The Vampires' Birthright (29 page)

“Yes, I believe in so many words that was his assessment,” he said, smiling wryly, as well. “It was in the early days of Ralu’s underground cave kingdom, and Kazikli experimented upon the wilder, untamed vampires, the first Chupacabra strains Ralu had encouraged by his own abstention from feeding on your ancestors’ sacred blood. None of the civilized vampires looked upon these others as their brethren, so killing a few in pursuit of scientific knowledge and improved sorcerer magic wasn’t disdained.”

“Oh… I’ll bet that’s another grudge held by Ralu,” I said, knowing how most humans would react to that sort of thing.

This fact alone shed light on the demon vampire king’s relentless violence toward the human race and any vampires who have opposed him. If this were how he and his kind had been treated for centuries―along with being hunted by humans armed with torches and pitchforks at midnight―surely an evil mind would believe the opportunity to extract prolonged retribution in the present age was deserved payback for all sins wrought against him and his progeny. I began to wonder if he hadn’t started out as evil to begin with after all. If I understood Racco correctly, he was the first―and
only
―vampire ever to voluntarily decide to stop snacking on me and my kind. And what did it get him? Ostracized and his progeny experimented on like rats. If the fucker weren’t trying to kill me, I might feel bad for him. Whatever the cause of his disposition, there could be no doubt that he was anything but evil.

“Why don’t we suspend this discussion on such gruesome subjects for now?” Racco said, likely in response to my worried frown. I realized I enjoyed the privacy of my thoughts once more, and he had misinterpreted the cause of my expression. He gazed out the window at the sun behind us, which steadily descended toward the western horizon. “You’ve hardly touched your wine. Would you prefer that I freshen your glass?”

“Sure.”

He walked over to a small bar nearby… so fluid in his movements, a man never out of control of himself.

“Would you like a chilled glass this time?” he said, wearing an impish grin. “Mercel told me how the colder glasses were your preference on Christmas Eve. Or, we could keep things as they are, in the more traditional way.”

“Geez, I forgot all about that.” I chuckled at the memory of asking Mercel for a frosted glass after the first one was given to me on accident. I honestly don’t know why it became my preference that night, but it did. Maybe because I believed I was going to be stuck in a Siberian-like existence in China forever. “Yeah, I’ll take a frosted glass. What the hell.”

Racco chuckled along with me, and after allowing me a few minutes to freshen up and take care of Alaia’s needs, we soon were drinking his Bordeaux vineyard’s finest merlot and talking about lighter subjects. I thought it might mean avoiding all vampire topics, but that’s mostly what we talked about. We touched on my adventures in China and Nepal, as well as his search for a Ralu-proof safe haven in countries such as Italy, Greece, and Romania.

Talking with Racco felt good, and before long, I started to warm up to him again. The wanton thoughts―my lust―were rekindled as well, despite his and Chanson’s history. If nothing else, such desires kept me from thinking about Peter and the life I had lost, and that realistically, I’d never qualify for such a wonderful life. Not as long as I carried the special blood in my veins.

If not for my daughter’s presence, I might’ve acted on that lust and my need for a man after so many months foregoing all carnal desires. But, even if I had done so, Racco soon made it clear that his priority this time was my peace of mind and comfort, much more than a conquest for sex like what happened on our last shared experience together.

By then, it was nearing eight o’clock that evening. I had a few glasses of wine and so had he. But instead of leading me back to the lone bedroom on his personalized jet for sex, when I got there, I discovered he had arranged for a bassinet to be placed next to one side of the bed—my side. For himself, he had set up blankets on a nearby cot.

“You need your rest, Txema,” he said, after I allowed him to place Alaia inside the bassinet.

She sucked on her pacifier while looking up at us both, and it was only a matter of time before she fell asleep. I was having a hard time staying awake myself, as the jetlag mentioned by Kazikli early that morning had caught up with me. I had so many concerns and worries prodding my mind that I doubted I’d sleep long.

“Are you sure there’s no safe way for us to stop in Richmond to… to see my parents and… and my Grandma Terese?”

That was worry ‘number one’ for me, although I could barely keep my thoughts straight to coherently voice my request.

“Ralu’s forces attacked the airports in Kathmandu and Frankfurt last night. They will undoubtedly hit Nashville’s airport at dusk, merely on the off chance of catching you,” he said, his tone compassionate and soothing. “If he didn’t have to sleep in the day, Ralu would have captured you already. Sadly, I think his warriors will visit Richmond at any moment, if they are not there already.”

I pictured my momma and papa, as well as my brothers and grandmother dead―eaten by fiends like the ones I encountered in Knoxville last year, and started to cry.

“There, there, Txema… your loved ones will be all right as long as we continue on our journey to Paris tonight,” he said, placing his arms around my waist from behind. His strength enveloped me, and I felt as if I could melt into those arms. “Ralu will soon follow us there, I’m sure. We’ll arrive shortly after ten o’clock tomorrow morning with another full day of travel ahead of us, and to a destination he’ll never find. You need as much rest tonight as you can get, so have no worries, my love.”

I turned around to face him, looking into his blazing blue eyes heated only by human passion, albeit a passion with nearly two millennia of experience. I brought my lips up to his and closed my eyes, ready for him to take me fully. He kissed me softly at first, just barely touching lips to mine, but pulled away when my pulse began to race.

“Not yet,” he whispered. “You need your rest. There will be plenty of opportunities for us to make up for lost time.”

I groaned in disappointment, but reluctantly allowed him to walk me over to the bed. He helped unfasten the top back button of my blouse, and after I slid out of my clothes, I climbed under the covers. As he finished pulling a blanket up to my chest, I reached back and pulled his face close to mine.

“Don’t sleep over there… stay with me,” I whispered. “Please.”

He didn’t verbally respond, but pulled away. I heard his soft footsteps and the overhead light dimmed. I thought for sure he was going to leave my daughter and me in the bedroom alone. But, more footsteps followed with the sound of him undressing, and soon he pulled the covers back and climbed into bed with me.

“I’ll never leave you again, Txema,” he said softly, his breath tingling my neck as he pulled his warm, living, body up tightly against mine. “I swear this upon my soul.”

Lately, trouble seemed to always find me. Yet, in that moment, I felt protected and at peace from all of life’s craziness.

With a smile in my heart and upon my face, Racco’s promise was the last thing I thought about as I drifted off to sleep.

ight stabbing in through the single uncovered window in Racco’s bedroom woke me in the morning. We had just arrived in Paris. I thought for sure that someone, namely Racco himself, would’ve awakened me beforehand, so I could brace myself for the brief jolt of the plane hitting the runway. Not to mention the urgency to protect Alaia from flying across the room in her bassinet.

That thought alone got me rushing out of bed. But, when I peered into the bassinet, it was empty. Panicked, I threw on my clothes and had barely zipped up my slacks as I scurried out of the bedroom and raced down the hall, shouting for Racco and my baby.

“We are right here,” he calmly called from the front of the plane. “Come, and see for yourself that everything is okay.”

He was sitting in his preferred leather chair with Alaia in his arms, and she seemed content until Mommy arrived and raised her arms for me.

“She will grow up faster than you can even imagine,” he said, surely in response to the surprise on my face. I felt a little self-conscious as I took her from him, since I’m sure my makeup was a complete mess and that I looked a lot less appealing than I had when we said goodnight. He, on the other hand, had showered and shaved already. He was dressed in comfortable jeans and a peach colored shirt similar to the one he wore the previous night. “And, you worry far too much!”

“Did you just read my mind?”

I looked at him suspiciously, since his response certainly fit my worried thoughts. Alaia giggled.

“Can everyone but me freaking read minds?”

“No, Txema, I’m not gifted like the vampires in that way.” He chuckled. “It’s only an observation that comes from many, many years of dealing with the heavier burden of vanity that all women carry, as opposed to the much lighter one we men have been dealt.”

“That reminds me. I’m still pissed at you, Racco. But I’ve thought about how you can make it up to me.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I’ve been wondering; is there some kind of potion you can whip up to block my thoughts? Not only from Ralu, but from everyone?”

His expression turned serious. “This can be done, yes, but it isn’t something I can just ‘whip up’ as you say. I need a well-stocked laboratory, and there are some ingredients that are of a personal and invasive nature, and obtaining them is not without risks. The potion must be attenuated to the individual and requires some glandular excretions from your brain.”

There aren’t many ways to leave me with nothing to say, but telling me that voluntary brain surgery is my only option for something is definitely one of them. Next subject. “So, how long will we be here?” I peered through a window on the opposite side of the plane from where he sat. Alaia continued to make giggling noises while I marveled at how deserted the tarmac looked. “We are in Paris, correct?”

“Yes, this is definitely the Charles de Gaulle Airport that we’re sitting in,” he said. “You’re not used to the curfews in Europe that make it difficult to travel for airliners. Good thing I have my own jet with friends throughout this continent to pull strings for me, eh?”

“What? Or, else we’d still be back in Nashville? Is that your point?” I said, while returning my attention to him.

“Actually, your lovely behind would still be somewhere in Nepal, since your flight from Kathmandu to Frankfurt and then to the States was also arranged through personal friends of mine,” he said. “Of course, you have the option of traveling by vampire, as well. But, that can take some time since supernatural or not, they do need to take breaks while traveling from one region to the next.”

I almost said something else smartass about how they might incinerate at daybreak traveling like that, but then thought better of it. At the same time, I started to feel nausea from my hunger, since the stuffed crab from my lunch with Peter was the last thing I’d eaten.

“I will have a fabulous brunch prepared for you!” said Racco, who stood after he heard my stomach rumble and moved over to the bar, where he opened a small refrigerator. “In the meantime, this should tide you over.”