Fateful (16 page)

“Why then?”

“I suppose she thought I was handsome and,
like the spoiled brat she was, she attempted to take what she
wanted without asking.”

He was right, that did sound like something a
wicked vampire vixen might do.

“Many of the members of the Order chose this
life; they chose to become vampires believing they could resist the
urge to take a life. And many of them have stayed true to that
promise, but not Celeste. I fear she bounces around between sides
and may not be completely loyal to either. She was turned out of
pity because she was dying, a pity she has never shown another as
long as I’ve known her. Beon should have let her die of the black
plague.”

Danielle’s eyes rounded at that shocking bit
of news. “How did Beon know her?”

“She was Nadia’s friend and Nadia is his
daughter, she too was at deaths door. I suppose Beon didn’t want
her to be alone. He’d planned to turn Nadia all along, but was
forced to do it sooner than he’d meant to when she became ill. I do
know he regrets turning Celeste but when he learned of her true
nature it was too late and now he feels guilty and wants to help
her so he lets her return when she asks to.”

“How old were they?” she asked slowly.

“Twenty or twenty-one, though I’m not
certain.”

“Can vampires have children then?”

“No. Beon’s story is interesting. He was good
friends with a vampire named Seth. They hunted pheasant and played
croquet, amongst other things. They had known each other for many
years without Beon ever knowing the truth about Seth. Nadia was
born long before this. But as Beon aged, Seth wanted their
friendship to continue rather than be forced to watch his friend
grow old and die. So he told Beon what he was, and invited him to
join. Seth convinced him that he didn’t have to become a murderer
to live as a vampire because he could hunt animals instead. Beon
thought it over, and decided to do it, choosing immortal life. They
are still close friends.”

“What about his wife?” Danielle figured she
too must be a vampire.

“Beon turned Sophia out of love of course.
She returned Beon’s affection, even though that was not common for
the time, and accepted his offer willingly.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, hoping
Ethan never changed his mind about wanting to turn her. While
immortality seemed like a great idea, she could never picture
herself drinking blood. If this was a curse, how could the others
want this?

Likely unaware of her internal turmoil, Ethan
went on, “The man you saw briefly the other night, Max, was also
turned by Seth. Both of them are quite a bit older than Beon.”

Recalling the bulk of Max’s figure, she
realized he wasn’t a small man and wondered what he looked
like.

“Max had been injured critically while
fighting in battle. He was a member of the Order of the Garter….
That was the first order of British knights,” he clarified, when
she tossed a confused look his way. “He was going to die from his
wounds. Seth went to find him before he slipped away and made the
same offer to Max that he’d offered Beon. Max too chose it over
death.”

“Max was a knight?” she asked, unwilling to
admit vocally that even though the idea of being a vampire repulsed
her, she just might make the same choice if she was faced with
certain death at a young age.

Ethan chuckled. “Yes. He was a knight in
shining armor,” he said, rolling his eyes.

The romantic idea of meeting a real life
knight pushed aside the earlier concerns and she said, “Wow!
Really?”

Ethan laughed, shaking his head and
then continued, probably thinking,
figures
she’d like the idea of coming face to face with a hot
knight
. Was he hot, she wondered to herself and again
considered Ethan’s body. Ethan caught her perusal and lifted an
eyebrow at her. “What?” she asked, shooting for
innocence.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” he muttered
with a hint of suspicion.

When she didn’t expound for him he went on to
say, “You may find this interesting to know, there are some who
were invited to join the Order who declined, choosing death
instead.”

That was sort of surprising, but Danielle
said nothing, and shifted her gaze out the window. They were
traveling a country road lined with thick green hedges, and she was
a little unnerved at the idea that this was a two-way street. It
seemed way to narrow for that.

“I can’t judge them for taking advantage of
the curse like this,” Ethan said, again drawing her attention. “To
be perfectly honest.” He locked eyes with her for a moment before
returning them to the road as he guided the car around a sharp
turn, then confessed, “If you happened to be near death I would
likely make the same offer to you.”

With that, her thoughts returned to him and
how he’d become a vampire, “She didn’t give you a choice, did
she?”

“No,” he said, his brows lowering.

Danielle sensed his wrath concerning her
actions.

“Celeste snuck into my bedchamber at night
and bit me while I slept. When the pain of it awoke me from my
slumber, she explained what she’d done. I knew who she was, having
met her briefly at a recent ball.” His frown deepened. “Even cursed
as she was, I had not been attracted to her. Perhaps I sensed the
darkness of her soul. But when she used her magic on me by blowing
that stifling vampire breath into my face, I was helpless as she
took me away from my home.”

“What happened to your family?”

“As I turned, became cursed, I feared harming
them and never went back.”

“That’s so sad, Ethan, I’m sorry.”

He exhaled slowly and then finished his
story. “It wasn’t a happy time for me, but I was forced to accept
it. When I got to the bed and breakfast they use for Order
headquarters, I realized the full extent of what she wanted from
me. Unfortunately for her, as I turned, I was also freed from her
magical influence over me. And I wasn’t going to get involved with
her—she hadn’t expected that. However, she did seem willing to
accept my decision and moved on to other men, this time choosing
other vampires.” Ethan laughed, and then commented dryly, “Even
though she can’t control them as she tried to control me.”

Thinking about his magical manipulation as
they’d left the ruins, Danielle forced herself to ask a question
she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to, “Could you do that to me,
control me like that?”

“Yes. But I won’t.”

“But you—”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry about that.” He
reached over and took her hand into his. “In my defense, I was only
teasing and my powers at night are immensely different than now,
even with your extra sensitivity to it. She forced the full
intensity of the curse on me. I would never do that to you, I swear
it.”

“Should I be worried? I mean maybe you
shouldn’t be taking me there.”

He dropped his gaze to the signet ring on his
finger as his hands gripped the steering wheel. “Our creed is ‘Live
the curse in fortitude, temperance and honor. Fight for the weak
and fight to maintain humanity.’”

“It sounds practically medieval,” she
said.

“Well, the ones who came up with it are
medieval, or were.” Ethan laughed again, but shook his head and
said, “I can understand your concern, Danielle, but this is truly
the safest place I can take you. We spend our nights saving mortals
from vampires. It’s what we do ... it’s how I found you. You’ll be
welcome there. I swear it. I just need you to be extremely cautious
around Celeste.”

“And it’s daylight, so she can’t hurt me
now?”

His lips thinned at her question. “Not like
she could at night, I suppose.”

What sort of an answer was that? Danielle
wondered, when she noticed they’d arrived at a bed and breakfast as
he stopped the car. She tried turning to look at the structure, but
Ethan took her chin gently in his hand. “I won’t let her hurt you.
Ever.” He leaned in and sealed his promise with a kiss. Feeling
enchanted all over again, she expelled a shuddering breath as he
came around to open the door for her.

A huge mansion stood before them. Formal
landscaping edged a gravel path that led to the wide front steps.
They passed sculpted shrubs in the shapes of animals as their
footsteps crunched against the small rocks.

“Who does the yard work?” she wondered
aloud.

“Beon. He
loves
to garden. He’s always puttering around,
plucking weeds and trimming shrubs.”

A vampire who’s fond of gardening? “Why
doesn’t he just hire someone?’

“Never. These sculptures are his pride and
joy.”

The image of a vampire delicately trimming
his shrub into the shape of a bunny went through her mind, and she
giggled. Somehow the idea made Beon seem much more human.

There’s no way this is a quaint little bed
and breakfast, Danielle thought as they entered. It was massive
with a curving staircase on either side of the grand entryway.
Really, it looked more like a hotel with marble pillars, marble
floors and a large round table in the center which was adorned with
an equally large floral arrangement.

Ethan steered her to the left and entered a
room with several comfy chairs and wall to wall bookshelves. “Is
this the library?” she asked.

“No, this is the drawing room and where we
have all of the Order meetings.”

The bookshelves were filled with books, but
scattered between them were old pictures and ancient looking
knickknacks.

Danielle’s eyes rounded when he pulled her
close, leaned down and kissed her just under her jaw line. “Wait
here. I’ll go get the others.”

“But you told me to be careful,” she said as
he dashed through the tall black doors flanking the entrance.
Supposing he wouldn’t leave her if she wasn’t safe, Danielle walked
around. Her gaze lifted to a tapestry hung above a large fireplace
on the left side of the room. On it was the same crest as on
Ethan’s ring. Yellow, blue and red threads made up the design which
she’d only seen depicted in gold in the ring version.

With her eyes drawn downward, she began
examining the fragile-looking artifacts sitting along the mantle,
not daring to touch anything, for fear of breaking something she
knew she couldn’t replace. She didn’t even know what some of the
items were.

The photographs, however, were even more
captivating. On the bookshelves she noticed a few really old photos
of Ethan from a time long before she’d been born. His attire and
hair was different, but otherwise, he looked exactly the same. It
gave her chills.

Hearing a tiny noise behind her, she turned
expecting to see Ethan coming back through the doors on the other
side of the room. She screamed, but it was muffled by Ethan’s hand.
He was directly behind her again.

She slapped his arm. “Stop doing that!” The
words came out muffled because his hand was still over her
mouth.

But he understood anyway and chuckled. “No
way, I like you’re reaction too much.”

She tried to push past him and froze when she
saw a man and woman standing in the room. Beon and Sophia? The
woman was beaming with a bright smile but the man was ... well, he
wasn’t exactly frowning or smiling. In a way, the expression on his
face was more like intrigued amusement.

To Danielle’s surprise, before anyone said
anything, Ethan snatched up her hand, and led her to the woman.
“Danielle, go with Sophia, she needs you in the kitchen.” He
released her hand, which Sophia took. She glanced over her shoulder
at Ethan as she was led from the room realizing her ankle wasn’t
bothering her any longer. Ethan only winked, and waved her out,
while Beon offered a grim smile and nodded silently. She realized
he wanted to talk to Beon alone ... about her.

“Welcome to our home, Danielle,” Sophia said
with a gentle British accent. It was kind of strange to have Sophia
referring to this place as a home.

But she ignored that as she shifted her
attention to the woman towing her down a wide hallway, and said,
“Thank you.”

The stone floor was lined with thick red and
beige rugs and many paintings were hung along the paneled walls.
Sophia’s sophisticated attire looked expensive. This vampire life
seemed to agree with her, even though—she didn’t seem very
vampirish to Danielle. While she may have looked like she was
thirty-something, Danielle sensed a maturity that better fit a
grandmother.

“I’ve been experimenting with some new
recipes. I need your opinion,” Sophia said.

New recipes? Do all vampires like to cook
even though, as Ethan had said, they can’t really taste it anymore?
“I’d be happy to help,” Danielle said when Sophia tossed a look
over her shoulder, probably wondering what the delay was.

Sophia led Danielle into a spacious kitchen
at the end of the hall. It had all of the modern advances in
kitchen luxury: shiny appliances, abundant counter space and double
ovens. Danielle knew her aunt would’ve been dreadfully envious.
But, what shocked her the most was that it was an absolute
disaster! The rest of the mansion, or what she’d seen of it so far,
had been spotless. While it appeared the dishes had been done,
there was food, and crumbs, and flour and, what looked like sauce
everywhere.

Sophia reached for an apron, and put it on.
Danielle’s eyes widened with shock because it was completely slimed
too! It seemed Sophia was a terribly messy cook, and needed the
apron to keep her expensive clothes clean. Danielle was then a
little concerned about what Sophia had made. Was she going to have
to eat it? Would it be—sanitary?

“I am so glad Ethan found you! He’s really
needed a mate.” Danielle cringed internally at the word “mate,”
which seemed like a vampirish thing to say. Sophia held her by the
arms while she gave her one good look-over. “I’ve been so worried
about him. He simply does too much work for the Order. And what a
lovely girl you are.” She then tapped one finger lightly on
Danielle’s nose.