“I doubt he’ll try anything. He’s probably already worried because you’ve summoned him.”
Mrs. Perty came into the study with the coffeepot and cups on a tray. She placed it on the small table at the side of the armchair, and then carried the table and positioned it between the two chairs. Herres told her to bring Delia a sandwich. She nodded and went out of the study.
Herres picked up the coffeepot and stated, “I remember you like yours white.” He poured her coffee and Delia added the cream and sugar.
He filled another cup for himself, and she said, “And you like yours black.”
“Just like my vampyre soul, hot and dark.”
“Hot maybe, but it’s not dark. That’s how you like to present yourself to others, but I know it’s not the true you. You’re generous, caring, and willing to do good things.”
“The little humangel thinks she knows me. I can see I’ll have to behave more like the vampyre that I am. Perhaps I’ll steal all of her essence when she’s asleep.” He gave a wicked chuckle and his demon eyes blazed.
“You don’t scare me now. When I first met you, I was frightened, but I’ve learned who the real Herres is.”
Mrs. Perty walked into the study, carrying a plate with Delia’s sandwich on it. She gave it to her and announced, “Steven has just gone outside, Master Herres, in order to meet your guest. I saw a transporter gliding up to the front entrance when I was on my way here.” She went out of the room.
They waited, Delia ate her sandwich, and then the driver brought Jadic into the study. “Your guest is here, Master Herres.”
“Bring a stool in from the kitchen, Steven. He can sit on that.”
Delia sat facing the fire, so she couldn’t see the young vampyre. It was obvious Herres intended to make Jadic feel uncomfortable. He ignored him while they waited for Steven to return. When he did, Herres directed, “Place the stool here, close to my chair.” Herres pointed to the space between him and Delia.
The driver carried the stool and positioned it next to the vampyre’s side of the small table. Then, he went away.
Jadic approached the stool and only looking at Herres, sat down. Delia doubted he’d seen her because the armchair was so big and partially hid her from view.
“Why have you summoned me here?”
Herres kept looking at the fire as though Jadic didn’t merit eye contact. “First, you have to apologize to Delia. You almost killed her.” He pointed toward the armchair.
The young vampyre looked across and stared at Delia.
She asked, “Did you think I was dead, Jadic?”
“You should be. If that lycan hadn’t interrupted me, I would have taken every last drop of your essence.”
“Apologize now!” Herres leaned close to Jadic. “Or would you like to find out how it feels to have your essence drained?”
“How can I apologize when I’m not sorry for what I did?” He appeared defiant, but Delia sensed his apprehension.
Before Herres could say or do more, she offered, “I’m hoping you will apologize before you leave. Right now I want to know why you attacked me.”
“Herres knows why.”
“Well, he doesn’t really care why you did it, but I do. I believe he’s planning to kill you, but before he does, I’m curious about your motive.” She thought it was best to play along with her vampyre’s tough stance. “Did you do it because the new measure you wanted to introduce to the Council failed, or was it caused by your anger when you discovered Craig is now ignoring you?”
Jadic’s eyes commanded her attention and she remembered to look away at the fire, as though giving him time to answer. The last thing she needed was to come under his powerful control once again.
He questioned, “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I’m part angel, I know how important love is. You either acted out of hurt pride or destroyed love.”
The young vampyre was silent. He shifted his position on the stool and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Tell Delia why you attacked her.” Herres sounded impatient.
“I don’t enjoy being put down by any member of the Council and I do believe your kind can influence vampyres to stop taking essence. That is the same reason for the ruling that forbids us to have any contact with angels. I planned to continue pressing for the new measure at our next meeting, but then Herres used his control on Craig.”
“How can you be sure Herres did that? Maybe Craig lost interest in you, or have you used your power on him to find out why he’s behaving differently?”
“He’s changed so much from how he was before, so I used my power to discover why. That was the first time I took control of his mind. I tried, but couldn’t remove what Herres willed him to believe. When Craig and I first met, I intended using my power on him. Then, my thoughts about doing it changed.”
“Was it your thoughts or feelings that changed?”
Jadic hesitated and Delia felt sure he didn’t want to reveal the truth. She told him, “Vampyres don’t have to be unfeeling and always calculating how to steal life-force essence. They can and do care about others.” Delia looked at Herres, hoping he would recognize that her words were for him, as well as Jadic. He inclined his head in acceptance.
“They can be attracted to vampyres, but shouldn’t care about someone from another species.”
“Is that what you really believe? What a boring and cold-hearted world Kurbridor would be if each species never cared about anyone who wasn’t their kind.”
“It’s what I was taught by my parents, but of late I’ve wondered if they were wrong.”
“Thanks for your honesty, Jadic. I think Craig has changed your opinion. You care about him, don’t you?”
The young vampyre didn’t answer; he sat gazing at the fire. Then, after a while he explained, “I was only interested in obtaining essence and having sex until I met Craig. He gave me genuine affection and I believe love, until Herres took control of him.”
“Can you understand why he did that? If your measure was accepted and became a rule, he would have to forget about me. The anger he felt was the same as yours, once you discovered Craig had turned against you.”
Herres suddenly stood up and said, “I’ll be back in a moment.” He looked down at Jadic and warned, “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.” Without even glancing at Delia, he strode out of the study.
Chapter Fifteen
Delia and Jadic sat in silence for a short while. She had no idea what had prompted Herres to leave. Perhaps he wanted to unnerve the young vampyre? Or did he have a genuine reason for leaving them? He must think Jadic wouldn’t attack her again; or did he hope he would so that he’d have a perfect excuse for killing him?
“Where has he gone?”
“I have no idea. Perhaps he’s hoping you’ll answer my question without his threatening presence, so I’ll ask it again. Do you care about Craig?”
He nodded and expressed, “I was happy with him and now I’m miserable.”
“You’re a very handsome vampyre. There must be many humans out there who would fall in love with you.”
“I don’t want them, I want Craig.”
“If I can persuade Herres to remove his control over Craig, would you continue to condemn any influence that you think I might have?”
“Why would you do that? Surely you hate me? I tried to kill you.”
“Yes, you did, but that makes me sad, not angry. I also think those who love each other should be together. You did wrong and so did Herres. I want you both to forgive each other and try to be friends, not enemies.”
“That would be very difficult. I’m stubborn and think he should be the one to undo what he did. I can’t change what I did, but I shall apologize to you when he returns. Herres is fortunate to have someone like you to care about, and you seem to care about him.”
“I do, and yet I’ve also allowed negative feelings to spoil our relationship. I’m remembering a wisdom my father told me. He said so
mething positive can always be found in a negative situation if you look for it. If you hadn’t attacked me, I wouldn’t be here with Herres today.” Why was she opening up to this vampyre? Like Herres, he had a certain charisma that encouraged friendliness. She could imagine getting to know Jadic. Yet that would only happen if Herres changed his attitude toward the young vampyre.
Jadic observed, “Life would be simple if we never became involved with someone else.”
At that moment, Herres walked back into the study. He looked at Jadic and said, “That’s true, but I prefer the thrill of a sexual relationship.”
Delia asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I’ve thought about what you suggested this morning, so I went outside to find Craig. He’s waiting in the hallway.”
“Craig is here? I should leave because I find it difficult being ignored by him.” Jadic stood up.
Herres directed, “Wait, I’m about to do something that should please you.” He went to the open door and called, “Come into my study, Craig.”
Delia turned around in the armchair in time to see the gardener walk into the room. He looked nervous. She noted he was of average height with brown hair and a face that was ordinary compared to the handsome vampyre. She reminded herself how opposites attract, which held true for her and Herres.
Craig glanced at the standing Jadic and an expression of disgust appeared for a moment on his face. Then, looking up at his employer, he asked, “Have I done something wrong, Master Herres?”
“No, Craig. I want you to keep looking at me and listen intently to what I say.”
The gardener suddenly seemed transfixed. He stared at the vampyre with his attention completely focused on him. Delia realized she was about to witness an example of her vampyre’s awesome power.
Herres continued, “I’m ordering you to forget what I told you about Jadic and to only remember what I’m telling you now. He does care about you and has no intention of turning you into a vampire. If you wish to pursue a relationship with Jadic, I have no objection to that. Try to understand that a vampyre frequently acts as a result of his intense feelings and doesn’t always use good sense.”
Was that last sentence meant for her, as well as Craig? Delia decided it was.
“Now, take Jadic outside and I’m certain you have plenty to say to each other.” Herres broke eye contact with Craig.
The gardener turned away from Herres and offered a shy smile to Jadic. He, in turn, looked at Delia and said, “I apologize for hurting you. I acted out of anger and disappointment.” He walked over to Craig and stated, “Let’s go outside.”
Before he could move any further, Herres grabbed his arm and expressed, “I trust I’ve made right the wrong I inflicted on you? I, too, acted out of anger and the fear of losing Delia, for which I am sorry.”
“Thank you, Herres, and I apologize to you. I believe Delia has influenced you, but in a good way. When the Council meets, again, I shall not press for a ruling on those like her.” He grabbed Craig’s hand and they hurried from the study.
Herres came over to Delia and stooped down in front of her. “Has my inner demon behaved well?”
“He’s done better than I expected, and so did Jadic. I think you two are more alike than you realize. Once I started talking to him, I liked him.”
“Does that mean I now have a rival for your affection?”
The opportunity to tease him was too great. “Maybe, he is very handsome.”
“Yes, he looks like a vampyre and not like a demon.”
Delia wasn’t sure whether he’d taken her remark seriously. She also remembered something. “Don’t let me forget to thank your servants for giving you their essence. I can understand why you trust them.”
“They didn’t hesitate. I believe they like you. Now, I’ve done what you wanted, so will you tell me what conclusion you’ve come to about me? It’s driving me crazy wondering what you’ve decided. Do you continue to believe what we did was wrong?”
How could she even begin to say how much he meant to her? “I’ve never thought what we did was wrong; I felt guilty because, I suppose my inner angel told me I’d done something wrong. For a few days after I left, I was sad, but believed I’d acted wisely. Then, I realized my reaction was hasty. If having sex with you felt so right, how could I think I’d done something wrong? You were kind, generous and took care of me, while I insulted you and was small-minded. In addition, I’ve never felt so miserable since leaving you. I love your demon face, Herres, and I love you.”
He stared at her with his large, dark eyes. “And I love you, my little Delia. Will you take back the gift I gave to you?” Herres took the gold bracelet from his jean’s pocket, and slipped it on her wrist. “Will you also live here with me?”
“Yes, if you think your demon and my angel can get along.”
“Oh, I’m certain he can find ways to persuade her. There are several symbols on your bracelet we haven’t yet explored, and I know I can teach her to love demon delight, although I believe she did enjoy it already.”
She smiled up at him and grabbed his hand, knowing this was the beginning of their life together. Delia felt certain she would never regret the night she’d had to work at the bookstore in order to begin stocktaking. Although having to stay late annoyed and worried her at the time, it had also brought her vampyre love.
“Let’s go upstairs and discover which one is your inner angel’s favorite vampyre symbol.” Herres sounded his demonic chuckle and commented, “You are mine, little Delia.”
THE END
Author Biography
Marion Webb-De Sisto was born and grew up in the UK, but spent many years working and raising her family in the US. At present, she lives in South East England with her American husband. She describes him as her hero. Marion enjoys creating romantic tales about demons, fallen angels and vampyres. Her heroes are dark and threatening, but have a core of goodness inside them. Her heroines, who are not always fully human, fight for what they believe in.
This author describes herself as a people watcher and uses her many years of working and communicating with people as a blueprint for ‘fleshing out’ her fictional characters. She has also written several non-fiction books that explore certain metaphysical subjects.
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