In Blood

by C M Thorne

  They both began to flip through the pages of their copies, putting the names, initials, and signatures where indicated. Rainer moved faster, finishing his copy and taking the lawyer’s to blow through as well before Caleb was halfway down with his first. He stacked the other two for Caleb, taking his when he was done to sign and hand off to the notary to stamp and sign.

  Caleb hardly paid any attention to what he was truly signing. The documents could be signing his mortal life away to the vampire, but he did not seem to care or feel nervous. Perhaps it was the vampire’s blood coursing through his veins, but he just wanted to get this done with. He wanted to be alone with Rainer, not that he would say that. Even if the blood was affecting him, it had not changed his apprehension with men, especially one like Rainer.

  As he was signing one of the last pages, the events of the last few days came rushing up on him. His heart started to beat faster as he realized that he had in fact been attacked. By a vampire. Twice. His sister, her friend, and even Caleb himself had almost been killed. By a vampire. By a vampire in his sister’s apartment not a day after leaving his father’s house. He had been saved though and was being given what was most likely a multi-million dollar penthouse to keep him safe. By a vampire from other vampires. What had his life suddenly turned into?

  He tired to slow his breathing down as he dropped the pen after the last signature, but he felt like he couldn’t breathe deeply. Like his heart was trying to thunder out of his chest. What was going on? How had he been so calm through all of this? What would his father think? Oh, my god. His father. He was right. Look at how quickly his life had changed and descended into fanfare after associating himself with supes! His life had almost ended and there was a good chance it still could at any moment while he was around Rainer. He had vampire blood coursing through his veins as he sat there for heaven’s sake!

  Rainer placed a cool hand on Caleb’s left forearm. “Are you alright, Caleb?” Rainer asked softly, leaning in closer to him.

  He looked into the vampire’s eyes, losing himself in the caramel warmth and noting for the first time that his eyes were a marbled pattern rather than flecked and lined like every other set of eyes Caleb had seen. “What?” Caleb finally breathed out, heart rate slowly down a little bit with each second as he studied the vampire’s eyes.

  “Are you alright?” Rainer asked again, concern clearly settled into his furrowed brows.

  Cal slowly moved his head up and down, feeling like a puppet as he was still lost in Rainer’s eyes. “I’m fine,” he answered breathlessly. “Everything just sort of hit me, I guess.” He glanced at Rainer. “I’m alright now.“ He picked the pen back up and looked back at the document before remembering that he had finished. He pushed the portfolio to the notary and sat there waiting for him to finish stamping and signing.

  “Alright,” the notary, Thomas Pullman, spoke, pushing the stack of portfolios to the middle of the table. “All done. One for each of you,” he smiled awkwardly, lacing his hands together in front of him on the table as he looked into Rainer’s eyes, in much the same way Caleb imagined he himself did.

  Mister Williams stood up, grabbing the pile and tossing a portfolio in front of Rainer and one in front of Caleb as he shuffled away from his seat. “I think that concludes business for today,” the lawyer sounded uncomfortable as he moved around the table. “Thank you for using our service, Mister d’Este.” He nodded and dismissed himself, leaving the notary to scramble with his things and follow after, looking back at Rainer almost longingly before disappearing.

  Was Called just another person under the spell that this vampire seemed to cast on everyone? The notary had seemed desperate for him to notice him. Was Caleb the same way? Rainer tore him from his thoughts, asking, “Shall we go up to your place, Mister Bishop?”

  He blushed and looked at the ground as he rose and let Rainer hold the door open for him. They headed down the hall back to the love and the elevators, stepping into the first one that was waiting open. Rainer pressed the round button for the twenty-eighth level and the doors slid closed. Caleb stood there in all his awkwardness, not knowing what to say or do. What do you say to the man who literally just gave you his home? Thank you did not seem to be enough.

  “Oh,” Rainer broke the silence. He reached into his pocket and handed Caleb a key ring with only one key on it. It felt strangely similar to what had happened with Dinah the day before, but Rainer brought him back to the moment by continuing to speak. “You will need this for getting into the condo.”

  “Thank you,” Caleb replied, grabbing the ring from Rainer’s hand, his fingers lightly brushing against the cool skin of the vampire’s large palm. He wasn’t necessarily cold, but he was cool enough to send chills up Caleb’s arm and back. He looked away, ear burning.

  The elevator saved Caleb from the intimate moment, stopping abruptly. The doors lid open to the large, half-circle shaped foyer before the imposing, dark wooden double doors leading to Rainer’s condo. Well, Caleb’s condo now technically. He shook his head al little as he stepped out onto the warm hued marble floors of the foyer. A heavy looking, rough mahogany table sat directly in the center of the room with a tall silver vase filled with calla lilies, which made the foyer smell faintly fresh and sweet.

  Caleb tucked the portfolio under his left armpit as he reached the door, putting the key into the right door and letting himself into the dark, wide hall. He looked back after a coupled steps, noticing that Rainer was standing in the doorway with a faintly bemused look on his face.

  “Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” Caleb walked back toward the door, running a hand through his short golden brown hair. “I can just say any invitation, right?”

  He swore he saw Rainer’s lips flash into a smile for a fraction of a second before replying, “Anything will do, yes.”

  “How does that work? You mentioned respelling my sister’s apartment, but,” he paused and glanced behind him, “how did a witch do that so quickly today?”

  “Doesn’t work like that with legal transfers of ownership,” Rainer answered truthfully. “The moment a place places hands of ownership, the magic seems to switch to that new person. It’s quite complicated,” he finished, sounding amused again.

  Caleb went to invite him in, but he hesitated. “I,” he stuttered, “I have a question first.”

  Rainer raised an eyebrow, “Alright?”

  “Why are you doing all of this?”

  “I have told you,” he started to answer, “it comes down to t-”

  Caleb cut him off, “No, I don’t want the answer from before. Besides, I’m not just talking about not just letting me die that night in the bathroom.” He paused and looked down at the ground, not having the full confidence to look at him as he continued, “Why were you staring at me that first night at the club? It started then, I think.”

  Rainer’s face twitched, clearly not happy with being trapped outside of his house, “It is complicated.”

  “Uncomplicate it,” Caleb replied before he could think twice.

  “I saw something in you,” Rainer looked into Caleb’s grey eyes with an intensity that Caleb wasn’t quite used to. Had anyone ever looked at him like that? It made him feel like his heart had stopped and he had to remember to breathe.

  Rainer’s amber eyes seemed soft to him now and Caleb stepped to the side, sweeping his hand out a little, “Please come in to your home.” He laughed a little under his breath.

  One corner of Rainer’s lips pulled up into the smallest of smirks as he stepped inside and Caleb felt his insides melt. He moved past Caleb and started pointing things out, making him reconstitute himself and follow along. “That is a closet there, laundry room there, though I usually have my things sent out, and that is a powder room.” He moved down the hallway, leaving Caleb to glance around quickly and catch up. “That is the dining room,” he continued as he walked into where the condo opened up in the open concept main living space, “and you know the kitchen, living room, and such.”
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  Rainer pointed toward the hallway that curved off into the rest of the condo where the built-in bookshelves stopped, “That hallway has the master suite to the left and the two guest bedrooms, if you remember.” He turned and pointed to a set of double doors to the right of living room next to where the dining room was, “That is my office.”

  Caleb walked out into the living room, noticing that his suitcases and backpack had been delivered to the condo, and were sitting next to a couch. “Oh, I should put some of my things away, I guess. What room do you want me to take?” Caleb asked.

  “I was thinking that you could take the master,” Rainer responded.

  “Oh no,” Caleb protested, “I couldn’t do that.”

  “Yes. Yes, you can. I insist,” Rainer stressed.

  Caleb waved his hands out in front of him, shaking his head. “No, no. This is already way too much! I am not kicking you out of your own bedroom too!”

  “It has the most comfortable bed and I do not need to sleep,” Rainer countered, moving across the room and picking up Caleb’s bags. “I am not really giving you a choice in the matter.”

  “Again,” Caleb muttered as the vampire blurred out of the room with the bags and Cal heard several doors opening and closing in quick succession as he moved down the hall.

  Rainer had left the first door on the right open, revealing a room decorated in deep, warm shades of bronze and burnished gold. The vampire blurred from the open master door into the gold guest room, stopping before a door on the other side of the room, arms laden with clothes on hangers. He blurred into the closet, moving faster that Cal could actually tack, returning to a stop in the hallway a few feet away from him.

  “Your room,” Rainer spoke, bowing slightly and extending his arm out to usher Caleb into the master suite.

  His ears burned as he looked down. “This really is too much,” he protested with less conviction as he walked into the bedroom. It was the one he had woken up in after Henri tried to feed on him at the club. The only noticeable difference was that the fireplace was dark now and Cal noticed a door on either side of the bed’s nightstands. The closest one, to the right of the bed, was open and revealed a massive closet.

  Rainer walked in and made his way toward the closet, talking over his shoulder, “I have removed some of my clothes to make room for you. I should not need to come for any of my remaining clothes, but if I do, I will ask your permission first. I do not want to invade your privacy or space while you are staying here. It is important that you feel safe.” He glanced back as Caleb trailed behind and entered the closet.

  The closet ran back for several feet before turning and disappearing off to the left. The top and bottom racks of the closet immediately to the right when entering had been cleared of the vampire’s clothes. Rainer had cleared triple the amount of space then Caleb would actually need. In the middle of the space was a long set of dark wood drawers with a deep green black granite countertop. His suitcases rested on top of the counter and Caleb’s eyes widened as he moved in and looked around the corner of the cavernous closet.

  “Here,” Rainer spoke up again, taking his eyes off of Caleb and turning to walk further into the space, “you can come through here to reach the bathroom.”

  He followed the vampire through another door to a spacious bathroom with a long counter and a sink to the right, a massive shower in the right corner of the bathroom, and an oversized clawfoot tub next to it. He walked around as the bathroom curved around to the left, where there was an even longer counter with another sink and what he assumed was a water closet to the left of the tub. He opened the door on the other side of the bathroom and they walked back out into the master bedroom, on the other side of the great canopy bed.

  “Is there anything you did not have with you that you will need?” Rainer asked, walking up to the fireplace and taking something down from the mantle.

  Caleb laughed lightly, “I don’t think so. I don’t have much.”

  “Are those bags all of your things?” Rainer asked, looking toward the closet.

  “Almost entirely,” Caleb answered, twisting his mouth up and shrugging his shoulders a little. “My father does not believe in an abundance of earthly possessions. He would balk at this place.” He looked to the oil painting hanging between the windows on the outside wall of the room and the semi-circle table beneath it, that he imagined was ridiculously expensive.

  “Ah, yes,” Rainer nodded. “Well, I have spent several lifetimes accruing my current wealth and earthly possessions.” His tone was amused.

  Caleb cocked his head to the side as Rainer spoke. “How old are you?” he asked before he should stop the words from leaving his mouth. His eyes widened as the vampire turned to him and his cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry!” Cal blurted out. “I didn’t mean to, I mean, what I meant was … ” He gulped, “I’m sorry if that was rude. I’ve just been curious.”

  “It is quite alright,” Rainer responded, lips twitching upward slightly amused. “I am four hundred and sixty-five.”

  His eyes widened at the thought as he eyebrows raised involuntarily. “When were you turned then? The,” he paused, doing quick math in his head, “seventeenth century, right? How old were you when you were turned? It must have been so different then, with everything being a secret. How would you compare the various centuries?” Caleb fired off questions looking up at the vampire. “Oh god,” Caleb shook his head. “I am so sorry! Again! I just keep putting my foot in my mouth!”

  Rainer shook his head and responded, “Do not worry. It is natural to want to know. I am the first vampire you have met, yes?”

  Caleb nodded his head quickly, eyes still wide and cheeks bright red.

  “I can tell you my story. It is not very thrilling, however.” Rainer moved to leave the room. “I don’t know if you would be very entertained in the retelling of it.”

  “Oh, I doubt that very much,” Caleb blurted out.

  Rainer paused in the doorway and looked at him with the smallest questioning look.

  Caleb glanced down, embarrassed at letting his mouth run away from him. “But yeah,” he tried to recover, “I don’t really have much.”

  Rainer’s golden eyes looked him over slowly before responding, “We will have to change that some then.” He smirked his small, barely then smirk and blurred out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Caleb breathless to collapse on the giant bed. He sunk into the comfortable bed and held his hands to his pounding chest, trying not to let his infatuated mind run away from him the way his mouth just had.

  CHAPTER 8

  It had been two days since moving in and Caleb was still not used to the penthouse. He was currently sitting in the living room on one of the stuffed, oversized armchairs, looking out of the city in the low light of the sun setting sun on the other side of the building. Lights flicked on here and there as dusk closed in. Caleb had gone to school earlier in the day to drop of his final papers and projects, though Rainer had insisted that he drive him. The drive had been pleasant, with light classical music and what Caleb considered to be polite talk about his major and future plans. Rainer seemed quite interested, as he had been when they first truly met and spoken, in the various aspects of Caleb’s human life, including his motivations for things and how he enjoyed himself.

  Caleb found the vampire easy to talk to, and weirdly understanding of Caleb’s upbringing. Though he had not discussed much in the way of details yet, Rainer had grown up in a very religious era, dominated by the controlling, competing churches across europe. He understood the pressures and obligations, as well as the guilt, that could be associated with being a pastor’s son. On the way home, Rainer made Caleb talk more about himself. Caleb obliged, but he had made the vampire promise that he would talk about himself once they were home. Caleb had snuggled into the chair, waiting for Rainer to make him a cup of tea and to heat himself up some blood. The thought of it didn’t make Caleb’s stomach churn the way it had in the past. In fact, it was al
most appealing. He shuddered at the thought and turned as Rainer came over.

  He set the mug of chai tea down on a stone coaster carefully, and moved over to a high-back chair near the fireplace with a tumbler of dark blood. Caleb wondered if it was actual human blood and how Rainer got his blood supply. Did he reheat it because it tasted more like drinking from a human? He imagined refrigerated blood would not be the most appealing. He knew he could not ask Rainer such things, especially since he wanted him to talk about his origins and not get distracted, but they burned at the back of his throat regardless.

  The vampire took a long, deliberate drink, closing his eyes for a moment as he gulped the crimson liquid down. His eyes popped back open as he lowered the glass and glanced at Caleb in a manner that he could have sworn was apprehensive or possibly embarrassed. “So, you want to know about me,” he looked away from Caleb, eyes trailing over the room absently.

  He nodded and responded, “Yes, I do.” He waited for Rainer to continue. When he did not, he asked, “Where were you born?”

  “I was born in a small village outside of Frankfurt in the spring of 1653. My mother was a noble by birth from Arenberg, but I was born a bastard.” He paused, looking down at the blood in the glass he slowly swirled around. “My father was a duke, so my existence was kept secret. I was not permitted to be recognized by my father and my mother was ruined by my birth, never being able to marry the way she should have. I was raised by my uncle under the guise of being a cousin named Philippe Rainer d’Arenberg.” His vaguely Germanic sounding accent was stronger as he pronounced his name and Caleb watched him closely as he took another sip of his blood before continuing.

  “In 1674,” he inhaled, “my mother arranged for me to stay with family friends in Vienna so I could study cello under one of the great masters of the city. Rumors of my lineage had began to circulate back home and I took the name Philippe de Ligne for my time in the city, another attempt to distance myself from my mother’s disgrace and the shame of being a bastard.” His eyes flicked to Caleb for the smallest fraction of a second as he took another deep breath. “It was then that I met the vampire woman who went by the name of Livia Ludovisi, supposed cousin of the prince of Piombino in modern Tuscany.”