Darkness In The Flames (77 page)

A silence fell as Sidney turned a page or two looking for something. “Ah, yes. Here we are. This passage was written quite early on in the book, in between recipes for herbs to cure various ailments and observations on lunar cycles and the behavior of his parishioners.”

“Goodness.” Verity chuckled. “He was a man of many talents, wasn’t he?”

“He was indeed.” Sidney pursed his lips. “Sadly, the same cannot be said for his brother.”

Silence fell as Sidney’s audience absorbed these words.

“Here’s what Saint Chesswell says. I’m paraphrasing a little bit here, since his language is stilted and not as clear as ours in this day and age.”

Sidney lowered his head and began to read.

“
I met with my brother today
,
an unexpected visit and one I shall never forget
.
He seemed distracted
,
uneasy with any refreshments I could offer him
,
unsettled and fidgety until I had to chide him and bid him sit down and tell me what was the matter
.

“
He unburdened his soul in a rush of words that nearly knocked me off my stool
.
He
’
d taken a woman
,
a red
-
haired beauty
.
He
’
d seduced her
,
lured by the perfection of her body
.
And such phrases he used I never thought to hear from his normally closed lips
.

“
He raved of her breasts
,
perfection in cream and roses
,
mounds he suckled to ruby
-
tipped hardness as he bared them
.”

Sidney cleared his throat. “You will have to understand this passage is very—er—blunt. I do not intend to edit it, since we’re all adults here. But be prepared.”

Nobody spoke. Marcus waited along with the others for the tale to continue.

“
My brother was unrestrained in his discourse
,
going further and telling me of the feel of her skin
,
silken and unblemished
.
He told me his passion was met with a like passion
,
her lips seeking his with all the fire he brought to their encounter
.
He told me of her strength and her desire and the flames he could see dancing in her hair as the firelight bathed their naked bodies
.

“
He told me of her taste
—
he
’
d devoured her pussy
,
drinking her juices and finding them as sweet as honey from a thousand bees who
’
d fed on the blooms in Heaven
’
s garden
.
He was beside himself as he went on to fully reveal the extent of their coupling
,
describing the sensation of thrusting into her slick heat
,
taking her virginity as he went
,
wanting to cry out with the arousing knowledge he was the first to claim her
,
the first to touch her secret places
,
the first to make her shake and shudder with explosive passions as she came to her peak around him
.”

Sidney paused and took another, longer, drink of the brandy before continuing.

“
My brother even went so far as to relate how his seed filled her
,
overflowing in a heated river
.
And how this event was repeated
,
again and again
,
in so many different ways I lost count
.
I could only listen to the eruption of his sensual tale
,
so unusual from one I had come to know as reserved and quiet
.
Eventually he ceased
,
yet I could not help but notice the effect his revelations had caused
.
His cock was hard
,
distending his robes
.
He excused himself abruptly and went outside for some little time
,
returning eventually with no evidence of arousal
.
I can only assume he took care of his fierce desires himself
.”

“Goodness me.” Katherine was listening, wide-eyed. “That’s quite a tale to tell one’s brother.”

“It is indeed. But he had good reason to unburden himself. You’ll see.” Sidney read on.

“
After my brother
’
s return
,
I ventured to ask him if he planned to wed this girl
.
To my surprise
,
he shook his head and said it was not possible
.
Upon further questioning
,
it turned out that he was already pledged to another
.
His mood darkened then
,
he told me of his future bride and her dowry
.
It seemed a good and logical match
,
one I would have endorsed had our father asked me
.
Of course
,
that would not occur to him
,
being what and who he is
.”

Verity blinked. “Any idea who their father was?”

“No.” Sidney rubbed his chin. “I assume he was a local landowner. I have found references to his estates, which seemed expansive even for those days. So there’s no question he was—if not titled—then certainly quite wealthy. He would have made sure his oldest son married the right girl. Unfortunately, that would seem to
not
be the woman of his desires.”

Verity nodded. “Agreed. Sorry to interrupt…please go on?”

“
My brother
’
s anguish was evident and I began to sense there was more than just a thwarted desire at play within his mind
.
I questioned him further and eventually he answered
,
although seeming loath to reveal the rest of the matter
.
I persisted
,
asking about this woman
.
Where was she
?
What had happened to her
?

“
Tears started to his eyes as he sat slumped beneath my window
.
His voice trembled as he told me she was dead
.
It shook further when he added the fateful words
—‘
or worse than dead
’.
I could not believe the desolation in his eyes
.
I pressed him to tell me the whole of it
.
Perhaps I should not have done so
.
The horror is frightful
,
still shaking my soul
.

“
May God forgive my brother for his sins
.
I do not know if I have the strength to do the same
.
As his words began anew
,
he told of more passion
,
more desire
,
rising between them until it threatened to devour them both
.
He told of the exquisite delight he
’
d found as she sucked his cock into her mouth and the peaks they
’
d shared joined together in unnatural ways far beyond God
’
s teachings
.
He told me things that forever changed my perception of human intercourse
,
things that will haunt me and
—
yes
—
probably make me regret now and again that I am
,
by choice
,
celibate
.
I am also
,
to my sorrow
,
weak and human
.

“
But I digress
.
My brother
’
s tale drifted on until he stumbled
,
seeking for the words to tell me that his lover was with child
—
his child
.
She had come to him
,
desperate for assistance
,
knowing she would be shunned once her babe began to show within her womb
.

“
And my brother
—
curse his soul
—
denied her
.”

Marcus felt the bile rise in his throat. It wasn’t an unusual tale, but even so he knew anger was running through him at the ease with which some men refused to acknowledge the results of their lusts.

Rowan was sharing his thoughts. “Some things never change, do they?” His words resounded through the room as Sidney nodded sadly.

“Given that I estimate this story came from the twelfth or thirteenth century, lad, I’m forced to agree. Some things never change.” He bent to the text once more.

“
My brother
’
s confession seemed to ease his mind a little
,
but then he became tense once more
.
He had done more than deny her
,
I felt sure
.
When pressed
,
he admitted he had indeed done more
.
She had returned
,
asking again for help
,
for assistance
.
He
’
d become angered
,
the evidence of his lusts before his eyes
,
reminding him of his sins with this woman
.
He
’
d turned her away
—
and cursed her
.”

Silence fell. “
Cursed
her?” Adrian looked curious. “Cursed her
how
?”

“That’s where it gets
really
interesting…you’ll recall Saint Chesswell’s interest in the black arts?” Everybody nodded. “Well, this explains it.”

He returned to the page. “
To my horror
,
my brother admitted he
’
d used sacred words from the past
,
words he
’
d discovered some time before in carvings deep within the caves along the shore
.
They
’
d erupted from his lips
—
he said
—
as he
’
d cursed this woman
.
She had threatened to end her life and that of the babe
’
s if he did not assist her
.
He called down whatever powers obeyed such words and cursed her to never die
.
He cursed her to live an eternal life sustained only by the blood of others
—
since she wished to extract blood from him
,
she would do so for the rest of eternity
,
in the darkness and shadows within which she
’
d seduced him in the first place
.”

“What an unmitigated
bastard
.” Katherine snapped out the words angrily. “It was his fault as much as hers. Would it have killed him to settle some money on her?”

Sidney raised an eyebrow. “I cannot tell, my dear. Certainly bastards—in the real sense—were thick on the ground in those days. It would have been a sensible option. However, this man doesn’t sound sensible. He sounds seriously annoyed, afraid of something or someone—perhaps he felt he was jeopardizing his future marriage? I don’t know. And Saint Chesswell doesn’t say.”

“And so a vampire was born.” Rowan spoke the words absently, almost as if talking to himself.

“Yes, Rowan. I believe a vampire was born.” Sidney nodded. “How? Once more I do not know. But this is certainly strong evidence for the fact that it happened. Mysterious and powerful words—a man enraged—and the end result?”

Rowan swallowed. “Centuries of pain and suffering. And
u
s.

Chapter Fourteen

Rowan sighed. So much information—so much to think about, to absorb and put into context. And above it all was the shadow of Thérèse, a creature of such darkness and evil, yet suffering such pain within her own soul.

After Sidney’s disclosure, the questions came thick and fast as the others tried to absorb it too.

“This
wasn
’
t
Thérèse, was it?” Katherine spoke with conviction. “It couldn’t have been her.”

“No.” Sidney nodded his assent. “I believe it was her predecessor. Perhaps the woman who bequeathed this curse to her in that cell. Which would, by my reckoning, give these beings a lifetime of something around three hundred years or so.”

“But I thought I recall you saying that Saint Chesswell had seen her?” Adrian frowned.

“He certainly told me he’d seen a luscious red-haired woman. Described her quite accurately too, sensing her evil nature. I assumed he was talking about Thérèse, given that she was uppermost in our thoughts. Never occurred to me there might have been another.”

“I suppose there’s a good chance that there could be more than one luscious redhead out there.” Katherine’s tone was prim as she touched her own red hair.

Adrian grinned. “Quite possibly, my love.”

“So, if I understand things correctly, Saint Chesswell’s brother seduced and abandoned this woman, then laid a mystical curse on her which turned her into a vampire?” Verity’s ordered mind was clearly trying to condense and simplify the tale.

“Essentially, yes.” Sidney nodded once more. “We know from Thérèse’s experience that this woman had lost a child. Not surprising given her new physical characteristics.”

Once more silence fell. Rowan’s heart lurched as he realized the implications. Neither of the women in front of him could carry a child. Neither could give the men they loved the most precious gift of all. A son.

A lump formed in his throat and he fought to choke it down, to focus on what was important right at this moment—deciphering and utilizing the information they now possessed. “I am amazed that a mere human could create such a being.”

Sidney turned to him. “As am I. And yet there is so much about the world we do not fully understand, Rowan. Who are we—
we above all
—to question the power of words, of deeds from a shrouded past? There may well have been people who had such power, who could bestow gifts or curses without the use of anything more than phrases? We all know, only too well, that the impossible is possible. You are all living proof.” He waved his hand expansively. “How many people would believe you to be creatures of darkness, living on the blood of others? How many people believe that vampires are no more than a creation designed to scare children?”