RBC06.50 - Marcella, Vampire Mage (20 page)

We all clapped and toasted, cheering, “Hear, hear!”

We challenged the boys to play some games - horseshoes, darts, and archery. I’m proud to say we held our own. I noticed Arletta taking an interest in Avery. Rosa was so stunning that she was equally sharing time with the other three Voss brothers as well as several young vampires, including Demitrie Devorak.

Eleanor and Thomas were off by themselves in cozy conversation. We all had a wonderful time, staying late into the night, singing folk songs and listening to some who played instruments or were willing to entertain us with a native dance. Then people started to slowly head back to their quarters, as did we. Quinn and I were hand in hand, as were El and Thomas. Letta and Rosa had Avery, Simon, Gregor and Cedrik surrounding them. Quinn and I stopped and let the others pass us so we could say goodnight alone.

“It’s been such a wonderful day, hasn’t it Quinn?”

“Yes, but anytime we can be together is wonderful,” he said as he brushed my cheek with his hand. We leaned into each other then, and his breath was so warm and sweet. The kiss started softly, then deepened with an urgent passion. I felt as if I couldn’t get close enough to him; Quinn responded by holding me tighter as he lifted off the ground. I heard myself moan softly and felt him quiver slightly. We broke the kiss and he slowly lowered me to the ground. As we stood looking into each other’s eyes, our unspoken desire was clear to both of us.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I hugged him and said, “I love you too.”

We walked up the stairs, the boys were coming back toward us, and down the hall we could see Thomas kissing Eleanor.

“We’ll wait outside,” Gregor said, as he passed Quinn. Quinn nodded and wished me a good sleep and sweet dreams. I waited, my hand on the door latch and after Thomas said goodnight to Eleanor, I drew her into the common room.

“It’s always the shy ones, isn’t it Letta?” Rosa laughed. “Well, tell us El, is he a good kisser?”

“I wouldn’t have anyone to compare him to, but I thought the kiss was heavenly,” she sighed, closing her eyes as if to remember each second.

“How about you two? Any interest in anyone?” I asked, curious now in who they might choose.

“Well, Avery is handsome,” Letta said, “but I haven’t made up my mind yet. How about you, Rosa?”

“I’m having so much fun with all of them, to choose just one seems, well, selfish.” She pretended to be completely serious, then looked at all our shocked faces and started to laugh.

We discussed the party for another hour, and then once we were no longer able to keep the conversation going or our eyes open, one by one we said goodnight and drifted to our rooms.

I put on my nightgown, slipped under the down comforter, and sank into the feather bed.

As I fell asleep, I tried to imagine what it would be like to make love to Quinn.

CHAPTER SIX

I woke up early and dressed in riding gear, my sword as always strapped to my waist. Sarah in the common room was just putting out some fruit, porridge, nuts, hearty bread, pastry, and jams.

“I didn’t think you’d be up quite yet, but I fixed breakfast just in case,” she said as she finished.

“I’m glad you did. I’m starving, even though I hunted yesterday” I shrugged as I stuffed my face with pastry.

“I’m going to take Nulla out for a ride this morning. I saw her last night. She’s all healed and now needs the exercise.”

I finished my pastry by licking my fingers clean.

“Mmm, I really enjoyed that. Thank you, Sarah. I’ll be back later.”

As I opened the door to the hallway I found Simon guarding the door this morning. He turned and cheerfully greeted me.

“How are the girls? Did they have a good time last night?”

“If you’re trying to find out if any of them fancy you, I have no news; but yes, we all had a fine time last night. I hope we can do it again soon.”

“I do too. Gunter said training with the girls will start tomorrow. He also said the girls’ fathers want to make sure their daughters are serious about this training.”

“I assure you they are. Father also pledged to help each of us find, hone, and perfect our special gifts.”

As we approached the stable, Quinn led out the horses. Nulla immediately let out a whinny when she spotted me. I broke into a run so I could reach her sooner.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” I told Nulla as I rubbed her forehead and patted her neck. She nuzzled me with her nose; and I lifted it up and gave her a kiss, the soft whiskered velvet tickling my lips.

“Look what I brought you,” I offered her the apple I pulled out of my pocket, which she hastily gobbled down.

Simon was to accompany us as my Watcher, but Quinn helped me into the saddle, even though I didn’t need it, he whispered to me that Simon had agreed to give us some privacy. Then with a motion to Simon to mount up, they both swung into their saddles and we trotted off towards the training grounds to warm up and try some spear and arrow skills

“I bet you’re rusty,” Quinn grinned, obviously baiting me.

“Would you like to make a small wager then?”

“Fine with me. How about a kiss for every time I win and a kiss for every time you win?”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I accept,” I said seriously, then not being able to hold it in, burst out laughing. I patted Nulla’s neck before urging her into a slow canter. Quinn threw me a quick smile as he also quickened his pace and shortly we were at the training grounds.

The training instructors reset targets and laid out arms each morning at dawn for those who wanted to practice, and already there were several men taking the line for shooting, including Demitrie, Hun Lee, and Chan.

“May we join you?” I asked of Demitrie.

“Of course, Katrina…Quinn. We welcome the competition. We’ve set up both stationary and moving targets. The far line is for spears, and this closer one is for bow and arrow.”

“Let’s try spears first. It’s been a while so don’t expect too much.” I looked at Quinn and gave him a wink. We continued over to the far line and waited behind Chan.

“Hun Lee, that was great work!” I applauded. He bowed his head in thanks as we watched Chan take his turn. First up was a stationary target, the spear to be released no closer than ten yards away. Point zones and bull’s eyes were painted on each target. He hit the bull’s eye easily from fifteen yards at a canter. The next was a swinging target shaped like a man, with more points for a head shot than a body shot, and you had to be careful not to be knocked from your horse by the rotating arms. Chan grabbed a spear from the ground in between the targets and spurred his horse forward. He got within twenty feet and with a shorter but much harder shoulder-turn throw, hit the dummy square in the chest. The third and last target was a simulation of an enemy on horseback coming straight on. Two men pushed the target from the rear, with one man guiding the wheels, using a long handle from the side. This time Chan waited until the last minute and rammed the spear into the midsection of the target.

“These men are going to be tough to beat,”
I thought, but I was determined to prove myself. I was next, and adrenaline was already pumping through my veins.

“Great job Chan,” I said, as he trotted his horse back.

“Thank you,” he said, while patting his horse’s neck.

I walked Nulla up to the spears imbedded in the ground, pulled one out, and held it at eye level, it’s point toward the target, so I could judge its straightness and balance. Then I closed my eyes and turned my senses to the wind which I judged to be slightly into my face coming left to right.

“Very well, Nulla, let’s show these boys what we’re made of.”

She reared slightly as if to let me know she understood, and then steadied down in preparation for the task. After one more bounce of the spear in my hand, I nudged Nulla with my heel, and we bolted off at a dead run.

“She’s going too fast,” I heard.

Then I heard Quinn laugh, “Just watch, Demitrie.”

I crouched down over Nulla’s shoulders, then leaned to the right and from twenty-five yards, hurled the spear with all my might. Into the middle of the target it went with a thud. I circled the target and raced back to the line and grabbed the last spear in row, before launching Nulla at the next target. My heart was pounding, but then my senses seemed to slow the action, making it feel like a slow graceful ballet. Every fiber of my being was in tune with the spear in my hand. At ten yards I let it fly and hit the dummy right in the throat. Again I circled back to the line. As I thundered by, I picked a final spear, stood in the stirrups and threw. A second later the spear hit the moving target in the chest, surprising the men who had just started pushing it toward me. As I drew level to the target, I pulled my sword and slashed the grain-filled enemy across the throat, spilling its contents out onto the ground. I pulled Nulla to sliding stop and gave her a reward pat on the neck.

“Good girl Nulla. I think they got the general idea, we’re good,” I said and patted her again. We were both breathing hard as I walked her back to the start.

Hun Lee clapped and shouted, “Unbelievable, Katrina.”

“Too bad you’re so rusty,” Demitrie quipped.

“True. True. Think what you could do if you practiced,” Chan laughed.

“Well, I give up,” Quinn said, managing to keep a straight face. “I’m not going after that. You win, Katrina, and I’ll pay up on my bet with you later.”

I gave a mock bow of my head. “I accept your surrender. Well, I think Nulla and I are warmed up. Shall we go for a ride in the woods or by the river?” I turned Nulla towards the gate.

I waved goodbye. “I’ll see you later, gentlemen,” I said as, Quinn trotted up to my side.

“You were fantastic back there. I really thought you’d be rusty; you haven’t done targets in at least two months,” he said his voice full of surprise and pride.

“I don’t know, but since that first battle with those two fledglings, my senses seem so attuned, my instincts honed, my body and mind working as one.”

I turned to look at Quinn and found him staring at me as if he’d never seen me before.

“What?”

“You’ve never seemed more alive than just then.”

“Funny, that’s what the girls say when I talk about you.”

I smiled at him and he smiled back. We stopped to wait for the gate to open. Thomas walked his horse right behind us, and then to our surprise Eleanor, her Watcher, and Simon came trotting around the corner.

“Wait for us,” she called as she waved.

We did, and she joined us at the gate.

“I’ll stay on duty, Thomas it’s all right,” Simon said.

So he and Eleanor’s Watcher pulled their horses around so they could follow the four of us. Thomas was all smiles as we headed out the gate.

“Sarah packed us a lunch, but we have to be back before one o’clock so she can get us ready for the meeting at two.”

“I swear I don’t know what the rest of your servants do. Sarah seems to take care of everything for us,” I said, shaking my head.

“I know, but every time our servants come to help, she shoos them away. They do kitchen work, laundry, and fetch water and supplies from the stores, but she says they just get in the way upstairs.”

“Sounds like her. Let’s go up the river this time. The path down river has too many memories.”

Thomas and Quinn agreed. There was a well-worn animal path that we followed along the river. There was a slight breeze and the temperature was mild and as the water bubbled along I felt myself letting go of my excited state from the target practice, and becoming more and more relaxed. In a little while we noticed a grassy knoll to the north. Reining our horses in that direction, we were soon dismounting and handing our horses over to the Watchers, who would see that they had water to drink and allow them to graze a little. As we walked up the knoll to have our lunch, Thomas carried the leather pouches full of food and drink and held hands with El. Quinn and I followed behind, our arms around each other’s waists. It was beautiful out here and quiet, except for the birds’ singing. Wild flowers, daisies and blue bells, made a lovely mosaic, one that was ever changing with the wind. Lilies of the valley dotted the edge of the forest, filling the air with their sweet perfume. We picked a spot at the very top of the rise; it gave us a beautiful view of the river valley below. We ate heartily and guzzled down water and a little wine. My workout earlier had made me hungry and thirsty.

“You should have seen Katrina this morning,” Quinn said proudly. “She sure put three young men on the spear target line in their place.”

“You’ll be doing the same thing soon, El,” I promised.

“I almost forgot, our fathers said they wanted to make sure we’re serious about this, so our training begins tomorrow. Plus we have to travel once every three months or so to one of our homes to show what we have learned,” said El as she put another grape into Thomas’s mouth. I couldn’t believe how sweet they were together.