Bride of Blood:: First Kiss (16 page)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton nodded and the sadness returned to his face.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“War is coming,” Bernadine said.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton gave her a quizzical look.
 
Had he understood right?
 
War?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“You haven’t felt the tension in the air?” she asked.
 
Indeed he had.
 
Something had been wrong.
 
He had been unable to feel it since the thoughts of Velara occupied him.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bernadine explained, “The balance between our clans has shifted.
 
Since Drago has taken control of The Order of the Dragon, we have been on the brink of war.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton nodded.
 
When the two Princes headed The Order, they had been able to coexist.
 
Although their practices and laws had very little in common, there was almost no conflict between them.
 
All the other vampire clans were killed off or joined either the Dragons or The Order of Nephthys.
 
Those vampires whom mortals would consider evil, were with the Dragons.
 
All others were with Bernadine and obeyed all the laws and expectation she set forth.
 
A few who had not been able to let go of the old ways, had defected even though they were of the Nephthys bloodline.
 
Likewise, those who were Dragons but desired change and survival had sworn allegiance to Bernadine and The Order of Nephthys.
 
Bloodlines had become a thing of the past as loyalty and survival were the main concerns.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now that Drago and his followers had usurped The Order, everything was in turmoil.
 
Drago only wanted absolute power and cared not if he killed or totally exposed their way of life.
 
The Princes had gone into exile since they lost control of The Order and would be of no help.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“I had hoped and prayed that we could co-exist but Drago wants no part of it,” Bernadine explained.
 
“He has gone so far as to kill some of our number.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton gasped.
 
To kill another vampire was an unforgiveable crime.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“The Defectors as he called them,” Bernadine explained.
 
“He had them killed or did it himself.
 
I’m not exactly sure.”
 
Her expression was that of deep sorrow.
 
Anton had never seen her so sad.
 
“Nevertheless, the truce has been broken.
 
War is upon us.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton took her hand in his.
 
“What can I do?” he asked.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“At the moment, nothing,” she said, getting up.
 
She looked at the ceiling.
 
Its magic created the illusion that it was a clear, unclouded sky.
 
“You go back to the Colonies and attend to your own affairs.
 
I will send word to you about what you are to do.
 
Please send word to me if anything out of the ordinary occurs.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He got out of bed and walked up behind her.
 
He closed his eyes and held her close to him.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bernadine closed her eyes, too, and felt his hard body against her back.
 
She wanted him.
 
She wanted him badly.
 
Every other time he came to the compound they had made love.
 
It was one of the things that she always looked forward to when he visited.
 
She did sleep with some of the other vampires in The Order, but none of them had the ability to satisfy her the way Anton did.
 
She desperately wanted him to take her into the bed and make passionate love to her.
 
However, this was not the time.
 
There was too much going on.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Although they would both welcome the distraction of each other’s bodies, it was not going to happen on that visit.
 
Maybe the next one…

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She pulled away from him, reluctantly, “Now, you must prepare for your return trip to the Colonies.
 
I want you to sleep and when you wake you will be there.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Obediently, he lay back in the bed.
 
Bernadine curved her body against his.
 
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.
 
She wanted the moment to last forever.
 
She didn’t want to leave his arms.
 
Most of all, she didn’t want to share him with Velara.
 
She truly wanted Anton to stay with her and be her companion.
 
But she that knew that it was Velara who was his soul mate and the love of his life. She knew there had been others like Christina Michelle and Charlotte, but Velara was special to him.
 
She knew where his heart truly lay.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As soon as she knew he was asleep, she sat up.
 
She sighed as she touched his eyelids and whispered an incantation.
 
Anton’s body suddenly became rigid, and his breathing ceased.
 
He became statue-like, ready to be sent back to the States.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She got out of bed and made a quick motion with her hands.
 
Three of her handmaids appeared and carried Anton’s sleeping form away.
 
She stood in the empty room for a few moments.
 
She would have to do the same for Alexander and Rachael soon enough.
 
But she wanted to give them a little time.
 
Let them pretend for just a little while that all was right with the world.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton sat on the bench and looked up at the sky.
 
It seemed to him that it wasn’t all that long ago he was doing the same thing with Alexander.
 
Alexander.
 
He missed his friend dearly.
 
He missed his house, Shannon, and everything else that made his life simple and predictable.
 
He still dreamt of the day he would be reunited with Velara.
 
Months of wondering and he felt closer to her than he had since that first night when she had broken through.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Still he couldn’t totally let go of his sense of foreboding.
 
What if she didn’t welcome him with open arms?
 
What if she only wanted a brief reunion of words and the exchange of a few pleasantries?
 
No, there had to be more to it than that.
 
Their brief encounters in his dreams were too precious to be just a social call.
 
He could feel her love and almost smell her on his clothes when he awoke.
 
No, this reunion would be as romantic and priceless as he had always imagined it would be.
 
Besides, Lady Bernadine told him that he and Velara were to be reunited.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lady Bernadine.
 
He missed her, too.
 
He had hoped that the visit would have been sweeter.
 
War was coming.
 
And he knew that it would cost several lives on both sides.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the lights of the boardwalk were going off.
 
He sat still when several of the park’s employees walked past him chatting and hurrying to get home.
 
He sat almost as still as a statue when the wind and the ocean were the only sounds he could hear.
 
It seemed as if nothing could rouse him from his thoughts.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He did stir inwardly when three sets of footsteps approached him from behind.
 
He could smell death on them, knowing right away they were vampires.
 
And he also quickly realized that they were not of his order.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He quickly spun around to come face to face with three fledgling vampires.
 
They were recent converts by the looks of them.
 
The one in the middle was shorter than the other two and slightly pudgier.
 
He had very pale skin and long, stringy blonde hair.
 
He wore very dark sunglasses and a white gothic-style shirt.
 
In his right hand, he clutched a large gold goblet.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
His companions that stood on either side of him were almost identical.
 
They were both taller and leaner than their leader with long, willowy brown hair.
 
The one on the right had a small goatee and moustache, and the one on the right had a longer goatee, only.
 
Both of them wore the same gothic style of clothing and sunglasses as their leader.
 
All three of them had a brand on their right wrists of The Order of the Dragon, which was a snakelike dragon swallowing his own tail.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton looked at the three of them and laughed, “Really?”
 
They were almost comical as if they were three teenagers who watched too many vampire movies.
 
They took the vampire roles too seriously and more than likely they were kids who had been recently turned.
 
He had a sick feeling in his stomach that in order to boost his number of soldiers, Drago was indiscriminately turning into vampires everyone and anyone who wanted to be one.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Greetings, Anton of Nephthys,” said the leader, obviously ignoring his smirk. “I am Azrael of The Order of the Dragon.
 
And these are my brothers: Gaereth,” he gestured to the on the right, “and Caedmon” he pointed to the one on the left.
 
“We have been sent here to destroy you and all of your order.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Really?” said Anton, jumping to his feet.
 
Gaereth and Caedmon stirred but didn’t rush him.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Are you prepared to die?” asked Azrael, before taking a drink from his goblet.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Before Anton could answer, Azrael spit the fluid into his eyes.
 
Anton felt a sudden blinding pain, as if his eyes were on fire.
 
He covered his face with his hands and fell to his knees.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Azrael turned to Gaereth and said, “Take him out over the ocean and kill him.”
 
Gaereth nodded and grabbed Anton by the collar.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton still could not see, but he felt himself being lifted off the ground.
 
Then he felt as if he were flying.
 
As the wind increased, the air and Anton suddenly got much colder.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
He fought the searing pain and forced his eyes open.
 
Gaereth held him fast and they rose several hundred feet above the pier.
 
As Gaereth starting flying away from the shore, Anton noticed a large knife strapped to his captor’s leg.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In a spit second, Anton grabbed the knife from its scabbard and slashed Gaereth’s throat.
 
Jets of blood sprayed mercilessly as Gaereth let him go, putting his hands around his throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then they both started to fall.
 
Gaereth was so preoccupied with his wound that he continued to fall until he crashed into the ocean and sink below the dark waves.
 
Anton caught himself in mid-air and glided down to the boardwalk.
 
Although not a flier himself, he did know how to keep from splatting on the ground.
 
He descended like a flying squirrel.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When Anton touched down, the remaining two vampires were waiting for him.
 
Azrael threw away his glasses and the goblet.
 
His eyes were bright red as he turned to Caedmon and said, “Kill him! But make it slow!”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Caedmon rushed quickly at Anton, but not quickly enough.
 
Anton had forgotten how overly confident and clumsy fledgling vampires were.
 
As Caedmon neared him, Anton speared him with the force of a speeding car.
 
He could hear breaking ribs and a sharp gasp escape from Caedmon’s body.
 
Had he done that to a mortal, he would have broken him in half.
 
The blow itself was not fatal, but since Caedmon was very young, it knocked him unconscious.
 
Anton reached down, grabbed Caedmon’s head and forcefully twisted it to the right as far as it would go.
 
Caedmon’s eyes bulged and his tongue fell lazily out of his mouth.
 
Finally, Anton kicked his the side of his head, sending him over the edge of the boardwalk and into the ocean.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Suddenly, Anton felt Azrael on his back.
 
It happened so fast that Anton didn’t have time to react.
 
The fledgling’s arms were wrapped tightly around Anton’s throat, and he started to see stars.
 
Anton reached back and grabbed Azrael by the shirt.
 
With all his strength, he pulled forward.
 
The momentum caused Azrael to let go and he too was sent flying into the ocean.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton fell to his knees again.
 
Exhaustion and lack of blood suddenly sapping his strength.
 
He hadn’t really fed since he left Lady Bernadine.
 
A throbbing headache hit him and he started to shake.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A splash of water brought him back to where he was.
 
Azrael had leaped out of the water and was pulling himself onto the dock.
 
He had finally made it when he looked up and saw Anton standing above him.