My Vampire and I Vol 3: Blood Resurrection (17 page)

“It will be dawn soon,” he said, ignoring my despair. “You know we cannot go in search of our loved ones during the daylight hours. If you really care for Gustav, you will not ally yourself with your Father again. Find out where he is holding Roger and Micah, and pray for your sake and his that they are safe from the light.”

“Say you will not harm Gustav.”

 

“Of course not, he is safe with us. Only ensure that those closest to us are also safe. If not, if anything happens to either Roger or Micah, I swear to you that I will hunt you down…both you and your father.”

As I stared into the cold green of his eyes, I did not doubt for one moment that he meant what he said, nor could I blame him for his anger. I had thought to betray him, after he had saved my life. For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed. What was happening to me? First, abiding love for another, and now a sense of shame that I had been deemed unworthy in the eyes of a man to whom I owed my life.

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“I am sorry,” I murmured.

His eyes softened a little. “You are, as my Roger would say, between a rock and a hard place. But you know the path you must take. Do not allow your father to sway your mind.

 

You cannot trust him to keep you or Gustav safe. You must know that.” I nodded. The sound of soft voices in the hall told us Joseph, Bernard and Pietro were returning.

“Go,” Marcus said. “I will keep in communication with you. And Constantine, I will know if you, too, are in danger—or if you betray us.”
* * * *

The first light of dawn stole across the sky as I approached the Vatican gates. The guards, recognising me, averted their sleepy gaze as I strode past them. Father was already up, holding a conference with a few of his cohorts. He gave me a look of benign satisfaction when I entered the room. Summoning all my mental strength, I held my mind closed against him, and his expression changed to one of irritation on encountering the barrier I had erected between us.

“Constantine, my errant son,” he murmured, to the amusement of his demon guards.
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them, leaving us alone. For what seemed an eternity he stared at me, his face blank, empty of either anger or animosity.

“So, you have returned,” he said at last.
“You left me little choice,” I replied. “The vampires know you are holding their lovers hostage. Marcus sends you a warning—”

“I care not for his warnings!” He stood up suddenly, and before I could react, struck me hard across my face. “Traitor,” he barked at me. “Traitor, ingrate, bastard!”

 

“I am your bastard, Father,” I said, wiping away the trickle of blood at my lips. “You commanded me to return, and I have done so. Now, what is it you wish me to do?”

“Oh, foolish, foolish, Constantine…” His eyes lit up with a wicked glow as he sneered at me. “Do you really think I would ever put my trust in you again? You have already proven yourself to be too easily swayed by the promise of a nubile young fuck. Thinking with your dick instead of your brain will be the end of you, my son. Yes, the end of you.” He Blood Resurrection

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stared at me for a long moment then chuckled quietly. “I have no need of you now, Constantine. Your usefulness is at an end.” “You mean to kill me?”

“I’m afraid that is exactly what I mean. You and your friends, the vampires, will perish together. I know Marcus will not stand idly by while I hold his lover. He and Joseph will make their move tonight, and when they do, I will be ready for them.”

 

“Your demon guards are no match for vampire strength.”

“There will be no need for a test of strength, Constantine.” He snickered softly. “I have fashioned an extremely effective weapon against them.” He walked slowly back to his gilded chair and sat down, his face wreathed in a satisfied smile. “Bullets of silver were suggested, but they have proven faulty. Sometimes the bullet will pass directly through the vampire’s body, and their power to instantly heal before the poison sets in causes the bullet to be ineffective. But a silver-tipped, barbed arrow shot from a crossbow has proven to be lethal.

You see, the barbs will prevent the arrow from being pulled out, allowing the silver poison enough time to spread and render the vampires helpless long enough for my guards to finish them off by decapitating them.”

“You make it sound as though you have already tested this method of killing.”
“I have. Only this morning, we killed one of the young vampires we have in captivity.” His words almost froze my blood. “You mean…?”

His laughter echoed through the chamber. “Oh, Constantine…your expression is priceless. You are wondering which one we killed. The one that Marcus dotes on—or was it Joseph’s sweet love?” His eyes narrowed as he stared at me with baleful glee. “And really, my son, why should you care? You have never met either of them.” My mouth had gone dry with apprehension. I tried to penetrate his mind, to find the dreadful answer— which one? Whichever, it mattered not. The vampires’ revenge would be swift and terrible.

“You fool!” Before I could stop myself, I had shouted the words at the top of my voice.

 

“You think either Marcus or Joseph will let you live after what you’ve done? You think a few silver arrows will stop them from tearing you and your guards to pieces?”

 

“Silence!” He rose from his chair and strode towards me, his hand raised to strike me again. But I grabbed his wrist and stayed the blow. With all my strength, I began to crush the Blood Resurrection

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bones in his wrist. He screamed in agony, and for the first time, as I gazed into his furious pain-filled eyes, I could see his mortality. Marcus was right, my Father would not live forever. With my other hand, I gripped his throat and squeezed, but his screams brought his guards running into the chamber, and they pulled me from him before I could do him grievous harm.

He glared at me in disbelief, his body shaking with pain and rage, his good hand rubbing at his throat. “You have just signed your death warrant,” he hissed, choking on the words. “Put him with the others. When the vampires come, they will all die together!” I was pushed and shoved down the long corridors and flights of steps that led to the old dungeons beneath the Vatican. The guards enjoyed my fall from favour, inflicting as many kicks and punches as they could on the way. I barely felt them, for my mind was filled with the dread of what was to come. Now, I could see my Father for what he truly was—a completely insane megalomaniac. There would be no more reasoning with him, for he was spiralling out of control, and even if the cardinals and others close to him tried to dissuade him from the course of action he planned, he would dismiss them out of hand. Worse…if they voiced their dissension too loudly, it might prove to be their end, just as I was now facing mine.

We stopped outside an oaken door which one of the guards unlocked and pushed open.
I was hustled inside the dimly lit cell, then after a few more kicks and punches were rained on me, along with jeers and insults from the brave guards, I was left alone, the door crashing shut behind them. I looked around the deathly quiet cell then almost jumped out of my skin when a voice came from a darkened corner.

“Who the hell are you?”

 

Warily, I crept nearer to the speaker. I could just make out a pale face topped with blond, curly hair and vivid blue eyes that stared at me with suspicion.

“Are you one of them?” he asked
“My name is Constantine.”
“Oh, yeah…” This time a different voice came from the shadows. “You’re the guy we saw on TV with the Pope.”
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I peered into the darkness and saw a young, determined face under a mop of auburn hair. I fell on my knees in front of them. “You’re both alive,” I said, feeling a wave of relief wash over me.

“Not for much longer from what we hear,” the blond-haired one said. “Seems like the Pope has blown a fuse.”
“You are Roger?”
“That’s me, and this is Micah. How come you’re in here too?”
“My Father was holding me prisoner until Marcus and Joseph set me free.”
“Your father?”
“Pope Pius…he’s my Father.”
“Wow,” the one named Micah gasped. “I thought Popes couldn’t have kids.”
“Well, none that they will admit to,” I said. Roger inched closer to me, and I backed up a little. They were vampires after all. “Don’t worry,” he said, reading my mind. “We can’t hurt you. We’re chained to the wall.”
“With silver chains,” Micah added. “But anyway, if you’re a friend of Marcus and Joseph’s, we still wouldn’t hurt you.”

I smiled. They were both very young vampires. Hurt me, not kill me… Still, I sensed old and powerful blood in both of them. Their strength would be prodigious when fully realised.

“So, what’s the deal?” Roger asked. “You haven’t explained why you’re here.”
“My Father feels I have betrayed him.”
“And have you?”
“If falling in love with a mortal and wanting to save him from what my Father is planning constitutes betrayal, then I suppose I have betrayed him.” “A mortal?” Micah peered at me. “What are you then?”
“I am a demon.”
He stiffened and pulled back from me slightly. “A demon…” He glanced at Roger. “We had our fill of demons just a few months ago.” “Yeah, a creep by the name of Angelo,” Roger said. “You know him?” I shook my head. “No.”
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“So this mortal, he knows you’re a demon?”
“He does now. It was necessary for me to introduce him to Bernard and Pietro, and once their secret was made known to him—” “He still loves you?”
“Yes, he says he does, and I believe he means it.”
“He’s got balls,” Micah said, with some disbelief, mixed with admiration.

“Well…” Roger nudged him with his elbow. “We still loved our guys when we found out what they were.” He pulled on his chains. “So, how do we get outta here? Are Marcus and Joseph going to make a moonlight raid on this place?”

“Yes, I am sure they will, but my Father has planned an ambush.”
“Ambush?” Micah scoffed. “Joseph will make mincemeat out of ‘em.”
“And let’s not forget Marcus,” Roger said, raising an eyebrow. “And Bernard and Pietro…”
I nodded. “They are formidable, I know. But my Father has devised a weapon that might prove lethal.”
“What’s that?”
“He has fashioned barbed silver-tipped arrows that can’t be pulled out easily.”
“Allowing the poison to spread…” Roger and Micah exchanged worried looks. “We have to get out of here before then.” “But how?”
“Okay…” Roger held up his hands to me. “Can you at least break these chains? The silver weakens us.”

“Yes, I can do that. Sorry, I didn’t think of it before.” I gripped the chain in both hands, and snapped the links holding Roger, then did the same for Micah’s.

 

“Ah, better,” Roger said, flexing his arms and standing up. He sent some sort of signal to Micah, and suddenly, they faced me, side by side, their lips pulled back in feral snarls, their fangs exposed and threatening. I stepped back, startled, almost falling over my own feet.

Roger and Micah let out great peals of merriment. “Sorry,” Roger said, choking on his laughter. “We just couldn’t resist!” I stared at them in amazement. Never had I met two vampires quite like these!
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“Just kidding.” Micah grinned at me and headed for the door. He pulled on the handle, and to my amazement, it opened. “Can’t keep a good vampire down,” he muttered, beckoning us both forward.

 

“Wait,” I whispered. “Remember, it’s still daylight outside. You’re safe here, but up above, where there are windows…” “Right. We have to stay down here ‘til after sunset. Damn…” Roger suddenly was as he must have been before he became a vampire—a slim, cute American boy, vaguely lost and undecided as to what to do next. “What do you suggest?” he asked me.

“Can you reach Marcus with your mind?”
“We’ve both been trying ever since they hijacked us,” he replied. “It feels like there’s some kind of barrier here.”
“Yeah, it reminds me of the time when Joseph was the Wizards’ hostage,” Micah said.
“Marcus and Joseph couldn’t communicate because of some kind of magical barrier they’d put up.”

“My Father would know of that,” I told them. “He owes much of his power to the Wizard Brotherhood.” I paused before I continued. “That’s how I was created.” Micah gave me a sympathetic look. “They never did give a shit how they used people.” His face clouded. “What they did to Joseph—”

“Time for war stories later,” Roger interrupted, squaring his shoulders. “We need to find a way out of here.” He grabbed my arm. “Why don’t you go warn Marcus? I know it’s daytime, but he’s always aware of what’s goin’ on. Can you get out of here unseen?” I nodded. “I know these secret passages well. They link with the archives above. From there I can make my way to a side exit.”

“So go, and make sure he knows about the barbed arrows.”
“My Father said he had killed one of you as an experiment,” I said. “I’m glad he was lying.”
Roger and Micah both looked at me grimly. “That’s what we must have heard earlier,” Micah said. “Someone screaming in agony…” “A vampire,” Roger added. “We couldn’t figure out what was going on…the poor bastard.”
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Micah pushed me towards the door. “Go, and hurry. There may not be much time left before he wants to try another ‘experiment’.”

I fled from the cell, running at full tilt down the long passageway to the steps I knew would take me to the archives. Even as I ran, I was aware of the probable futility of my objective. It would be several hours before nightfall, and by that time, my Father would have learned of my escape, and then what would be in store for the two vampires I had left behind in the cell? Perhaps it would be best if I simply took Gustav, and left the city with him. He had mentioned friends in Berlin who would shelter us…

The archival library was almost deserted as I hurried through its cavernous space. I reached the fire exit unseen, then concentrating my demonic power, I pushed open the door without tripping the alarm. Outside, dark clouds scudded overhead, heralding imminent rain, but I made it back to the villa before the cloudburst.

The villa was quiet, Marcus and Joseph both in the deep slumber of the vampire. I ran to the room I had shared with Gustav. He was in the shower, probably wondering where I was and preparing to look for me.