Blood Destiny (21 page)

Blood Destiny

by Tessa Dawn

a Master Wizard by our people." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Jankiel Luzanski was given charge over a virtual harem of beautiful women with the task of not allowing his eyes to leave the path directly in front of him...for three months." He smirked. "We all know what his weakness is.

And Niko Durciak was actually sent out into the Transylvanian Mountains to find one of the lost tablets of Sakarias; he won't be allowed into the fellowship until he returns with it. All very brave, worthy deeds."

He looked over at Braden and sighed. "But me? No...I was given the task of mentoring young Braden over there for one full moon. His parents came to Romania to vacation for a few months and decided to stay in the guest wing of the castle.

They were trying to find something for Braden to do when it suddenly occurred to the elders that the young man might be able to...assist me...in my evolution. Apparently, they felt I needed a bit more humility." He rubbed his forehead in consternation. "So here we are...."

Kagen chuckled. "Now, why in the world would they think that, Nachari?"

"I can't imagine," Nathaniel added, his voice full of amusement.

Both brothers laughed, but Marquis only snorted. "Okay, so that's your story. What's his story?" He eyed the young boy disdainfully.

Braden puffed out his chest and raised his chin in defiance, but when a single tear escaped his eye, he couldn't hide his unmistakable hurt.

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Marquis paled and leaned over in his chair, as far as he could, to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. "Dear God!" He sounded mortified. "Are you crying?" He looked utterly appalled.

"Marquis!" This time, it was Jocelyn who chastised him...angrily.

Marquis immediately snapped his head to the side in order to meet her scolding gaze; his eyes were glowing with heat, and he looked shocked at the tone of her voice.

Jocelyn didn't back down. "Quit being such a Neanderthal!"

She barked the words bravely...maternally. And then she immediately ducked behind Nathaniel, allowing his broad shoulders to act as a barrier between herself and the dark-haired tyrant—just in case there was another bolt of lightning coming her way.

Kagen and Nachari laughed out loud, even as Nathaniel shifted his powerful frame to shelter her beside him, possessively placing a strong arm securely around her shoulders.

Jocelyn allowed the shelter of his arm—needing the reassurance she was beginning to feel as a result of his constant vigilance. When she finally gathered the courage to peek at Marquis from around Nathaniel's chest, she was surprised to find a faint, amused smile on his chiseled face, his blue-black eyes glowing with warmth as he stared back at her.

"Braden's story?" Kagen reminded Nachari.

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Nachari shifted into a more comfortable position and cleared his throat. "You guys remember Dario Bratianu, right?

He used to run one of our tropical vacation resorts in Hawaii?"

Kagen nodded.

Marquis grunted.

"Tropical vacation resorts?" Jocelyn whispered to Nathaniel, the words slipping out before she could censor them.

Nathaniel turned to face her. "Dark Moon Vale is our primary home, and a lot of our businesses are run right here, but we do hold various time shares and vacation properties all over the United States, in Europe, and South America.

They're mostly run by property management groups, but every now and then one of our males will get tired of doing the same thing, so he'll go work one of the other properties for a while."

Just when Jocelyn thought that nothing else could surprise her about these almost human—but ferociously not—

creatures, something did. She nodded, and turned back toward Nachari. "Sorry for interrupting."

Nachari waved a dismissive hand. "Not at all." He shifted again in his seat. "So, Dario met Braden's mother in Hawaii at the resort—apparently, she already had Braden at the time, from a former marriage." He looked at Braden. "I think he was about five then."

Braden nodded.

"Anyhow, it turned out that Lily was Dario's true destiny."

Nachari looked over at Jocelyn then. "Lily had the markings of Pegasus on her wrist, and the Blood Moon was revealed to 198

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them one night. So when they finally came together...when she gave him his sons...they had to figure out what to do with Braden."

"What to do with him?" Jocelyn asked, appalled. Her body stiffened beneath Nathaniel's arm as the reminder of her purpose was, once again, made so glaringly apparent. It was humiliating.

"Not like that," Nachari corrected. "How they were going to...build a life together...with a human son."

Nathaniel tightened his grip around Jocelyn's shoulder and pulled her close under the shelter of his arm, clearly sensing her growing fear. "It's okay, angel," he whispered, his words both soft and tender. "You are so much more to me than that...far more than you realize."

Jocelyn stared straight ahead at Nachari, but she felt Nathaniel's warm breath against her ear like a glowing ray of heat, subtly caressing her skin.

"So when Dario consulted Napolean," Nachari continued,

"Napolean told him that there was a good chance that Braden could be transformed—"

"Transformed?" Jocelyn asked, unable to stop interrupting.

"Yes," Nachari answered, patiently.

"Sired...converted?...changed from human to our species."

Jocelyn shifted nervously. There it was again, the constant reminder of what she was facing. She turned to study Braden, to try and read his expression, knowing he had already gone through this...transformation.

Braden was listening with interest, seeming to enjoy the fact that he was finally the center of attention: Everyone was 199

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thinking about him, yet no one was growling or throwing bolts of lightning in his face. He didn't look at all disturbed by the memory of being sired.

Nachari looked at Jocelyn, waiting for another question.

When she remained silent, he continued with his story. "As I was saying, since Lily was Braden's biological mother, the two of them share the same Celestial blood. And since Lily was also Dario's true destiny, it was possible to convert Braden under the protection of Pegasus...without any danger of him losing his soul."

"Pegasus?" Jocelyn asked.

"My step-dad's constellation," Braden supplied. "Mine is Monoceros, the unicorn." He raised his head proudly.

"You sure it's not Jake, the jackass?" Marquis mumbled.

Braden stuck out his tongue and rolled his heavily painted eyes.

Marquis chuckled then and leaned forward, largely ignoring the insolent gesture. "I have never heard of such a thing.

Have you, Kagen?"

Kagen shook his head and brushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes with his fingers. "No, I haven't. Every story I've ever heard of someone trying to convert a human other than their blood destiny had to do with the Dark Ones, and it never turned out very well...." His voice trailed off as he caught Jocelyn's frightened gaze. She was beginning to feel like a frail deer caught in Nathaniel's headlights.

Nathaniel's hand slid gently up and down her arm in a reassuring caress. "So, it can be done, then?" he asked, eyeing Braden curiously.

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Marquis looked at the child with suspicion. "Apparently not.

At least not successfully."

The words were said without emotion, yet Braden almost crumbled at the insult. He put his head down in his arms.

"Marquis," Nachari whispered, softening his censure this time—as if a gentler approach might have more effect.

"Braden was successfully converted. There's no question about that. But he was raised as a human, and for them, the first five years are very formative—kind of like our first one-hundred. His body contains all the instincts of our kind, but his brain fights against it, insisting on using old neuro-pathways and other no longer useful...yet still automatic...brain patterns. It's a constant fight for him to do what comes natural for us."

Nachari gave Braden a comforting smile then. "And like most humans, Braden is impatient. He doesn't understand that these things take a great deal of time and practice...but, he'll get there."

Braden's face lit up.

Jocelyn frowned, confused. "I don't understand. How could Braden's mother...transform...without any problem, while Braden has had such difficulty? I mean, they both spent their formative years as a human, right?"

She obviously wasn't asking about Lily. The bottom line was, she had spent her entire life as a human, too, and needed to hear that a vampire's destiny always transformed successfully. Always.

Nachari looked at Nathaniel as if to ask permission to speak.

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Marquis didn't bother. "Because Braden's blood was only part Celestial—half Lily's. The other part was human—half his biological father's."

Jocelyn raised an eyebrow, still not understanding.

"Lily's blood was never the exact same as other humans'

to begin with. She was created for Dario, so she was born...compatible," Marquis explained.

Jocelyn turned the enormous male's words over in her head. "What are you saying? How could our blood be different? I'm human. My blood is human." For the first time, she forced herself to hold eye-contact with the fierce vampire's intimidating glare.

"It means that while you might find much to question about our species, you're already closer to it than you think,"

he said bluntly.

Jocelyn blanched, appalled at the idea, which obviously irritated Marquis.

"You are not as fully human as you believe you are, Jocelyn! That is all." Marquis's voice was strong and unwavering.

"Marquis!" This time, Nachari, Nathaniel, and Kagen all said it in unison.

Nathaniel brushed his hand softly through Jocelyn's hair, twirling a small handful of tresses in his fingers. "Celestial blood means sacred blood, Jocelyn. Chosen by the Ancient Ones. It means that you were born

different...special...destined. That is all."

Jocelyn sighed and turned her attention back to Marquis, who turned his attention back to Braden. "Well, I still think 202

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something went wrong. I've never seen anyone actually want to be a vampire so badly, or be so ghastly awful at it!"

At that, Braden stood up, his feet shoulder's length apart, folded his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes. To everyone's amazement, a small, in-tact vampire bat appeared. Flying over to the corner of the room, he turned upside down and just hung there, his back turned to all of them.

Marquis looked afraid to ask, but he obviously couldn't help himself. "What the hell is he doing now?"

Nachari just sighed. "He's pouting."

I'm in the bat cave! Braden argued, broadcasting the thoughts loudly.

With Nathaniel's hand resting firmly on her arm, Jocelyn was able to hear the telepathic words as clearly as everyone else in the room. She shook her head, just watching the drama unfold.

"The bat cave?" Kagen spoke aloud.

Yes, you know: a bat plus a man equals a bat man! Like Batman and Robin!

Marquis had clearly had his fill of the strange child. He rose and glided directly over to the hanging bat. "Batman and Robin were not vampires, Braden!"

With a graceful flow of hand motions, he placed an impenetrable barrier around the little hanging rodent, locking him into his chosen corner like a prisoner in a cell...blocking all transmission of sound or thought along with him. And just to avoid having to see the nuisance for a while, he cloaked 203

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him in a shield of invisibility, rendering him completely inconsequential.

Nachari started to get up—to go to the young boy's aid—

when suddenly he stumbled back as if he had been struck in the chest by an invisible hand, his rear-end landing right back in his seat. When he looked up, Marquis was glaring at him with cold, vacant eyes, a fierce, guttural growl of warning emanating deep within his throat.

"I am through being chastised by a child," he growled.

"The boy is silly, disrespectful, and horribly undisciplined. And if he wants to hang out with real vampires, he had better learn his place."

It was abundantly clear that Braden would remain in the corner until Marquis released him.

Nachari took one good look at Marquis's face and folded his arms, sinking deep into the chair.

No one else dared to say a word.

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It was late in the evening when the stranger arrived.

Although they had moved outside to the upper deck in order to enjoy the crisp night air, the four brothers were still talking, catching up on one another's lives, and reminiscing about old times. Young Braden had fallen asleep in his...bat cave...where they had safely left him, still hanging upside down, while Marquis, Kagen, and Nachari lounged comfortably in lawn chairs, and Jocelyn leaned against the railing. Nathaniel stood slightly to the side of her, his powerful frame locking her in, just in case she got any more wild ideas about trying to leap over the banister.

"Excuse me, Senor Silivasi?" The hurried voice of Nathaniel's housekeeper drew his attention from Jocelyn.

"What is it, Alejandra?"

"The county sheriff and another gentleman are here to see you." Her keen eyes flashed with worry as she gestured toward the two men standing slightly behind her.

Before Alejandra could move out of the way, both gentlemen strolled onto the deck. They brushed against her as they passed by, stopping a few feet in front of Nathaniel and Jocelyn. The housekeeper huffed, rolled her eyes, and muttered something in Spanish as she turned and went back to her work.