Chapter Fifteen
The next day I had to scramble to work because both of us forgot to set up an alarm and, even though my mind swam with questions about fricking vampires, I hesitated to ask them out in the open where anyone could overhear.
But my frequent looks and how lost in thought I was did not go unnoticed. When the time for lunch came, Matthias gave a sigh of relief when Tristan showed up to invite me to dine with him again.
“He’s good at explaining this stuff and I’m not,” the big guy said gruffly.
He stole a quick kiss and left with purposeful strides, likely determined to use the short time he didn’t have to guard me for his own schemes. Probably getting more food. I expected a lot of iron-rich meals in my future.
This time Tristan didn’t take me to the garden for lunch.
No, I found myself following him to his guest quarters.
I winced at the looks I got from the staff in our path.
A mix of curiosity, worry, and jealousy.
So far, Matthias was enough of a deterrent for them to keep away and not ask questions but I could bet that was going to change after this spectacle.
What was done was done. I decided to let myself forget about the gossip for a while after the door separated us neatly from the outside world.
The meal was already prepared, colorful dishes waiting on the table. I took my seat while Tristan went around the room… putting pieces of paper on walls? I squinted at one of the rectangular strips and saw what looked like Japanese writing across it.
Tristan noticed my staring and waved the paper at me then stuck the last one to the wall.
“It’s a talisman to keep people from eavesdropping. I have swept the room for any electronic devices as well, so we should be free to talk.”
“Does it mean magic exists?” I asked immediately, my mind whirling with possibilities.
“Yes and no. What you would call magic is a part of some supernatural creatures’ ancestry.
The talismans were prepared for us by a Kitsune, a fox spirit.
While that’s one of her talents I would not be able to produce talismans and neither would regular humans, unless they had at least some of the talisman-inclined creature ancestry in their veins. ”
“Here goes my hope of becoming a witch,” I mock-sighed.
“You are enchanting enough without magic at your fingertips, my dear,” Tristan responded so earnestly it made me blush.
“How about you? Is being so… handsome and captivating a part of being a vampire?” I asked, my heart beating wildly at finally acknowledging the elephant in the room.
“You flatter me, Victoria,” Tristan chuckled.
“This body and its charm are organically grown… but, I admit, centuries of practice made both easier to use to get what I want.” He stepped behind my chair and leaned to whisper in my ear.
“And trust me, you will know when I use my vampiric powers on you.”
My breath hitched.
“You have some, then. Powers, that is?” I asked.
“Enhanced strength, speed, healing abilities…” Tristan walked to the seat in front of me and sprawled in it, counting on his fingers. “Seeing in the dark, fangs, and claws when we need them, resistance to many kinds of damage, including certain magics… that’s what most vampires get.”
“Most?” I prompted, hungrier for the information than for the food in front of me.
“Those are characteristics of what some call a Lesser Vampire. Matthias and Theo are ones. I, on the other hand, have been called a True Vampire.”
“What’s the difference?” I squinted at him. “Can you turn into a bat?”
“Ha! I wish!” Tristan groaned. “I once made a fool of myself when I met another vampire and asked her how to shapeshift. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that’s a human myth.”
“You didn’t know what you could do?” A giggle tried to burst out of me at the absurdity of the situation but I smothered it in time for my mind to comprehend how fucked up it had to be to not know what your own body could do. “…that’s rough, buddy.”
“Indeed. Let’s just say my Sire, the man who had turned me, wasn’t a very nice person. ‘Forgetting’ to teach me the ins and outs of vampiric powers was the least of his crimes,” Tristan’s gaze grew distant. “That’s why I killed him and, with that deed, I gained the power of the True Vampire.”
Here he was, admitting to murder in front of me. It should scare me, make me want to be away from such a violent man. But Tristan radiated calm and a hint of sadness. That wasn’t the expression of a rampaging killer. I choose to believe he did it for the good of others or to protect himself.
I couldn’t fault him for killing his abuser when it was what I wanted to do as well.
“Wait,” something niggled at the back of my mind. “Does that mean Theo and Matthias would have to kill you to become True Vampires?”
“That would be the simplest way to do this, yes,” Tristan didn’t look bothered by the question.
He cut a piece of juicy mushroom while he talked.
“Though there are certain bloody rituals that can achieve the same result, and there have been cases of Lesser Vampires snapping the bond with their Sire and becoming True Vampires themselves, but such occurrences pertain to beings who are thousands of years old.”
It was hard to wrap my head around the concept of living for hundreds of years, least of all thousands. Holy cow. Was that the age Tristan, Matthias, and Theo were going to reach as well?
“Aren’t you worried they will want to cut the bond?” I asked.
“No,” Tristan said with surety. “They chose me once and, what is more important, they keep choosing me. The bond can be a curse but, for us, it’s a blessing.”
“What exactly does this bond do?”
Tristan was silent for a while.
“I think you should hear that part from Matthias and Theo. How about we dig in for now? As much as I loathe it, we both will have to get back to work soon.”
I didn’t push, both because he was right and I should eat while I could and because I was already planning to grill the two other vampires. We spent the lunch mostly in silence but it wasn’t a heavy oppressive thing; no, with Tristan I could relax and enjoy my meal until the time came to part.
When Matthias came to pick me up, Tristan slid a couple of talismans into my pocket.
“It’s better to keep those heavy conversations on the down low. Theo and Matthias know how to activate those.”
The same day, just like I had feared, I was cornered in the one place where Matthias didn’t hover over my shoulder: the female bathroom. Esther, a twitchy mouse of a woman, followed me in and approached cautiously when I was washing my hands.
“Are they hurting you?” she asked, so dead quiet I barely heard her standing two feet from her.
“If they were, there wouldn’t be much you could do to stop that,” I sent her a sad smile. “You are barely in a better situation than me, Esther.”
Her brows furrowed in impotent anger.
“At least I can give you the tea. Do you need it?”
She was referring to a Plan B in herb form, a concoction that fortunately saved many a girl in this household from having Carl’s bastards.
My gaze softened.
“No, I don’t. They aren’t hurting me, really. They have been good to me,” I said, knowing she wasn’t going to believe me.
“If you say so,” she said skeptically. “Be careful. Take care.”
“You too, Esther.”
I gave her a hug before we parted ways. She was one of the bright spots in this hellish household. Just a little mouse trying to survive in a world of cats.
“So, how good is your hearing?” I murmured under my breath when I emerged from the bathroom to see Matthias leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. “Heard all of that?”
“The good news is: I can’t make you pregnant,” Matthias grinned at me.
My mouth opened in an O of surprise.
“Uh, does that go for all of you?” I asked awkwardly, feeling how hot my cheeks were getting.
“Would you like for all three of us to try very hard to knock you up? Fill you with our cum until you are overflowing? It could be a fun game—” the bastard purred and I had to put my hand on his mouth to shut him up.
“We’re in public!” I hissed.
He gently pried my hand off then asked lowly, “Is that your only protest?”
I swallowed, pushing down my sudden arousal.
“I want you to invite Theo to my room after I’m done with work,” I said, then added at his raised brows: “Not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter. I just have a few follow-up questions.”
Matthias sighed.
“I suppose it was stupid of me to think I could get out of this conversation by throwing Tristan at you. Very well, at least Theo will be there to keep me from completely screwing up.”
He refused to expand on that last statement while I finished work and only after we were in my room and activated the talismans did he cross his arms and explain while not looking at me.
“There was a girl about sixty years ago who I wanted to court. I botched the whole vampire explanation so much she tried to kill me. Her folks and neighbors thought she went crazy and I basically ruined not only my chances with her but her whole life. That’s why I don’t want to be the one to answer your questions about this. ”
Feeling like ‘I’m sorry’ wasn’t enough I stood on my tiptoes and patted his head gently. He melted under my touch and when Theo arrived he found me perched on my bed, Matthias sitting between my legs with his back to me, as I ran my hands through his short hair.
“Aw, you two look so cute like this!” Theo beamed.
“Don’t ‘cute’ me, you rascal. Vic wants to have The Talk,” Matthias scowled.
“…like birds and bees?”
“Obviously not! Like vampires!”
“Geez, calm down, I was only trying to make the atmosphere a bit lighter,” Theo lifted his hands in surrender then took hold of a chair and sat on it backward, his head pillowed on his arms laying on the back of the chair. “So, where do we start?”
“Tristan explained some things but he was reluctant to talk about the bond? Can you shed some light on that?”
“Ah,” Theo and Matthias exchanged a meaningful look.
“I see. To put it bluntly, vampirism can be passed to another person who is fed True Vampire’s blood.
The change has to be willed by the True Vampire so it’s not something that can occur accidentally.
However, intent, or even willingness, is not necessary on the part of the person being changed. ”
Cold danced down my spine. But surely Tristan changed them with their permission?
“As such,” Theo continued. “Some of the people turned by True Vampires have been their victims, forced into a life after death they didn’t want and into servitude for their Sire.
The True Vampires could keep their control by providing access to blood, information about our kind, connections to people in the know, and places where you wouldn’t be burned on a stake if you showed red eyes. ..”
“Or they could brainwash you into doing their bidding,” Matthias butted in.
“Matthias, I’m trying to be subtle here! It’s a process!” Theo scowled.
“Well, you said you were going to be blunt! Dancing around the truth is not being blunt!”
“Brainwashing?” I asked. If I looked like how I felt I had to be pale as a ghost.
“Shit,” Theo cursed. “You see... ah...”
“Just tell her,” Matthias said, his voice defeated. He curled away from me.
“A Sire’s bond to their Spawn means they can telepathically communicate with them, find them anywhere, summon them, and they can... force their actions,” Theo said quietly.
“Please, tell me Tristan never forced you to do anything with his powers,” I pleaded.
Theo’s lips thinned.
It was Matthias who answered.
“That would be a lie.” It felt like my whole world was crumbling, the carefully constructed view of the oldest vampire shattering apart.
No wonder he didn’t want to tell me he made slaves out of the two younger men in front of me.
But then Matthias continued. “He did use his powers on me and I’m grateful for that. ”
I reached for him until he turned to face me and looked at me. I needed to see his face, his expression, for this.
“I was a soldier and Tristan saved me in the middle of a war. He didn’t want a brat of merely sixteen to hang around him but I gave him no choice.
I pestered him until he took me under his wing and I left the country with him.
He bestowed the gift upon me when I was twenty-nine and I decided my body was in the shape I wanted to keep forever.
You know, I worked hard for all those muscles, I was strong and proud of it.
But the change made me even stronger and it didn’t take away my nightmares like I had hoped it would.
It was a bad combination and one day...” He closed his eyes but I knew it wasn’t to avoid me but to avoid something inside of himself.
“One day I found myself with my hands around the throat of a poor maid who had startled me. I was so deep in my mind, in the grip of what I know nowadays is called PTSD, I would have killed her if not for Tristan forcing me to let her go.”
“He helped you,” I said, my fear vanishing like the monster under the bed when you turn on the light.
“Yes, and every time he used his ability on me it was for good reason,” Matthias confirmed.
It was hard to look away from him, from the downturned corners of his mouth but I needed to hear it from Theo as well.
“He forced me to move when we were in danger and I froze because I spotted someone in a suit identical to what my father had made me wear,” Theo revealed, his expression serious.
“And there was the whole thing with the sirens... he ordered us both to not listen to them and the mental block gave us a chance to fight against their magic.”
“It’s... a comfort, knowing he can do that,” Matthias revealed. “That there’s always someone who can find me, reach me no matter where I go, a bond deep in my soul I can touch when I’m lonely.”
“We have chosen each other and we chose Tristan as our leader. Let the poor man take all the responsibility of making big decisions while we play around,” Theo grinned, his somber mood disappearing under a smile.
“You two are a handful, aren’t you?” I said affectionately.
“We are menaces,” Theo puffed out his chest in a comedic display of pride. “And you will soon learn what that means. I have a few hours to spare before I have to go back to scheming with Tristan and I brought games.”
He pulled out a board game from the bag he carried and I watched unholy glee appear in Matthias’s eyes.
“I’m going to destroy you,” Matthias said, his tone a growl with an undertone of excitement.
“Dream on,” the sunshine personified said haughtily.
“Excuse me? If we are playing board games, I’m going to be the one to kick your ass,” I declared with my hands on my hips.
We narrowed our eyes at each other, all three of us seizing our opponents up.
“How about a bet,” I said.