Deadman's Blood

by T. Lynne Tolles

  Josh and Dominic, both stunned and pale, stared at her.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Then you must have found the scroll holder in the hearth?” Julianna said.

  Josh and Dominic looked at one another dumbfounded.

  “How do you know about the scroll and the prophecy?” Dominic asked.

  “I’ve been researching the altar room for years,” Julianna said matter-of-factly. “I found the scroll holder and its contents about fifty years ago. When I get bored with life in general I go back, read it again, and try and figure out the puzzle behind it. I love puzzles, especially jigsaw puzzles. Never could figure out the prophecy or why the insignia came off the scroll case,” Julianna admitted.

  Josh and Dominic exchanged another set of looks between them and smiled.

  *****

  Josh asked Julianna, “We appreciate the research you’ve done, but it doesn’t prove that Dr. Rowe is involved; although I will say it makes me more suspicious of him. The problem is, I just don’t know how we can trust you. For all we know you are still working for Dr. Rowe or whoever is behind all this, and you are just throwing suspicion on someone else.”

  “I know. It’s frustrating for me too. I have no credibility for being anything but a villain. I know you have no reason to believe in me or believe what I say is true, but know this, I will lay down my life for Anton if that’s what it takes to save him. His family means everything to him. I had that once, when I was mortal, but I lost it with my humanity when anger and survival took its place. It wasn’t until I met Anton that I remembered what it was like to be loved and love those around you. I want that back and I’m willing to fight and/or die for it if I have to.

  “I pose this to you,” she said as she took out of her long coat what looked like a walking stick. She twisted the top and there was a singing of metal as the blade slid against metal sheath, revealing a long, sword-like weapon. She turned it around, holding it by its blade, and handed it to Dominic. He reluctantly took the weapon, then she kneeled down before him and said, “You have every right to hate me and want me dead for the crimes I’ve inflicted upon your family. I will gladly die at your hand, right here, right now, knowing I did the honorable thing.”

  “What is she doing?” Josh asked.

  Dominic was stunned. “Well, I think it’s the vampire creed from ancient times. I’ve never seen it done, but I’ve read about it.”

  Hands on one knee, the other knee on the ground, Julianna was like a statue, her head bowed and waiting for the verdict.

  “Julianna, I’m not going to kill you; stand up, dear,” Dominic said. “We can trust her, Josh.” Dominic handed the weapon back to Julianna and she sheathed it back into the walking cane.

  “Are you sure?” Josh whispered.

  “I’m positive. Anyone who has knowledge of the creed and the old ways has a great sense of honor,” Dominic said.

  “But she could be lying,” Josh said suspiciously.

  “She could be, but I’m willing to bet my life she’s not. However, Josh, this is up to you too. This is your family too and with Anton unavailable for a vote, I will respect your vote whatever it may be.”

  Josh looked pale and flustered. He was not used to having a say. He had been raised as an only child - parents ruled. He looked Julianna over as she stood there alone and vulnerable.

  “Can I ask you a couple more questions before I decide?” Josh said.

  “Of course,” Julianna answered.

  “The night of the engagement party, it was you that Anton had invited, wasn’t it?” Josh asked.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “And you left him at the party that night. You shot out of there like a bolt of lightning. Why?”

  “Yes. I did. I tried everything I could to resist his advances, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d never had anyone make such an effort to get to know me as he did, at least not that I ever had the inkling to allow. When Dr. Rowe entered and I realized this was THE Larsen family he was referring to with all his dark intentions, I shot out of there. I thought if he saw me with Anton he would harm him or use him against me,” Julianna explained.

  “And would it have worked?” Josh wondered.

  “Truthfully, I’m not sure, but after that evening? Most definitely. The connection we had was too strong to ignore and it scared me. That’s why I avoided him and stood him up for our first official date, but he came in on his gallant horse anyway,” Julianna admitted.

  “Are you in love with Anton?” Josh asked.

  “I…guess…I think I am, yes,” she said somehow just realizing herself as she said the words out loud.

  “You do know he was mortally torn apart by his wife Libby and her antics, right?” Josh informed her.

  “I do,” Julianna confirmed.

  “If you ever hurt him like she did, I will return the favor somehow,” Josh threatened.

  “If I am lucky enough to have him forgive me, I promise I’ll try my best, but I will make mistakes and we will butt heads. My promise to you both is that I will never intentionally hurt him if I can avoid it,” Julianna promised.

  “Well, its not exactly what I wanted to hear, but the logic behind it is solid; I have to give her that,” Josh said to Dominic. “If you think she’s trustworthy, Dominic, I’ll back you up.”

  Julianna showed a slight smile, which made her look even more beautiful. It seemed to melt the icy air around her and make her more inviting. Dominic and Josh could see why Anton found her so mesmerizing.

  “Well then, why don’t we head to the study, and introduce you to the others and explain what we know about the prophecy and get your take on it,” Dominic suggested.

  “Sure, if you think I can help,” Julianna said.

  “Definitely,” Dominic replied.

  *****

  As they walked across the foyer towards the study, Josh asked, “So have you gone to visit Anton yet?”

  “No. First off, I didn’t think it was appropriate without the family’s permission and secondly, I don’t do well in hospitals. The smell of blood all around - death and sickness. I’m not like the blue bloods; I crave blood, but I can control it, for the most part. I fear I wouldn’t be able to control it in that environment, though, so I avoid hospitals when possible. I would try though, for Anton’s sake,” she added.

  “No need, dear; he’s not conscious and they’re filtering his blood with this machine. I can imagine that would be very hard for you to be around,” Dominic said as he opened the door of the study.

  The three of them stepped into the study and Dominic announced, “Can I have your attention? We have a new ally to our ranks. Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Julianna D’Angelo.” Dominic pointed around the room. “This is Katarina Jansson, Melanie Harper, Mark Rosenthal, over there, Alyssa Sarducci, that’s Sally Keaton, and lastly, Dean Wolfe.”

  Julianna smiled and nodded at them all but exchanged a glance with Dominic after Dean’s name was announced. He said, “Yes, he is a werewolf. We actually have quite an array of supernatural powers among us. Melanie, Josh’s girlfriend, has psychometric powers and most recently the power to heal. Unfortunately, she can’t heal vampires, but she did heal Josh after his run in with the car.”

  Mark stood up with his brows furrowed and his tough guy act pumped up like a peacock. “Wait a minute, she’s the Dark Angel. Didn’t you say Anton told you she was the Dark Angel?”

  “Sit down, Mark. Yes. She is the Dark Angel, but she’s made a pledge to protect Anton and those trying to hurt him,” Dominic said.

  “But she did the hurting,” Mark argued.

  “She’s made her amends, Mark. Josh and I have decided to trust her and accept her help,” Dominic retorted.

  “Well, you may have, but I’ll need more than a few I’m sorry’s before I’m convinced,” Mark said stubbornly.

  “That’s fine, Mark, but in the meantime she is my guest and you will respect that,” Dominic said graciously, but firmly. Mark gr
umbled and sat back down.

  “Moving along, Katarina is Josh’s biological mother. You’ve met Mark in the altar room…”

  “Aw yes, the dragon,” Julianna said.

  “Shape shifter to you…and don’t think I can’t do it again if you get out of line,” Mark said gruffly.

  “Mark is also a private investigator. He does odd jobs for me and he and his lovely girlfriend Alyssa live here in the cottage,” Dominic mentioned.

  “That’s right. Just at the bottom of the hill so I can be here in an instant,” Mark pointed out. Alyssa elbowed him hard in the ribs.

  “Alyssa is a gypsy by blood,” Dominic said.

  “Are you one of the Sensational Sarduccis?” Julianna asked excitedly.

  “I am,” Alyssa replied, rather intrigued by Julianna’s knowledge of her family.

  “I loved your family’s circus. I used to go every time it came to town. Truly, they are ‘Sensational’,” Julianna admitted.

  “Thank you,” Alyssa said graciously.

  Mark gave Alyssa a grimace and crossed his arms across his chest in discontent. Alyssa rolled her eyes at him as the introductions continued.

  “Alyssa has recently been blessed with the power to levitate. Dean, as I said before, is a born werewolf and has been dealing with his new empathic powers. At his side is Sally. She is from a long line of ancestral witches and has recently been conversing with the dead, which I’ve been meaning to speak to you about…we need to talk,” Dominic said and Sally nodded.

  “The others that aren’t here…” Dominic started and Julianna interrupted.

  “Excuse me, but before we go on I have a couple of questions,” Julianna said.

  “Sure. What is it?” Dominic asked.

  “Well, you said that Melanie healed Josh, but Josh is your son…isn’t he a vampire?” she asked.

  “No. He didn’t receive any of the vampiric traits but the telepathy and since he only has the one vampiric trait, it is acute. Strongest I’ve ever seen, actually, vampire or otherwise. He too has been dealing with a new power of strength. He’s now stronger than any vampire I’ve seen new or old,” Dominic explained.

  “That’s the other thing, you keep mentioning new powers. What’s that about?” Julianna asked.

  “Well, when Sally, Alyssa, and Darby destroyed the Bloodstone Heart in the altar room, we all acquired a new gift. We think it stems from the prophecy,” Dominic explained.

  “The four will have allies with great power and that power will be quadrupled by the destruction of ‘ones heart’ as payment for their good deeds,” Julianna quoted from memory.

  “Exactly,” Dominic replied.

  “How does she know about the prophecy?” Mark demanded.

  “She found the artifact long before we did and she read the scroll inside. She has been researching it too, but she doesn’t know the connection to the Larsen family, at least I don’t think she does,” Dominic admitted.

  “No. I mean, I should have known, I suppose, that one of the ‘four brothers’ was Larsen, but I didn’t know there were any living relatives of the Ancient Ones. It was just a hobby researching it. I got interested in it when I first found the altar room and the Bloodstone Heart for… well…you all know the rest of that story,” Julianna admitted.

  “We sure do,” Mark said loudly. Alyssa elbowed him again. Dean laughed at this since it was usually him that was getting elbowed by Sally…that’s when he got one of his own.

  “Ow. Stop that,” he whispered to Sally.

  “The rest of the motley crew is Darby, Devon’s fiancée, Darby’s sister Rowan, Blake’s girlfriend, Anton and his cousins, Blake and Devon, all of which are at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Darby and Rowan are both witches, except that Rowan also is a werewolf after a dastardly deed was cast upon her, and of course Devon, Blake, and Anton are vampires, as you know.”

  “So what are their new powers?” Julianna asked, intrigued by all of the new information.

  “Let’s see…Rowan has started showing powers of pyrokinesis, Blake was moving objects around with telekenesis, Devon has been showing signs of great speed and scaring Darby every time she turned around, and Anton was having dreams of being in your head and seeing what you saw. I’m guessing the connection between you must be quite intense for such lucid dreaming,” Dominic said.

  “And you?” Julianna asked Dominic.

  “Me, I guess mine is retrocognition. I’ve been having dreams of the past, your past to be exact,” Dominic admitted.

  “My past?” Julianna asked, confused.

  “Yes. I saw the whole scene play out of your being turned, Owen’s murder, and Edward pinning it all on you,” Dominic revealed.

  Julianna was astonished and staggered backward for a moment. “You saw the whole thing? That’s how Anton knew what happened. He claimed it was in a journal or something. I had no idea!”

  “Well, there are some facts in some books I have, but there were a lot of holes in the story that were filled in when I had the dream. At first I thought it was just a dream, but when everyone around me was showing signs of new powers after the incident with the Bloodstone Heart, I knew it was more than just a coincidence. It was history playing out for me like a movie in my head.”

  “How amazing,” Julianna said. “You have all been truly blessed with these new powers and each other. Anton’s very lucky he has such good friends and a kind, loving family. I was wondering though, doesn’t the prophecy say that four brothers would be brought together? Anton only has one brother,” she said.

  “Often in ancient texts extended families lived together and cousins were referred to as brothers or sisters,” Dominic explained.

  “So…Josh, Anton AND Devon and Blake, make up the four brothers,” Julianna surmised.

  “That’s our thinking, yes,” Dominic replied.

  “Josh, being a non-vampire, flew under the radar and is considered the fourth brother no one knew about?” Julianna asked.

  “Actually it’s a little more complicated than that, but Josh is a half brother to Anton and I think that is why no one knew about the fourth brother. We, Katarina and I, didn’t even know about Josh until the night of the engagement party,” Dominic relayed.

  “Well, if the parents don’t know about the child, chances are, no one else knows. Remind me later to ask you about that, because I’m a bit fuzzy on how that could happen,” Julianna said.

  Katarina and Dominic both chuckled a bit and Katarina added, “You’re telling me!”

  “Does Michael Rowe know about the prophecy?” Julianna asked.

  “Not to my knowledge,” Dominic said.

  “Are you sure? Because it would make sense if he did. Could he be a descendent of one of the other ‘Ancient Ones’?” Julianna wondered.

  “Maybe, but his name doesn’t match any of them, plus as far as I know the other bloodlines died out hundreds of years ago, way before my time, and Michael’s my age,” Dominic explained.

  “Oh no, he’s not,” Julianna corrected.

  “What do you mean?” Dominic asked.

  “I mean, I’ve been working for the man for almost all my four hundred years and he was well established long before me.

  “But that’s impossible. We went to school together,” Dominic argued.

  “Maybe, but it wasn’t the first time he graduated. He’s very, very old. It’s harder to tell with the born vampires, but trust me, he’s well over 500 years old and probably a lot older than that. And as for the name not matching and Ancient - people change their names all the time,” Julianna said.

  “Well, that is something, isn’t it?” Dominic puzzled.

  “Wait a minute here,” Mark jumped in, “You’re trying to tell me that you think Dr. Rowe is behind all this? I’d say it would be more likely to be Bernard. After he disappeared without a trace just before all this mayhem started, and his last name is Wallace.”

  “What would Bernard have to benefit from our demise? Besides he’s human,” Domin
ic argued.

  “What? Vampires can’t fake being human? Seems like it would be pretty easy to me. He’s had access to the blood supply and everything else you’ve mentioned. He’s been privy to all our conversations and you can’t get much closer to the family than a live-in butler. I’d check out that theory before I believed in her. She could be pushing us off their tracks by shoving us in the direction of Dr. Rowe, while she and Bernard finish you off,” Mark said defiantly.

  “I suppose that’s all possible, but I’d like to give Julianna a chance to prove herself. We all deserve second chances and I refuse to believe Bernard is anything but a beloved friend,” Dominic retorted and Mark pouted.

  “Do you have much information on the lineage of the other brothers?” Josh asked Dominic.

  “Not as much as the Larsens, but if we could find the archives, we’d have a better source,” Dominic said.

  “The archives? I’m pretty sure those are hidden somewhere below the altar room,” Julianna said.

  “What? Why would you say that?” Dominic asked eagerly.

  “I read somewhere that the archives were hidden ‘near the home of the heart.’ I always figured that meant the Bloodstone Heart and since the altar room was home to the initially ‘good’ Black Orchids, and the heart was carved from the altar stone itself, the altar room had to be the ‘home of the heart’,” Julianna explained.

  “That’s my thinking too. Look here.” Dominic showed Julianna the map with the vellum sketch. “See how the room has this extra space on each side?” Julianna nodded.

  Dominic picked up the insignia and twisted it, revealing the triangular petals around the edge. “Well, look at that,” Julianna said with amazement.

  “This, we believe, is the key to opening the room. We insert this into the indentation in the wall and then turn it with the ring that’s been around your neck for hundreds of years,” Dominic said as he placed the familiar ring into the groove in the back of the insignia.

  “Well, what do you know?” Julianna said. “But wait, there’s four indentations in the wall, not one, and they are all rectangular, not round, with this jagged circumference.”