Deadman's Blood Read online

  Melanie’s arms were crossed over her chest and she had a devilish smirk on her face as he played out his scene. When he was done, he fluttered his eyelashes and pushed out his bottom lip to a pout. She pushed him hard on his chest to where he was lying on his back and she straddled him. While he laughed, she said gruffly with her hands square on his shoulders, “You’re making fun of me.”

  Still trying to imitate a woman’s voice, he mimicked her, “You’re making fun of me.”

  The only way she could think to shut him up was to kiss him, so she leaned down and kissed him deeply and he happily reciprocated. She felt so good to him. He pulled her to him and he could instantly tell that she was wearing next to nothing, if anything, under her robe and his heart fluttered and jumped in his chest. He became acutely aware of every inch of her body on top of him. His chest became tight and his breathing deep. She wasn’t stopping and he didn’t want her to, but....

  “Lanie?”

  “Mmmm?” she said as she continued to kiss his neck, making her way to his chest.

  “Lanie, Angel...you never answered me.” He swallowed hard as she ran her tongue across his earlobe.

  She whispered rather seductively in his ear letting her lips graze his earlobe every now and then, “Yes, Josh…I would very much like to have a life with you too.” Then she met his mouth, eagerly kissing and teasing him, by grazing her lips past his and lightly kissing his lower lip.

  His voice cracked, “Ummm....Lanie....we should.....stop.”

  She continued. She kissed him long and hard. His chest got even tighter; it was hard to breathe and his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest and take her itself. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him.

  “Lanie, we need to stop now or I won’t be able to stop.”

  “But why? We’re practically engaged,” she pouted.

  “But we’re not and we’re not married…yet.”

  “Married. You mean you want to wait until we are married?”

  “I think...yes...it’s the right thing to do,” Josh said, swallowing hard.

  “Really?”

  “C’mon. You know it will mean so much more if we wait,” Josh said.

  “I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” she said.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he admitted.

  She climbed off of him, a little disappointed, and readjusted her robe. He was still lying on his back trying to recuperate with large, deep breaths.

  “I think I need....I’m going to go take a very, VERY cold shower,” Josh said.

  “Can I come?” she asked deviously.

  Popping his head up, he looked at her in surprise and she could see that he was biting his lip hard. His head dropped back in defeat and he made a long, guttural sound which Melanie wasn’t sure how to interpret.

  “Oh, Lanie....you’re going to torture me with this, aren’t you?”

  “I think....yes....yes, I am,” she admitted.

  “Then it’s going to have to be a very, VERY short engagement, Angel....very short.” Still mumbling as he got up and stumbled towards the door, he kept saying over and over, “short...very, very short and lots of cold, cold water.”

  He turned towards her to find her sitting in the middle of the bed, arms wrapped around her legs, with her chin on her knees, looking absolutely adorable.

  He smiled back at her and said, “By the way, I broke your doorknob. I’ve been breaking things all day.” He raised his bandaged hand as if to wave goodbye when he saw Melanie sit up straight and then come running over to him.

  “You’re bleeding!” she said.

  He looked at his palm and the bandage was soaked red.

  “Yeah. I crushed a jam jar this morning.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, it wasn’t on purpose. I was trying to open it,” Josh explained.

  She took his hand in both of hers, then kissed the bandage and held his palm to her cheek.

  “Do you want me to re-bandage it for you? Are you in any pain?” she asked.

  “No, Angel, the only pain I have is in my chest from walking away from you in a big inviting bed.”

  “You don’t have to walk away, you know,” she said seductively.

  “I do, princess. I do. You’re worth it and I love you. I’m going to go take that cold shower while I can still walk and then we need to go downstairs and talk to Dominic about something he found in the altar room.”

  “Okay,” she said, defeated.

  Chapter Four

  Fifteen minutes later, Josh knocked at Melanie’s bedroom door again. She appeared fully dressed and they headed down to the dining room where everyone was talking. They quickly sat down next to Dominic and listened in.

  “I was just telling everyone about this artifact that I found in the altar room under the castle on Heart Island,” he said. “When the girls destroyed the Bloodstone Heart, the blast that came from it most have dislodged a stone on the hearth, and behind it I found this.”

  He held up a carved cylindrical piece of wood and passed it around the table for everyone to look at.

  Dean said, “Speaking of that blast, did any of you have a warm fuzzy sensation as it passed by?”

  Everyone at the table nodded their heads in agreement.

  Blake said, “Yeah and my skin seemed to glow or sparkle for a moment.”

  Alyssa said, “Yeah. Mine did too. What was that, Dominic?”

  “I’m not sure, but the stone was quite powerful in a loving environment. It all but destroyed Dimitri and his followers when it passed through them, so I’m sure they didn’t feel anything warm and fuzzy,” Dominic said.

  Devon said, “You don’t think it did anything to us, do you?”

  “Nothing bad. Anyone notice anything odd since then?” Dominic added.

  There was a general mumble through the room, but nobody spoke up.

  “Well, then I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll notice as the artifact is passed around, that it has carvings on it. I think these are for the four houses of the ancient ones. Lion for Larsen, Eagle for Mathew, Bear for Douglas, Wolf for Wallace,” Dominic said.

  Mark asked, “Who are the Ancient Ones?”

  “The Ancient Ones are four born vampire brothers. Their father and mother were said to be the first vampires, but I’m not sure I believe that. In any case, as most of my family knows, having two children in a born vampire family is very rare, but four? To my knowledge, there has never been four born to a set of vampire parents since.

  “The four were named Mathew, Douglas, Larsen, and Wallace. All four were considered royalty and when the father died, his kingdom was split into four. All four were successful lords of their courts, but due to Larsen’s more generous heart, his court always dominated in numbers. It is said that it was Larsen who proposed something very near to what the Black Orchids initially intended, which is, as you know, to provide an organization to educate humans and supernatural beings so that they could live in harmony together. It was also to be a refuge for those with abilities they did not understand or know how to use, a place for them to be taught how to use them responsibly.

  “Petty power struggles and jealousy posed a threat among the brothers. Wallace and Douglas were notorious for their inhumane treatment of humans and supernaturals alike, and soon overtook the Mathew kingdom. It’s not known what ever became of Mathew, but it is thought that Douglas and Wallace had him executed.

  “In between acquiring the Mathew court, Wallace’s and Douglas’s courts, combined, did not even come close to the population of Larsen’s court. Humans and supernaturals flocked to his kingdom in droves hearing what a kind and just court it was.

  “It was when Larsen’s wife was mysteriously struck down that things came to unravel. Grief-stricken as he was, he ignored his responsibilities for a time and did some traveling, only to come back and find that his brothers had come in and divided up the masses of his court.

  “It’s not known what happened
to Larsen after that; many think he was killed by his brothers; others think he ended his own immortal life, but whatever happened, he was never seen again.

  “The petty disputes between the two remaining brothers ended in bloodshed and the four courts were never to be heard of again.

  “One great asset that Larsen had given to the world was the ‘Archives.’ A very loyal scribe that Larsen employed recorded them. He and his descendants kept the archives safe and kept recording our Vampiric history for many centuries.

  “It is said that when the Black Orchids came into being, the archives were given to them for safe keeping, but power struggles began there too, and the archives were hidden away in a vault somewhere. So much time has passed that those who knew where the Archives were hidden are long gone.

  “After finding this artifact in the altar room, I believe that the Archives may be hidden there or somewhere near there.”

  The artifact had been passed almost all the way around the table. Devon said, “With the animals on it, it reminds me of a coat of arms.”

  “Exactly. I think it is a coat of arms of some kind,” Dominic said.

  “And this symbol where the four animals meet, what is it? It looks like a stick-figure king,” Devon pointed out.

  “You are very perceptive, Devon. I was puzzled by it too, but I think I figured it out. I think it is the royal seal of the four courts combined. If you look closely, it seems to be made up of letters. A ‘W’ on top of an “M” make up the body of the king. The head of the king seems to be made by a “D” laying on its side with the flat side down. An “L” on its side seems to make up part of the crown. Granted, it is primitive, but all four letters are there,” Dominic explained.

  “Interesting. So two arms point to two animals above and the two legs point to the other two animals. So each animal represents one of the brothers?” Devon asked.

  “Yes, Wallace is the wolf, Larsen is the lion, Mathew is the eagle, and Douglas represents the bear,” Dominic said.

  As he handed the artifact to his left, Josh grabbed it with just a little force and Devon noticed one of the symbols move near where the stick figure seal’s right arm pointed just below the eagle.

  Devon said, “Did you see that, Josh?”

  Josh answered, “I didn’t see it, but I felt something move.”

  Devon held out his hand, “May I?”

  He examined it closer and saw that there were four small spots at the ends of the stick figures’ hands and feet that seemed to move slightly. “I don’t think this is just a coat of arms, Dominic. I think it is a puzzle box or container of some sort. I had been handling it so gently that I didn’t notice before, but there seems to be something inside it.”

  “How fascinating,” Dominic said as he got up from his seat to look over Devon’s shoulder.

  “Maybe it’s a combination,” Josh said.

  Devon said excitedly, “Of course. That’s exactly what it is, Josh. Dominic, who was the first born brother?”

  Dominic looked in his notes. “Umm, the first born was...Wallace.”

  “And he’s the wolf, right?” Devon confirmed.

  “Yes.”

  Devon touched just below the right leg where the wolf was. “And the second?” Devon asked.

  “The second is Douglas and he is…the bear,” Dominic relayed.

  Devon touched just below the left leg where the bear was, then asked, “Okay, the third?”

  “The third is Mathew and he is...the eagle,” Dominic answered.

  Devon touched just above the right arm of the seal stick figure pointing to the eagle.

  Dominic said, “And the last is Larsen, the lion.”

  “Right,” said Devon and pushed above the left arm, under the lion. A tiny mechanical click sounded and one end of the fluted, hand-carved cylindrical artifact popped open.

  Devon handed the artifact carefully to Dominic, who was as giddy as a little kid being presented with a puppy. “Here, Dominic, you do the honors.”

  He smiled and took it out of Devon’s hand as if it was a piece of blown glass and slowly walked to his seat, never taking his eyes off of the object.

  Dean said, “What’s in it already? I’m about ready to jump out of my skin over here, Dominic.”

  Dominic heartily laughed; he truly loved Dean’s sense of humor and his child-like excitement. Dominic took a deep breath and slid the contents out into his other hand. It too was cylindrical and ornately etched with bears, wolves, eagles, and lions; and the now familiar stick man adorned a circle area in the middle. It had jewels here and there and appeared to be pure silver with delicate filigree between the animals. Each end of the cylinder was decorated with what Dominic thought were caps that were bulbish in shape and ended in a point, like an onion dome or Russian castle roof.

  Darby said, “My God. It’s so beautiful, but what is it?”

  “I believe it is a scroll case.” He carefully removed one of the ends to reveal a piece of ancient parchment. He didn’t touch it with his fingers but instead asked Bernard to get him his gloves from the top drawer of his desk.

  Bernard was back in a flash and Dominic put on some pristine white gloves and gently pulled the parchment from the tube. Trying very hard to be as gentle as possible to the ancient scroll, he opened it to its full extent. It wasn’t large. Many of the table’s guests were now huddled around and behind Dominic as he started to translate the ancient vampiric language.

  Dean’s impatience got the better of him. “What does it say?”

  “Well, it seems to be in a lost language that combines the ancient vampiric with that of some of the old crone’s witch-lore writings. From what I can tell, it is she that is writing it and it seems to be one of her prophecies. I don’t think anyone has ever seen anything like this in hundreds, maybe thousands of years. I’m not sure this is the exact translation but I’ll improvise.” He shook his head, in awe of what he was holding and reading, then continued.

  “Four brothers of the same high court will be brought together once more to build a just and noble kingdom that binds the supernatural with the natural. But a dark one lurks in the shadows as he’s done for centuries, ensuring they not know of their destiny and that their numbers never reach four.

  “Unbeknownst to all, including the dark one, the fourth brother and the other three know not of one another and this is what has kept him safe from harm. A quest of his own will draw the fourth to his lineage and all will be set in motion. The dark one guises himself as a friend, but the blood on his hands will be revealed when archives of the Ancients are opened once more.

  “The four will have allies with great power and that power will be quadrupled by the destruction of ‘one’s heart’ as payment for their good deeds.

  “The battle with the dark one will be most ferocious and when the dust settles the dark one will be no more. The four will bring together all of earth’s creatures as one to live in harmony and without fear for centuries to come. Their family name will live on as the kind and noble ‘Lion’ for all of time.” Dominic stopped and pondered what he had just read aloud to his family.

  “I don’t get it? Why do prophecies always have to be so cryptic? Why can’t they just say, Joe Smoe kicks Bob Blob’s butt because he is a bad, bad man. Then everyone will live happily ever after,” Dean said.

  “Look at that, fuzz face likes fairy tales,” Blake said.

  “Don’t start with me, Bat Bean...ooooh I like that. It rolls right off the tongue. Giant green bean meets bat boy to make giant bat bean,” Dean said, rather proud of himself.

  “I like it,” Mark roared in laughter.

  “You are such a moron, Dean,” Blake said snidely. Blake shook his head as Rowan buried the smile she was hiding from Blake behind her hand.

  Melanie asked, “What does it mean, Dominic? Is it about the Larsens?”

  “I’m not sure,” Dominic admitted.

  Devon said, “It can’t be about us. We’re not four brothers.”

&n
bsp; “That isn’t exactly true. In vampire history, I have found that cousins in the same family are often referred to as brothers. Like two families forming a clan. If that is the case, then we...you are four now with Josh,” Dominic explained.

  “Is the dark one the Dark Angel?” Rowan asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. But that would mean the true identity of the Dark Angel is a friend or a colleague.”

  Anton said, “That’s not good. Not looking forward to going up against the Dark Angel.”

  A knock came at the front door and Bernard jumped to his feet to answer it.

  *****

  The rest of the group had started to stir when Bernard peeked his head into the dining room and asked Josh to join him. Josh got up and headed for the door, holding onto Melanie’s hand and pulling her behind him.

  “What’s up, Bernard?”

  “Well, I called Dr. Rowe here to check on your hand. I felt with such a bad cut, he should take a look at it,” Bernard said.

  “You shouldn’t have, Bernard. It doesn’t hurt a bit,” Josh said.

  “You should have it looked at, Josh. It looked like it was bleeding pretty bad before you took a shower,” Melanie urged.

  “Fine. But I’m telling you it’s fine,” Josh argued.

  Bernard walked Josh and Melanie into a room at the other end of the house, where Dr. Rowe was unpacking something from his bag.

  “Ah, Mr. Brenner and the lovely Ms. Harper. How are you both?” Dr. Rowe inquired.

  Melanie said, “Very well, Dr. Rowe. Thank you for coming.”

  “So, Josh. I hear you had a run in with a nasty jar,” Dr. Rowe joked.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Josh said.

  “Are you kidding? He crushed it and the lid,” Bernard interjected.

  “I’m sure the jar just had a flaw in it and I grabbed it at that fragile spot,” Josh argued.

  “Well, let’s see how deep it is. I’m sure Bernard cleaned it well. He’s been patching you all up so much lately that he’s practically an MD himself,” Dr. Rowe said with a chuckle.