RBC06.50 - Marcella, Vampire Mage (9 page)

“Yes,” I said sleepily, my eyes closed.

“Well, you already are.”

I opened my eyes, which welled with tears, and smiled. “Thank you, Samantha.”

The End

Excerpts from
Katrina, The
Beginning
. Book One of
Royal Blood Chronicles
by Elizabeth Loraine.

Katrina

The Beginning

A Royal Blood Chronicle

Book One

By

Elizabeth Loraine

This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Royal Blood Chronicles Book One copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth Loraine all rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

www.elizabethloraine.com

ISBN 1453778187

First Edition August 2010

We are named in every ancient culture.

You speak of us in every written language.

We have walked beside your ancestors,

Just as we walk beside you.

What you don't know protects you.

Those you fear will save you.

CHAPTER ONE

I sat very still, staring straight ahead just as I was told. Being asked to sit for a portrait to be displayed in the Sanctuary’s grand library was a great honor. My name is Katrina Von Dracek, and I can’t believe how long it’s been—almost one hundred thirty years. Now I’ve been asked to chronicle my journey from the beginning.

From this vantage point atop the castle’s west wall I could see the entire valley. The breeze was cool, but no longer held any threat of winter.

What would the rest of my life be like, I wondered? All young girls, I supposed, want love, but I also wanted adventure, to travel the world, to make a difference in some way. It would be a long life, I knew, for vampires live a very long time.

I appraised my surroundings. The night was breathtaking. With my vampire gifts I detected a stag in the woods nearby and even though there was no moon tonight, my enhanced vision made the darkness as clear as the day.

I remembered from my history lessons that the earliest known members of our race could not tolerate the sun, or control their lust for blood. But just as all creatures have evolved through the centuries to survive, so had we, although some of the clans prefer, as they call it, to stay true to their heritage. Vampires are mostly born now, not made. Blood lust has been tamed by the hunting of animals and the use of Crimson. Crimson is liquid strength for vampires, and is made from small amounts blood donated by our human watchers. It is mixed with an ancient elixir which vastly multiplies it by volume and enables it to stay fresh indefinitely.

As I turned to leave I saw a shadow, too fast to be human, streak across the field toward the front gate. Alarm trickled through me. I had been up on the wall for hours, and I had neither seen, nor heard anyone leave the castle.

“I have to find Quinn,” I whispered into the darkness.

Quinn, my Watcher and my friend, was one of the seven Voss brothers who attended my family. The Watchers are the personal human guard of the vampires, men who have dedicated their lives to the well-being of their vampire families, and none were more loyal than the Voss.

I rushed to the stairway leading to the entrance courtyard but stopped just as Quinn emerged from the doorway at the bottom.

“What’s happened?”

“A courier has just arrived. The whole council has been called to meet in Salzburg, and each family has been directed to include in their party, their best young royal representatives. You will be joining your father. Come with me now, we have begun making preparations to leave since the journey is long and the Council is to meet in just fourteen days.”

That was Quinn, always seeing to the needs of our family. He and I had grown up together, becoming so close that my father had actually sought to warn me. “Katrina,” he said, “Quinn is your Watcher and must remain as such.”

Bristling, I’d told him in no uncertain terms that, “Quinn was also my friend, my best friend”, but later I found myself wondering if that was still the truth. Had I started to feel something more? No, I reassured myself, Quinn
was
my friend, and
of course
I cared for him, yes even loved him, but as a friend, or a member of my family. Right? I guessed that I would need to sort this out, but that would have to wait, for tomorrow we were leaving on a journey that would take us north and east, a journey that could hold danger. I grew excited at the prospect. The unknown is always both the most frightening, and the most exciting part of any new adventure.

My head swam as I realized the full impact of the Council’s directive. Our retinue would be large enough, but with the clans being represented by their royal families’ most worthy young members, the numbers going to Council would be in the hundreds, all traveling with their entourage made up of Watchers, servants, and caravan wagons filled with provisions. There would also be wagons carrying the bales and boxes containing gifts for the other clans and their leaders, especially those that we’d chosen for the High Regent.

“Katrina, you look weak.” Quinn broke my reverie. “When was the last time you fed? Did you drink anything today at all?”

Quinn was right; I hadn’t had Crimson or been out to hunt, preferring to concentrate on the development of my gifts and military skills. I thought back now, I hadn’t fed since the day before or maybe longer. I realized with a start I was very near dormancy and could have done so my sleep. Dormancy, a kind of hibernation if you will, is a vampire slowed metabolic state which saves us when we have to hide, heal, or survive when food either was not available or was tainted. This dormancy can last hours, days, weeks, or even years. Now that Quinn had brought it up; I did feel weak, too weak to hunt. Why hadn’t I paid more attention? Suddenly my vision started to fade; I leaned against the wall to steady myself from the feeling of dizziness.

When I awoke, Quinn was wrapping a cloth around his wrist.

“You must be more responsible.” he chided me. “I can’t be in charge of your
feedings
too!”

He was angry, so angry his face was red, and though I had never bitten a human in my life, the vein bulging on his neck was making me feel something I had never felt before: blood lust. It didn’t help that Quinn was handsome, and as he kept ranting about how I was ignoring my training, my studies, and everything else, I couldn’t help admiring the ruggedness of his jaw and the way his dark brown hair flopped onto his face; his beautiful face.

“Katrina,
Katrina
! Are you even listening to me at all?”

Snapping out of my trance felt almost painful; I would have liked to remain in my reverie just a little longer.

“Katrina?” his inflection changed as he walked toward me.

The impulse to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him passionately was so overwhelming it took all my not so inconsequential strength to contain myself.

“What is
wrong
with you Katrina? We have no time for this.”

I spun away to gather myself, and then tears filled my eyes. As I am not someone easily moved to tears, I had to wonder: What
was
wrong with me? I felt a jolt when Quinn placed his warm hands on my shoulders and turned me to him. When he saw the tears, he froze for a moment. Then his face softened and I saw something new there, but then he hardened again and said, “You must be more careful.”

He turned and strode away, leaving me feeling empty and alone.

I walked to my room in a daze, suddenly drained.

The door to my room had never felt this heavy, I thought as I pulled it open. Once inside, I was pleased to see the bed turned down and a meal of sweet bread, butter, and a glass of wine on the table. Thank goodness for Sarah.  Sarah my handmaiden and confidant, and had been with me since I was a child. Our relationship was special and I could always count on Sarah’s calm good nature, wry humor, and wise council.

I quickly ate the food, choosing to savor the wine. Then, too exhausted to put on the dressing gown left out for me, I lay down on the bed and the last thing I remember was picturing the look in Quinn’s eyes and wondering what it meant. Though fleeting, it had been there, hadn’t it? And with that thought, I slept.

~~~~

My mind raced and my heart was pounding so loud I felt certain everyone in my compound could hear it. What had just happened? I saw something different in the way she looked at me. I was sure it wasn’t just because I had yelled at her. I had never had to hand-feed her before; was it the fact that I had cut myself and let her feed directly from my wrist? But she hadn’t woken up until afterwards, so she didn’t know I had given her blood from my arm, or that she had actively engaged in direct feeding.

I knew of course that it was strictly forbidden for a Watcher to give blood directly, but when she fainted it was clear that she was in danger of dormancy, so I acted. My only thought at the time, was getting fresh blood into her as quickly as possible. As my knife opened the vein on my wrist, the scent made her nostrils flare and the same instincts that had kept vampires alive for centuries kicked in. She grabbed my arm and began to feed. The movement was so swift and powerful I wasn’t sure I could have stopped her even if I’d wanted to.

The feeling I had while she was feeding could only be described as pure euphoria, and only the sound of my brother coming up the stairs made me break the bond. Then I carried her to a side room to recover. “
Break the bond
.” Why had I thought of it that way? Was that it? Had that short feeding changed everything between us?

Entering the courtyard of the Watcher compound, I found three of my brothers, Thomas, Simon, and Avery, seated around the roaring fire. The smell of venison and red cedar firewood made my mouth water and I realized I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. I needed to take my own advice, especially when I and my brothers were also giving and storing blood for our charges. Although Baron Von Dracek would surely hunt along our journey, in the event there was no game available in the high country, the added availability of Crimson would definitely be needed. Nothing gives strength to vampires like the human blood in Crimson.

As I sat by the fire to eat, I saw my oldest brother, Gunter, approaching.

“We missed you at training today,” Gunter told me gruffly. “Don’t let it become a habit. None of us can be the weak link.”

I was the youngest of seven brothers, something the other six never let me forget.