He nods quickly in agreement. “Let’s go.”
So, here we are. Like me, Devon is also a Vampire. I am a thousand years old and I turned him five hundred and six years ago so that we could be together forever. It was that click that I couldn’t ignore. He is my only living charge and I love him as deeply as he loves me. He is a part of me and while all Vampires have special ties to those they are bound to, ours is unusually strong and powerful. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I know he feels the same, even though we have long since decided to be friends with benefits.
But all those centuries ago, I turned him out of a deep love to save him after he was inflicted with a fatal wound, as my own sire, Constantine, did to me.
In my eyes, we were made for each other.
“Will you Shift for me?” Devon asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the nearest exit. I see Cole watching us as we leave, and I wonder if he thinks Devon is my date. He doesn’t look too pleased and that makes me smile. He will call tonight now without a doubt.
“If you ask me nicely,” I say with a wicked smile. Somehow, somewhere along the way, I picked up the ability to be able to Shape-Shift. I met Devon during one such Shift and the raven-haired, busty Elizabeth is his true sire.
As Devon and I wait for the limo, standing hand-in-hand, with no need for words between us, I think back to the day that I met him.
Helsby, England, 1506 - Elizabeth
I sullenly strolled around the marketplace, not looking at anything, too preoccupied with my thoughts to care about much else. I was depressed that day. I had really thought that Constantine and I would have made it that time. We had talked of committing and truly spending eternity together but in our never-ending dance of who-leaves-who, I had been the one left heartbroken by him…again. Fleeing Italy to England had made not the slightest difference. I still missed him every day and the not knowing why he left me only made it worse. I had ‘Shifted’ to change my appearance to the exact opposite of my natural look that Constantine loved. I had long, black locks curling to my waist instead of straight blonde. Blue eyes instead of green. Much taller than my short, original form and much bigger breasts.
I’d heard on the underground grapevine that there was a brothel on the outskirts of the village that housed a couple of women Feeders. I wanted nothing to do with men after my sire’s betrayal, but I was hungry and that made me grumpy. This village was too small for a grumpy Elizabeth, who was far more bloodthirsty than the mild-mannered Aefre. I did try to keep my killings to a minimum in small towns. Better to be left fairly unnoticed than hunted down.
It had been a while since I’d drained a human of all their blood and that thought made me sad. Constantine and I had shared a pretty young man that last time we had made love. He had tasted delicious, even better in the mouth of my sire.
What a fool I was to believe that he loved me.
Resolved, I headed to the brothel of a French Madame and hoped that a Feeder was available. I contemplated as I walked what made humans become Feeders: Th
ose willing to have Vampires feed from them, normally for monetary gain. A risky business if you asked me, as Vampires weren’t to be trusted. And if the humans ever told, they were killed, as were any other innocents who happened to overhear. I had bitten hundreds of humans who’d willingly asked for it, and even more who hadn’t. I knew it could give them great pleasure, under the right circumstances, but at what cost? Half a chance the Vampire would drain you and kill you or like you enough to keep you alive. It was rare for Vampires to swap blood and turn Feeders. They were seen as little else but food.
Fortunately for me, and the village, a young girl named Nell was available and after a discreet word and an exchange of coins with the Madame, I was being escorted to a bedchamber on the top floor. I told Nell all I wanted was to feed and she readily agreed with a look of anticipation. Easy money for her. Hm, yes, I supposed I did see why humans would do this. I grabbed her left wrist and sniffed her delicately. She was untainted. As a left-handed person in life, that had not changed and I always bit to the left, which was rare. Constantine was also like me. That thought entered my head, but I pushed it aside. I extended my fangs and bit down. Nell took a sharp intake of breath and I watched her face relax after a few seconds. Always intrigued by this reaction, as it wasn’t one you saw when you maimed, killed or took blood by force, I let my guard down and didn't register the noise outside until it was too late. A very handsome, but unkempt, young man barged into the bedchamber before I could retract my fangs.
He saw everything.
Horrified by my stupidity, I rose to make a hasty exit out of the windows before he could speak of it but was suddenly stopped by the look of awe on his face. His eyes, a beautiful clear blue, met mine in wonder as his lips parted. Oh, I had seen that look a thousand times before. He was aroused! He ran his hand through his dark hair and approached me cautiously at first. As he got closer the whole world fell away as he reached for me and spontaneously kissed me. It had been months since I had been kissed by a man and it awoke a need in me that I’d thought dead. I kissed him back. Running my hands through his hair, he grabbed my waist and lifted me onto the dresser. To my utmost surprise, took me there and then for Nell, the Madame, and half the brothel to see.
We've been together ever since... Well, mostly.
O nce in the car, I cuddle up to Devon. We are affectionate when we are alone together. Our relationship is kept just between the two of us and that’s the way I like it. To the outside world, we are just two close friends. I love him but I don’t want to commit in that way to him anymore, as I’m sure he doesn’t to me either. I like to have several lovers on the go at any one time. Vampires or humans, it makes no difference to me. I love sex, and I love to love. I would rather love too many, than none at all.
However, I have been so busy lately, I just have Devon and my sire, who sadly lives on the other side of the World.
Let me tell you more about my own sire. Constantine Kaius Anasetti D’Arcangelo, or CK as I call him, lives in Italy, which is a huge pain in my arse. We meet up once a month or so to engage in activities which make my body light up like a Christmas tree. My heart, on the other hand, breaks every time I have to leave him again. I love him deeply. He can terrify the knickers off me, but I do love him. Not in the same way as I love Devon. Devon is mine, one that I chose, but I am CK’s, the one that he chose. He is very protective of me and while I gave up trying to convince him that I could look after myself ages ago, I know he will always be watching out for me. He fully believes it is a sire’s right to be overbearing and controlling and while I try not to be, the same can’t be said for CK. My bond with him defies space and time. I can feel it from across a room and when he touches me…I lose all reason. As with Devon, our ‘I love you’s’ are not so much declarations of love. Not anymore – at least not from him.
Too much time, too much history, too many wrong moments. But I am in love with him. I always have been, and I always will be. I just don’t want him to know it. I won’t be just another sappy admirer that he indulges. Devon is convinced that CK is still in love with me as well, but I’m not so sure. All he has to do is say the word and I would be with him, refusing him has never been my strong suit, but he never does. He has always had other lovers, even when I was new and completely devoted to him. It crushed me then, but not so much now. I was so in love with him after he first turned me, he was my whole world. Sometimes, in my dreams I want that again, but I know that he can never give me what I want from him.
CK is ancient. Even more ancient than me. He is one of the four Initial Vampires, as the name suggests they were the firsts, which make up The Council. Well, actually only three members sit on The Council now as the fourth one dropped off the grid millennia ago never to be seen or heard from again.
As a Master Vampire, I am pretty powerful, especially as my bloodline is the oldest of the remaining three Initial Vampires. Even my age alone is daunting to a lot of other Vampires as the older we are, the stronger we get, but that doesn’t put me on a par with the Initials. I don’t see how any ‘lesser’ Vampire would hold the same sway, as that is all they are: Lesser. Devon is a Greater Immortal. If he ever sired, they would be a Lesser Immortal. After that, it’s just ‘Vampire’.
Centuries ago, I remember Constantine telling me about some dumb prophecy that a fourth member would be ‘Chosen’. He was vague with the details, but it never interested me. Between the three of them, they have so far vetoed any contender who has put themselves forth. Often with the death of the individual involved if need be. It’s quite frightening, the lengths they will go to, to remain at three.
Devon often jokes I should try and gain it for myself, as my sire holds an affection for me that borders on obsessive – his words not mine – but I have no interest in it, or in dying for my efforts. My sire loves me, but Gregor and Eloise, the other two members, are dreadful creatures that I haven’t seen for centuries and I quite like it that way, as I’m sure they do as well. I don’t like to use the word hate, but yeah, I hate them, as they do me.
“So, that actor guy you were flirting with earlier? Is he your next victim?” Devon asks with a sly grin, forcing me to bring my thoughts back to the present.
“I certainly hope so,” I murmur.
Devon turns to look at me at the seriousness of my tone. “Really? A smitten kitten, are you?”
“Maybe,” I reply in a noncommittal manner, looking away. Truth is, I am. It’s that destiny thing. It’s a little disconcerting.