Enduring Service (20 page)

Dixon walked into the conference room in the basement of Fang Manor and felt the presence of the other team members in the room. Everyone, except Raymond, was accounted for, and Dixon could feel the room filled with predators. After all these years, he finally understood what they had meant when they said they could sense other vampires nearby.

Then a smell hit him. Glancing around the room, he spied the new Colony Director, Brandon, seated at the table. A human. The man smelled of human body odor, gave off warmth, and had a heartbeat as loud as a drum. Dixon felt his fangs extend, so he pretended to cough to cover them up. He realized he now wanted to drink human blood and had to fight off the urge. Bagged blood was fine, but he now wanted the meal fresh from the source. Attacking the new Director? Well, that would be rude, if not tasty.

Dixon looked around and saw Daniel at the table. Having both of them attend the meeting meant one thing — the fake presidential trip to Camp David was completed. Time really did fly by. It had been days since Dixon had entered Sulie’s bedroom, but since he never left the room, he had not gone back to his place for a change of clothes. He now wore a borrowed pair of pants and Sulie’s night shirt, which he could have sworn was similar to the one he had owned a long time ago.

At the head of the table, he noticed Sulie holding a baby in her arms. Across from her sat Sterling with another babe in his arms. The twins. Dixon felt a bit ashamed for not visiting Sterling and Kate upon the birth of their sons, but brushed the thought aside as he walked over to where Sulie sat and looked at the little one.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Sulie cooed as she nuzzled the baby.

Dixon smiled and touched the baby’s small hand. “What did you name them?”

“Reece,” Sterling said, pointing to the boy in Sulie’s arms. He then gazed down at the baby smiling up at him. “This one is Conner. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold them.” He held out his bare hand, and Dixon noticed no glove. “They love my touch and Kate’s.” He now looked down at Conner. “Don’t you? Yes. Yes, you do.”

Dixon stroked Reece’s cheek, which caused a coo to come from the baby. “They’re beautiful. How is Kate doing?”

“Tired. We’re giving her a break right now so she can take a nap.” Sterling lifted Conner up and cleaned off some spit–up from the boy.

Dixon walked around Sulie’s chair and realized, of course, a chair remained open for him to sit next to her. He understood now how the team had dropped hints, or had even given him opportunities, for him to fall in love with her. He really had been an idiot.

He flashed a smile at her, which showed the slightest tips of his fangs as he took his place at her side. He suffered through the comments from the team members that he had finally woken up and smelled the roses. For him, the flowers would always be lavender.

He held Sulie’s hand and realized over the last few days he had seen her smile more than he ever had before. No more scotch glasses existed, no more teary eyes, no more loneliness and sadness. Thirty years seemed such a long time to wait for someone you loved. He didn’t believe he would have had the patience, but was so glad she did.

From the corner of his eye, Dixon noticed Raymond walk into the room, but he didn’t close the door.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Raymond announced as he took his seat. “I just got off the phone with Liam,” Raymond started. He looked over to his sister. “He’s the human I told you about. His brother is a half–breed and he knows about our existence.” Raymond glanced away and now addressed the entire team. “I think he’ll make a fine ally for us among the humans. I just briefed him with some current information.” Raymond paused and looked around the room. “We need to be extra careful when we are around humans. Liam was able to identify half of us as vampires based solely on his observations. We will go over his report in more detail later, but suffice it to say, we all need to be more diligent and find ways we can blend in better when we are with the humans.”

“So, no feedings in the White House in a public room?” William jokingly said.

Raymond blushed. “Yes. No feedings out in public. There are many areas where we can be more careful.”

Dixon stifled a chuckle as he remembered the first time William’s wife had met Raymond, who was down in one of the public sitting rooms of the White House, feeding from a syringe. It seemed so long ago now, about fifteen years. As the Colony Director, it would have been Dixon’s job to foresee any cleanup that may have been needed. Fortunately, Jackie was open–minded.

Another vampire now entered the room and closed the door, excusing himself for being tardy. It was a vampire Dixon recognized. His body immediately stiffened as he watched the vampire take a seat at the table.

“Dixon,” Raymond began, “This is Julian. He is a first cousin once removed from Charles.”

Dixon watched as the vampire eyed him, giving him the same look he had given him in the restaurant. A look of recognition. “Do I know you?” Dixon asked.

Julian glanced from Dixon to Sulie. “No.”

“But you know who I am?”

“Yes.” Julian stammered. “Well, no.” Dixon noticed the vampire stare at him holding Sulie’s hand. “You were the human bait Charles found. I recognized you from the pictures in Sulie’s phone, but I didn’t know who you were.”

Raymond rubbed his temple. “The two of you met at the restaurant.” He shook his head as though clearing his mind. “Dixon, your mental projections are very strong. A lot of detail.” He took a deep breath and looked over at Julian. He paused a moment and Dixon could tell Raymond was reading Julian’s thoughts.

“Why didn’t you tell Charles about the pictures of Dixon on Sulie’s phone when you had a chance?” Raymond asked.

“He was obviously someone important to Sulie.” Julian looked nervously from Raymond to Dixon and back again. “I didn’t want to hurt her.”

Dixon noticed Raymond glance towards Ben, who nodded. Guessing that Ben read the vampire’s aura, he told the truth.

Raymond obviously trusted Julian enough to allow him access to Fang Manor. The Colony protocol was very specific. No visitors were allowed in the mansion, only Colony members and their families. Dixon doubted that any of the single
male
vamps in the room had begun to date Julian, so he asked, “You joined the team?”

“He did,” Raymond answered. “We’ve checked him out.” He pointed to Ben and Sterling as he dismissively waved his hand. “He’s trustworthy and has nowhere else to go. Plus, he’s eager to start fresh with another coven.”

Julian looked around the table meekly. “I’ll help out any way I can. Sulie was always kind to me. In a way, seeing her again is like finding a lost relative.” He then added under his breath, “One you always wanted to spend time with again.”

“You were always a good kid, Julian,” Sulie said.

“Julian has been helping us,” Raymond began. “Over the last few days we reviewed the files stored on the computers we retrieved from the restaurant,” Raymond said as he opened his own computer and displayed its information on the smart wall across from the table. “With Julian’s help with guessing passwords, we have been able to piece together a few loose ends.”

All eyes turned to the smart wall. “First, we have four urns filled with vampire ash,” Raymond said, as the image on the wall showed pictures of the slain vampires.

Raymond moved a laser pointed over Millard’s image. “The first urn is filled with Millard Townsend’s ashes.” Raymond looked over to Julian. “Of course, you can do what you wish with your brother’s remains. We are sorry for your loss.” When Julian shrugged his shoulders, Raymond moved the laser pointed to a picture of Charles. “The second urn has the remains of Charles in it.”

Dixon heard Sulie huff in disgust, but Raymond continued.

“The last two urns are filled with the ashes of Emerson Simmons and Brent Hartzell. Emerson was the fake trainer at Camp David,” Raymond used the laser pointer to highlight the taller of the two vamps, “Both were sons of Charles. They were the ones who attacked Ben and I at the restaurant. According to Julian, their mothers were turned humans.” Raymond pointed over to Julian, “At the time, he thought the women had chosen to leave the relationship and move on.”

“That’s what they told me,” Julian commented.

“Since I have access to Council records,” Raymond continued, “I checked on Emerson and Brent’s family lines. Turns out, their mothers both had unfortunate accidents.”

Julian closed his eyes and shook his head. “I thought they had abandoned their children and left. I never even questioned the matter. It’s stupid I know, especially since these two women weren’t the only ones. I wasn’t close to any of them, but Charles fathered dozens of children with several women who have disappeared one way or another.”

Dixon heard Sulie huff once again and he turned to face her.

“That was certainly his plan for me,” she said, squeezing Dixon’s hand. He used his thumb to gently caress her hand in return.

Raymond now looked at his sister. “There is a silver lining for you, Sulie,” Raymond said as he clicked on his keyboard. The screen now showed Sulie’s marriage contract with Charles. “This is a matter of public record.”

“He would have killed Dixon had I not agreed to marry him,” she protested.

Raymond smiled. “But I’m sure you noticed our mother’s signature on the document as the head of your family line.” Raymond pointed to the smart board. “This is an older contract. Drafted nearly two centuries ago, but still legally binding. It’s the fine print you’ll want to read Sulie.”

Raymond magnified the image as the team members read the document.

“As Charles’ widow, I get half of his entire estate?” Sulie asked.

“Correct. And since we have this document and his ashes in lockup, you can appeal to the Council and take what is rightfully yours.”

“Shit,” Julian blurted out. When all eyes crossed over to him, he explained. “Not just half, Sulie. You get all of his estate. Charles’ parents are now dead. He had been listed on his father’s family line and was the only one on it. Even though he has many sons, he never put any of them onto his bloodline.”

“Why not?” Dixon asked.

Julian glanced over to Sterling. “Some were half–breeds and he deemed them unworthy.” When Sterling rolled his eyes, Julian continued. “I suspect that the purebred ones weren’t placed because none of them had special abilities.”

Sulie laughed. “So I now own his bloodline and all the accumulated wealth!”

Raymond cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “According to the Council, Trudy has already claimed her brother to be dead. She needed to get the clock rolling since she can lay claim to his line in 90 days if his widow doesn’t come forward.” Raymond said, quoting Council rules. “My guess is that she hopes we don’t know of this stipulation.”

Sulie’s eyes turned cold. “We’ll screw her over in more ways than just her brother’s wealth. Don’t worry, Raymond.”

“Wait,” Brandon, the new Director, who had sat quietly until now, interrupted. “How can Charles be the only one in his bloodline? You all live forever unless you die of blood loss or fire.”

Brandon waved his arms while he talked, and Dixon smelled the human scent even stronger. The beating of Brandon’s heart grew louder and Dixon’s fangs began to extend. He felt the gentle caress of Sulie as she held his hand and it gave him strength to dismiss the talking meal.

“Charles’ father declared Letztes Leben years ago,” Julian explained. “He chose to live his last life and to die. His mother, the head of Trudy’s line, died in a plane crash. As did Trudy’s grandmother. Overall, I have always wondered if Trudy had eliminated some of the older relatives so she could have more control of the bloodline.”

“Letztes Leben?” Brandon asked.

“Charles’ father, whom I remember to be rather nice, was over six hundred years old when I knew him,” Sulie said. “It’s considered an honorable death to choose a last life. Many vampires do so because they are tired of living. Last Life is happening more often now with all the advances in technology. So many of them can’t keep up and choose to move on.”

“Exactly,” Raymond said. “And that was one of the reasons behind the widow’s clause in the older marriage contract. You expect to live forever with your spouse, but marriages are often arranged with one individual considerably older than the other one.”

“Charles was eighty when I turned sixteen and we were engaged. That was considered a very close match in terms of age.” Sulie smiled once again. “I’m absolutely going to file a claim as the grieving widow.”

“You and I have an appointment with the Council tomorrow. I’ve also arranged for Julian to meet with them in regards to his family line.” Raymond reached into his back pocket and slid two bus tickets towards Sulie and one over to Julian, who smiled as he picked up the ticket.

“We’re leaving by bus tonight. I figure Trudy may keep an eye on all airports and train stations, not expecting us to travel by bus.” Raymond explained. “Julian can claim his family line and you can get a hold of all of Charles’ wealth making sure Trudy can’t lay claim to it.”

Sulie looked down at the tickets and handed one to Dixon. Dixon noticed his name on it. When he looked over to Raymond, Raymond smiled. “I’m not sitting on a ten hour bus ride listening to Sulie’s thoughts about how much she misses you. Plus, I can’t compel you to stay behind.”