Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1)

by Michelle Rabe

  “Morgan? What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked a few seconds after stepping into the bedroom. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, with her back to the door. He tamped down the panic rising in his throat with ruthless tenacity, and forced himself to walk over to the nightstand. He placed the mug he carried on the flat surface before he turned his attention to his wife.

  “I wanted to see the sun,” she whispered, her voice sounding hollow, dead. A thrill of fear skittered along Nicholas’s spine like an army of ice carved insects. Stunned, he was still formulating an answer, when she held her hand out to him. It was covered in angry–red and yellowish–white welts. “Guess that wasn’t the smartest idea.”

  “You could say that, love.” Nicholas took her hands in his and examined the burns, with a look of concentration on his face. “How long were you exposed?”

  “I only opened the drapes for maybe a minute.”

  “You have what looks like third degree burns.” His voice was distant. “Are they just on your hands?”

  “That’s where they’re the worst,” she admitted, a slight frown tugging the corners of her mouth down.

  “You didn’t open the French doors.” Nicholas put his fingers under Morgan’s chin and tipped his wife’s face up to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her flesh was only a shade or two darker than normal. “So that was through glass?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry to say it, love.” Nicholas’s tone was wary, as he tried to gauge her mood. “But, you’re going to have to avoid the sun for a while.”

  “It was stupid.” She shook her head in obvious frustration. “I don’t know what possessed me. I just wanted to feel that warmth on my skin. As soon as the burns started I closed the drapes, but they didn’t stop immediately.”

  “Why didn’t you call for me?”

  “I didn’t think about it,” she offered with a weak smile. “I guess I was in shock.”

  “I’m going to go with; you still are, love,” Nicholas said and draped the comforter over her shoulders. He smiled when Morgan took the edges in her hands, and pulled it around herself. “Here, you need to drink this. It will help you heal faster.” He turned and picked up the mug from the nightstand. Morgan took it from him, and sipped it, watching Nicholas over the rim. He watched while she drank, his mind spinning.

  “What am I going to do Nicholas?” she asked between sips.

  “We’ll figure it out, love” he promised, meaning every word, and shrugged, “this just means you’re going to have to juggle your schedule.”

  “That’s not as simple as it was in the past.” Morgan’s soft laughter held no real mirth. The sarcastic part of her nature was showing through, and Nicholas couldn’t help but smile. “It’s not like I can only take meetings at night. Yeah, for The Dracul that’s fine, unfortunately, the corporation isn’t going to be that simple.”

  “Then maybe you need to back away from that for a while. Let your people run the corporation,” Nicholas suggested, shrugging his shoulders. “These are people you’ve hired and promoted, because you trust them. Maybe it’s time to let them take over. You’re going to have to do that soon enough, because they’re going to start asking those uncomfortable questions.”

  “They already have.” Morgan sighed, shocking Nicholas. “Thankfully, I’ve been able to avoid it by lying about having plastic surgery. Though, to be honest, I don’t know how much longer that’s going to work. I don’t want to back away from everything right now. Not over this!” Morgan snapped, meeting his gaze, and Nicholas could have sworn that he saw a pinprick of what looked like fire at the center of her pupils.

  “I know, but we have no idea what we’re dealing with.” He paused, his eyes narrowing, “Yet. Joshua seems to be on the right track, but there are still a lot of questions. You really should take it easy for a while.”

  “I was taking it easy. Apparently I have to actually live like a so–called real vampire,” her words were accompanied by a melodramatic roll of her eyes.

  “You know, if Joshua is right,” Nicholas began, hoping that he could get her to see the bright side of things, “this could be a positive thing, in the long run.”

  “I’m not sure I care about the long run right now, Nicholai,” she scoffed.

  “I know. Whether or not you believe me, I know some of what you’re going through. I’ve been sidelined a time or two, and no matter what the reason, it sucks.”

  “But you’ve never had your whole world change because someone forced it upon you.”

  “No, I can’t say that I have,” he admitted, feeling some of his certainty slip into the sea of desperation that surrounded her.

  “I hate this,” she sighed, exasperated. “I can’t live my life the way I choose anymore.”

  “We’ll figure this out.” Nicholas swore, as he sat beside her and began rubbing her back in small circles. “It may take a while, but we will figure it out.”

  “And in the meantime, I have to be treated like a bloody china doll for fear that I might break.” She snarled as her Irish temper flared.

  “I hate to say it, because I know it’s only going to piss you off, but yes. Until Joshua meets with Richard, and he can shed more light on what’s happening, you have to be careful.”

  “May as well just strap me into a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room till we figure this out.”

  “It won’t come to that.”

  “And to think, I was feeling better this afternoon.”

  “I know. Let me see your hands.” The gentle note of command in his voice was easy to obey, and Morgan held out her hands. Nicholas smiled and took her hands in his, turning them over, running the pads of his thumbs over the backs. The burns had healed. “Well, that’s the answer to one question I had. You seem to be healing at the same rate you did before. That’s a good thing.” He smiled, lifted her right hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. His eyes locked onto hers, and Nicholas’s lips curled up. “How does the original plan for the evening sound?”

  “Fine, as long as you don’t let me near any open drapes until after sunset,” she grumbled, managing to sound both wounded and sullen at the same time.

  “As you command, my Lady.” Nicholas laughed and tilted his head toward her in a slight bow. As he’d hoped, Morgan chuckled, and shook her head, a smile lighting up her eyes. “Now, I believe the boyos want to have a chat with you.”

  “Oh, that’s never a good thing.” Morgan leaned her head against Nicholas’s shoulder and wrapped her arm around him.

  “Why don’t I go tell them that you’ll be down in half an hour?” he offered, before he kissed her hair. She met his eyes and nodded. “Good.” Nicholas stood and picked the empty mug up off the nightstand. As he walked out of the room, Nicholas glanced over his shoulder, and saw Morgan heading toward the walk–in closet.

  Morgan walked into the study thirty minutes later, to find Marcus, Nicholas, Christophe and Charles all seated around the large table, listening as Joshua spoke. She smiled and crossed to the empty seat next to Nicholas.

  “Morgan, I was just explaining about the Conclave of Sorcerers,” Joshua said, turning his chocolate eyes to her.

  “I gathered that. I thought you’d managed to find Richard? Didn’t you bring him?”

  “Well, that’s part of what I was explaining. They have a set way of dealing with people who come to their abilities late in life, through blood transfusion and other means.”

  “You mean this has happened before?” Morgan asked, as Nicholas took her hand in his.

  “Through blood transfusion, yes. But, there’s nothing about a vampire ingesting the blood of a sorcerer. According to the members, there’s something about it that usually causes a vampire’s system to reject it.”

  “So what’s different here?” Nicholas asked.

  “They don’t know,” Joshua answered, shaking his head.

  “Do they have any theories?” Morgan asked, as a small tight knot of fear settled in
to the pit of her stomach.

  “Several. You are talking about men and women who were once called alchemists here, they are, at heart, a curious bunch,” Joshua answered with a soft laugh.

  “Lovely,” she sighed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “It’s a good–news, bad–news, situation. They are more open to assisting you now. Richard’s family is one of the oldest in the Conclave and that gives him some power.”

  “That would be the good news,” she muttered. Before Joshua managed to respond, she continued, “I suppose that the bad is that they’re going to be rather interested in my progress.” She hated having people checking on her, and in her experience it was worse when they said it was ‘for her own good.’”

  “Exactly, and in that vein, Richard wanted to know how you reacted to the brew. Charles and Christophe filled me in a little, but what they can’t tell me is how you are reacting to having to drink it.”

  “You mean is it getting easier to stomach?” she asked, her brow furrowed just a little.

  “Yes. That, and are you noticing that you can go longer before you need to drink it again?”

  “I am having less trouble stomaching it. I’d say it’s like an acquired taste. And yes, I am noticing that I can go longer between taking it and when I feel the need again.”

  “Good on both counts. At some point you should start trying to push yourself, if only to know how long you can go between needing to drink it,” Joshua suggested.

  Morgan nodded. He’s right, but I don’t want to take the risk until after this current situation is handled.

  “Do you have any idea how adding another vampire’s blood might alter the effects?” Nicholas asked.

  “There’s a reason you’re asking. Why?” Joshua asked, turning to face him.

  “When a new vampire is created, there’s a bond between the Newborn and their Sire,” Morgan answered, without taking a minute to think it through. She didn’t need time. This was information she’d learned at Julian’s hand when she was first made a vampire. “It’s a little like GPS, we can sense where our Blood Children are. If they are under a great deal of stress, the bond lets us sense their emotions. Initially the bond is very strong, and is used to help keep young vampires in check.” Joshua looked interested and somewhat confused, so she continued. “As time passes, the bond weakens but never really goes away. Like right now, if I focus, I can sense Julian to the west, and I sense confusion and betrayal.” Morgan frowned, lost in thought, focusing on her Sire trying to decipher his mood.

  “Anyway,” Nicholas picked up where she’d left off, but his eyes were on Morgan, “if a vampire were to ingest enough of another’s blood…”

  “Like Morgan may have to,” Joshua interjected.

  “Yes. It’s possible that a second blood bond may form, in some ways stronger than the first, but in weaker in others. It can be very intrusive,” Nicholas finished explaining, even as he tried to keep the details vague, it was safer for Joshua that way.

  “I’m not sure what will happen. If I may, I’d like to speak with Richard and perhaps a few other members of the conclave about it?”

  “Please do, but we have to be careful,” Nicholas replied an implied warning in his tone.

  “Of course, discretion is the name of the game.”

  “I’d also like to know what might happen if I were to ingest Morgan’s blood,” Nicholas asked, surprising her, but she managed to keep it hidden. The side effect was that Morgan lost concentration and could no longer focus on trying to decipher Julian’s mood.

  “From what Richard told me, Morgan’s blood shouldn’t carry the magic …” he paused and rubbed his temples. “That’s not right. The magic is still in her blood and always will be. It’s just assimilated and can no longer be passed along.”

  “So why isn’t he here?” Morgan asked.

  “Richard?” Joshua asked, she nodded and he continued. “He said if the brew was working I was supposed to give you this.” He reached below the table and rummaged around in his briefcase for a moment, before he sat up and set a small leather bound book in front of Morgan. She looked at it for a moment, before picking it up and turning it over in her hands. The cover was embossed with intricate Celtic knot work that created a tree of life in the center. “He said you are to follow the instructions in there. Do one lesson a day, every day, as close to the same time as possible. In one to three years he should come and seek you out.”

  “If he does not?” Nicholas asked. Morgan knew, by the low growl in his tone, that his temper was riding a fine edge and could tip either way.

  “The book teaches simple control. Without mastering it, Morgan cannot learn the most complex focus required for more intricate work.”

  “So these lessons will keep the magic from running amuck, but not teach me much beyond that?” she muttered. This wasn’t exactly what I’d been hoping for. Then again when is anything easy? You’d think after a little over seventeen centuries of life I would have gotten used to it. Nah, it still sucks. Of course all things considered, this isn’t a death sentence, that’s always a plus.

  “Exactly.”

  “And how is this Richard supposed to know how to find her?” Marcus asked, from the far end of the table.

  “Usually I can get him to give me straight answers, but he wasn’t cooperating. He would only say that he’d know where and when to find her,” Joshua answered, with a shrug.

  “So, the ones the teachers do not seek out? What happens to them?” Charles asked; his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.

  “I’m not going to lie. There’s a very small number among those, who were not initiated into the Conclave, who never mastered control and died, as a result. But that number is extremely low, so please don’t borrow trouble before you need to,” Joshua answered, as though he really didn’t want to talk about the possibility.

  Not that I blame him, even though it’s my life and not his we’re talking about, Morgan thought.

  “There is one thing about this situation that doesn’t make sense to me,” Marcus interjected.

  “Just one?” Nicholas chuckled.

  “One that we haven’t discussed,” Marcus answered, with a sigh. “How was I able to hear Morgan the night she almost fried my psyche?”

  “How do you mean fried your psyche?” Joshua asked, leaning toward Marcus.

  “I was standing over a murder victim, using my senses to trace a scent, so my defenses were down. Next thing I know there’s a scream in my head that knocks me flat on my ass. It was Morgan.”

  “That isn’t normal? I thought all vampires have some measure of psychic ability.”

  “It generally requires some kind of strong blood tie. Something, which Morgan and Marcus do not share,” Christophe replied.

  “And you think it may have something to do with the sorcerer’s blood?”

  “It’s the only thing I can think of right now. I was hoping you might have some explanation.”

  “I will need to speak with Richard about this as well.”

  “Of course, thank you for all your help, professor,” Nicholas replied with a nod. “Arrangements have been made for you to return home, just say the word.”

  “I actually have a little research I wanted to do on some of the folklore in the city before I leave,” he explained, as he pushed his chair away from the table.

  “Certainly, Christophe would you mind making sure that Joshua has everything he needs while he’s here?” Morgan asked, meeting her Blood Son’s amethyst eyes.

  “Of course cherie,” Christophe answered, and a few moments later he followed Joshua from the room.

  “I think it’s time I returned to Los Angeles,” Morgan said after several minutes of silence. Nicholas started to speak, but she held up her hand and continued. “It’s foolish to think that they’re still in New Orleans. We need to draw them out, on our terms.”

  “Los Angeles isn’t exactly our turf, Morgan,” Nicholas growled, fighting to keep his tempe
r in check.

  “No, but The Dracul is, I don’t think they’re going to try anything here. Think about it Nicholas, if you were in their position, would you come after someone hiding in a well–guarded home like this?” she asked, meeting his steady gaze.

  “You think I haven’t considered it? The truth is, no matter how well I plan, I can’t guarantee your safety, and that is unacceptable,” he answered, stroking her hair, his hand coming to rest behind her neck.

  “We’ve made do with unacceptable before, we can do it again.”

  “Don’t ask me to take this risk with your life on the line,” he whispered, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

  He was shutting her out. As much as Morgan hated to, she had to press or she’d lose the argument. “It’s not as though I like this either, but there’s no alternative. Please, if anyone has a better idea, say something.” Morgan threw up her hands in frustration.

  “We go to the Council with what we know,” Charles offered, shifting in his seat, as though uncomfortable with the looks he got from everyone at the table.

  “If we go to the Council, it tips our hand, and it’s a weak one, a pair of tapes which show the attackers, but not clearly. Protocol demands that Lucian be shown the evidence. He will talk his way out of it, or just flat out go to ground, and we will never find him again,” Marcus countered.

  “So, Nicholas executes him on the Lead Enforcer’s authority, and presents the evidence to the Council after the fact,” Christophe interjected, surprising Morgan.