and stepped aside, letting Joshua enter first. “Welcome to Morgan’s home.”
“Thanks,” Joshua answered, though it sounded as if he were asking a question. Why didn’t he just say our home? Is there more going on than I know? Well, obviously there is but… Damn. His thoughts were derailed as he stepped into the foyer. The townhouse was decorated in what Joshua was certain were antiques. The wallpaper was muted lavender that shimmered when the light hit it, a dark wood chair rail led into mahogany paneling to the floor. It was dark stone tile, leading to a sweeping staircase. He glimpsed a formal living room on the right side.
“You’re on the third floor professor.” Nicholas nodded toward the stairs.
“Third? How does this place handle hurricanes?” Joshua asked, watching the vampire begin walking up the stairs.
“Quite well, actually.” The other man chuckled as the distance between them grew.
Joshua followed, but was distracted by the photographs and paintings that dotted the wall. The photos ran the gambit from antique tintypes to high–resolution digitals with vibrant color and incredible detail. His eyes wandered to a painting of two people standing in an opulent sitting room. The woman was seated on an antique chair; her voluminous skirt spread around her like a dark blue sea. Standing behind her, and to the right, was a man dressed in a dark blue coat to match the woman’s dress.
“I hate that painting,” Nicholas sighed, from a few steps ahead of him.
“That’s you?” Joshua asked, indicating the man with the white wig.
“Morgan wanted to have that done.” Nicholas scoffed, and shook his head before starting to walk back up the stair
s. “Unfortunately those white things were in fashion, and it would have made the artist ask questions if I wasn’t wearing one.”
“You could have refused to pose,” Joshua said, as he followed Nicholas.
“Spoken like a single man.” The vampire chuckled and led the way into the room at the top of the stairs. “You’re staying here while you’re our guest.”
“Thank you,” Joshua said, as he stepped into the well–appointed room.
“I need to get some rest before nightfall.” Nicholas set the bag on the chest at the foot of the bed. He walked out of the room and stood at the rail. “If you go down to the second floor, you’ll find the study, it’s the only room with an open door. The kitchen is on the main floor, make yourself at home. You might not want to use any of the dishes that are in the sink.”
“Why not?” Joshua asked, as he stepped up beside Nicholas and looked down.
“They’re what Charles and Christophe have been using to make the concoction.”
“And some of the ingredients are poisonous,” Joshua finished, nodding.
“Yeah. How does that work? Poison helps keep them alive?” The question was incredulous.
“To be honest this isn’t my area of expertise,” Joshua admitted with a sigh, as Nicholas set his bag onto the bench at the foot of the bed. “I’m trying to reach a friend who should know more.”
“I hope these work,” Nicholas sighed and turned toward the stairs. He paused at the top and faced the professor. “Our only alternative isn’t exactly what you’d call a great option.”
“We’ll tackle it this evening; a few hours rest won’t hurt her,” he responded, hoping to assure Nicholas that there was still hope. The vampire considered his words for a moment before he nodded and headed downstairs. Joshua walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. The clock read a few hours past noon, but he was exhausted. Well, it’s not like that flight was relaxing. Could there have been more turbulence? Just a few minutes rest, then I’ll get back to work trying to find whatever rabbit hole Richard has crawled down. Joshua lay back on the bed, in a few minutes he was asleep.
Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) Page 10
