A Vampire's Rise (20 page)

“What’s that for?”

“His majesty requests evidence.” Sunaria leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Dissent is everywhere.” She reached under the table. “For your journey, from his majesty.”

Felipe glanced at the bundle she offered and hesitated.

“Take it.” She gave a thin smile of reassurance.

He accepted the parcel of doubloons and shoved it into his coat pocket.

“No expense has been spared,” she said.

“That’s a lot of money.”

“You may use it for bribes, or whatever else. Your safety is the king’s priority.” She offered him a feathered pen and then glided a small pot of ink across the table.

Felipe stared at the paper. “I’m not going.” He leaned back. “I’m not qualified.”

“Per contra, you speak Spanish, French, and more importantly Italian. The language of the crew. And you have the king’s favor. He trusts you.”

“I need to speak with his majesty.”

“Turn around.”

Felipe followed Sunaria’s gaze that fell upon an unsuspecting, well-dressed businessman sipping on his ale at the bar.

“He’s here to ensure I do my bit and you do yours,” she said.

The man frowned, uncomfortable with Felipe’s critical stare.

Felipe spun round to face Sunaria again. “What will happen if I don’t get on that ship?”

“I’m not willing to put that to the test. Are you?” She slid the parchment closer to him. “In your note to his highness, clarity is important.”

Felipe glanced at the blank piece of paper.

“You’ll need this.” Sunaria offered him a velvet wrapped object.

Felipe eyed it suspiciously.

“For your protection.” Her voice was low, somber.

He peeled back a corner of the material and gawped at the tip of the small knife.

* * * *

A fresh sea breeze blew through the dock.

Within the hour, Sunaria and I lingered in the shadowy doorway of an inn that had long closed.

“Having friends ensconced at the royal palace pays off,” Sunaria said.

I shook my head. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

She snuggled into me.

“Seriously,” I hesitated and then continued. “You make a dangerous enemy.”

She peered up at me. “This was your idea.”

“So it was. Still, you’re executing it so well and yet you have the face of an angel.”

Our lips met and I kissed her leisurely. A man passed by and gave us a wary stare. He thought he’d caught two men at it. I burst into laughter, couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed like that.

We turned our attention back onto the Santa María, escorted by the Pinta and the Niña, as all three vessels set sail. Hundreds of spectators had gathered to watch the caravels launch. Columbus waved from the bridge. He cut a fine figure with his striking white beard and his traditional admiral’s coat. His intelligent blue eyes scanned the harbor and I wondered how a man of the sea could appear so light in complexion. His aquiline features provided an air of sophistication that reflected his Italian heritage.

A crew of ninety or so navigated through the harbor. Under the moonlit sky, the fleet reeled out its sails to full mast. Columbus wasn’t the only well-dressed man who offered a wave to the crowd. Felipe also bid the spectators goodbye from the bridge of the Niña.

Sunaria handed me the parchment on which Felipe had written his letter to the king. I smiled and tucked it into my coat pocket. Sunaria pressed her ear up against the inn’s door.

“What do you hear?” I asked.

“Nothing.” She worked the lock until it gave.

Stale beer mixed in with sweat permeated the air and candles had burned down to the wick, leaving waxy stains. During the day, this place would be buzzing, now though it passed for a dreary hiding place for us.

With my arms folded, I browsed the long oak bar. “We’re not staying, are we?”

“I owe you.”

“An apology?” I asked.

“A punishment.” Sunaria shoved me back against the wooden panel and flipped me up and onto the bar.

I caught my breath as I stared up at the beer mugs lined above my head. Sunaria leaped onto the bar and straddled me. She grabbed my wrists, pressing my hands down on either side of my head.

I smiled up at her.

“No more talking.” She held my wrists with one hand and pressed a long finger against my lips. “Punishments come in many forms.”

I opened my mouth to reply but knew better. I tugged my wrist from out of hers and reached for her.

The sting of her slap across my face caused me to flinch. I placed my hand back beside the other, returning to a captive pose. Her calm expression never wavered. I tried to work her out, recall how the evening had unfolded, remember if at any time my behavior had been out of line, but I sensed that this might be another way that Sunaria expressed her power over me.

With a rip, my shirt came open. The bite came without warning

Silence challenged me to a duel and I knew the inevitability of losing. My jaw tensed as I envisioned where she might take this. Again a moment of nothing, only stillness, cruel anticipation and then that familiar sensation, bedazzled me, sending me closer to the edge each time.

I bit down on my lip in order to stay quiet, hoping not to fail her.

I reached for her again.

Sunaria’s stare caused me to cross one wrist over the other again, silently swearing not to move until permitted. I wanted to ask if I’d insulted her, but as the pleasure increased and my reward for submitting spiraled, I doubted my own judgment. I counted the bronze cups on the ceiling, trying to prevent myself from ending this evening earlier than she or I desired.

Sunaria paused.

She slid off me and stood close, arms folded, a disapproving gaze.

The silence made me squirm and the minutes ticked past with her staring at me.

Sunaria hunted those weaker than herself and she took her prey swiftly. As I lay vulnerable, I wondered if I too would be numbered amongst her victims and for some warped reason that idea sent a thrill of excitement up my spine.

I grinned. A chance, but I felt willing to take it, had nothing to lose. My dignity was already compromised.

“Close your eyes.” Her voice quiet, reassuring even, but her stern presence revealed a fierce determination.

My grin was my answer that her request was out of the question and I turned my head away.

“I’ll not ask you again.” She spoke slowly, emphasizing her authority.

Remaining still now seemed like the next best option, until I had time at least to think. I may very well need to talk my way out of this. Surprisingly, the only part of me that seemed not to understand this threat was between my legs.

And as Sunaria settled back on top of me I found no choice but to relent.

This was the very image that I’d seen the day she’d turned me. When I’d followed that pathway, the choice that led to what I was now, she’d taken me this way, eased my transformation and I’d welcomed it, as I welcomed her now.

Quickened with the thought that my obsession with her would find its way back to me, I caught my breath and I chased after my brilliant bliss. And as the last ripples made their way through me, I felt beholden to her.

Chapter 27

STROLLING ALONG ONE of the darker corridors within the senatorial residence, I wondered if Felipe had developed his sea legs yet. Although only a day had passed since he’d set sail, I imagined he regretted ever getting on that boat.

I rubbed my wrists. The stark memory of those chains that Sunaria used sent a thrill, and thoughts of her caused my hardness to swell.

But I had work to do.

Felipe’s desk remained the same as when he’d left it. Papers were strewn across the table, and a half-written letter lay abandoned. Remembering what the architect had conveyed, I shoved the bookcase back and found the secret doorway, eager to discover what lay on the other side.

Standing within the dark chamber, I reached into my coat pocket and withdrew the forged waxed stamp, with King Ferdinand’s royal seal engraved in the silver base. I placed it upon a worn table and beside it I lay a parchment strewn with the same signature practiced over and over again, proof that someone had studied hard the flick of the wrist of the flamboyant F of Ferdinand.

I examined several of the wooden boxes stacked high against the far wall. Inside one of them was a collection of coins, an embellished cross, and a Catholic communion chalice. Shoved in with them was a warrant stating that failure to pay taxes would result in even more items being confiscated.

In another of the boxes was a collection of tatty documents. Felipe had not only taken possessions from the Church, but also local residents’ legal rights to their property. Those who’d struggled to pay tariffs to the crown had been evicted from their homes. The victims would know better than to complain.

Even the local bishop had not escaped Felipe’s greed. A ledger written in scratchy ink indicated that Felipe had taken fifty percent of the Church’s donations.

I withdrew and pushed the bookcase back.

I froze.

The door handle turned and a young soldier entered. With my hands and feet firmly wedged in between the ceiling’s ornate molding, I held my breath.

* * * *

“But I’ve become rather accustomed to mausoleums.” I gave Sunaria a wry smile.

“Those places are for emergencies only.” She flicked a stray hair away from her face.

Inside the modest house, I felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. This home, built on the outskirts of town, provided an austere air, the dark furniture and simple décor extraordinarily formal. No feminine touch here. I strolled through the lower rooms getting my bearings, enjoying the opportunity to spy on another’s life. So much was revealed by the extreme tidiness. On the maple desk, the feather pen had been aligned perfectly with the paper, proving the owner’s penchant for orderliness, even the way the logs had been stacked neatly in the hearth verged on pedantic.

“Where’s the owner?” I asked.

“Out of town on business.” Sunaria was dressed in a long, red gown, accentuating her curves. A perfect, erotic vision, and yet even with her back to me, I knew she was regarding my response. She seemingly warmed her hands in front of the fireplace.

I admired her from the doorway.

We were minutes from Miranda’s place, and knowing that we were close to Jacob provided some comfort. I’d declined the invitation to stay with her and Alicia, especially with my nocturnal lifestyle being what it was, and keeping Sunaria away from Miranda was a wise decision.

Sunaria peered back at me. A reflection from the orange flames danced over her. So much had happened that I’d found little time to consider my life until now. Thoughts of Jacob kept me focused. I couldn’t go back, but I had hope for the future, my son’s future, and the elusive promise of his happiness.

Having not fed in awhile, fatigue was setting in and my hands shook slightly. The guilt after each kill weighed so heavily upon my conscience that I wondered if I’d ever get used to it. Hunger seemed a good alternative to the dread that followed the act of satiating it. I’d never want this for Miranda.

Sunaria’s long, black hair tumbled over her shoulders. “You were thinking of her.” She turned to face me.

“Miranda? Not in that way.”

“Remember I hear your every thought.”

“Then you know I’m honest.” I neared her and concentrated on shutting her out.

“What are you doing?” She faced the hearth again.

I slid my hands down her arms and grasped her wrists, clutching them behind her back and tightening my grip. “Don’t be angry with me for wanting privacy.”

She leaned back into me.

“For the first time, I’ll be able to understand how a woman really thinks.” I chuckled to myself.

“You don’t get to hear mine.”

“Ah.” I let her go and massaged her shoulders. “This vampire order, is it safe to assume they’ve lost track of you?”

“No.”

I wrapped my arm around her waist and hugged her.

“As your elder, I have a right to your mind,” she said.

Silence, the best answer.

“If you obey me,” she continued, “you’ll escape punishment and will be well rewarded.”

The thought of her rummaging around my mind made me uncomfortable.

“Like the reward I have for you upstairs.” She turned to face me.

Her mind was inaccessible as she grasped my hand and led me out. Her expression was full of excitement.

We ascended the slender stairway.

When we reached the top, she lifted herself up onto her toes and leaned in to kiss me, pressing her red, full lips against mine. She tasted lusciously sweet, like cinnamon.

We burst into the room.

There, wearing nothing but a jeweled choker, lay a young, pale blonde on the chaise lounge.

Above the fireplace hung a portrait of an older gentleman and this very girl, who now wrapped an arm around Sunaria and softened into her.