Indulgence (228 page)

“Whoa, Ali,” Jenna said. “You really do look like a queen.”

The ball gown filled the entry way as I walked into the
living room.

“This is quite unbelievable if I do say so myself.”

The outfit couldn’t help but make me feel like royalty. The
gown fit perfectly, complete with coordinated purple elbow length satin gloves
and lace-up French boots. Francesca had obviously worked for some time on my
wig. It was an ornate headpiece with long blonde cascading curls that fell to
the small of my back. The sides were picked up and held in place with combs. Of
course, no queen would be complete without a crown. Francesca brought several
options in her trunk and I selected a dainty yellow gold tiara that peaked
inches above my head, crowned with a large amethyst and adorned with diamonds.
My head couldn’t hold much else under the weight of the wig. Francesca
completed my look with a gold lattice necklace speckled with amethyst and an
oversized oval ruby gemstone that she placed on my middle finger.

“Ah, that’s it,” Francesca mused. “Mr. Vincent instructed
that I not forget this ring. You must keep this on all night. Understand?”

I nodded my head and wondered momentarily why I would have
to wear it all night. I held up my hand and rocked it side to side. The stone
reflected the light from the room, rays seemingly shooting out of the center of
the stone like a starburst. I held it to my eye for closer inspection and
examined the cuts in the stone. There was a diamond-shaped crest, crafted with
graceful swooping lines and an etching of a dragon. It was a profile picture of
a winged creature which had only two front legs and a pointed tail. It seemed
to be a misplaced picture for such a beautiful stone but I didn’t say anything.

“I must go now,” Francesca announced.

“Thank you, Francesca, for the beautiful dresses,” I said.

“Yes, thank you!” Jenna chimed in.

“Miss Allison, Miss Jenna you are most welcome. Enjoy
yourselves tonight.”

Francesca was out the door, packing her trunk into her car.

“One more question,” I yelled after her. “How are we getting
to the party?”

“Your ride will be here shortly, do not worry.”

“I just hope this ride is large enough for this big skirt,”
I said to myself as I closed the door. Jenna heard me.

“Your skirt? What about that huge wig? Good luck getting
that in a car!”

There was a soft knock at the door. Thankfully I hadn’t
moved too far, mostly out of fear of knocking something over with my gown.

A chauffeur was at the door. He was a short man dressed in a
black suit and a white shirt and had a thick mustache and slightly graying
slicked back hair.

“Miss Allison?” he asked in a strongly accented voice.

I nodded my head.

“I am Chadwick, Miss Allison, and I will be taking you and
Miss Jenna to the party tonight.”

“Please, call me Ali.” I responded.

“Mr. Vincent has instructed that I address you as Miss
Allison. Are you and Miss Jenna ready?”

I rolled my eyes at the formality. I saw no need for
Chadwick to call me Miss anything but I knew not to argue.

“Yes, we are so ready,” Jenna responded, full of energy,
pushing her way past my gown to the front stoop. “Hey, nice ride.”

I squeezed my way through the doorframe to see an exquisite
car parked in my driveway, not a vehicle you typically see in rural Ohio. It
was long and sleek, and dark as night with equally dark windows and
contrastingly bright shiny rims. My jaw dropped when I realized what it was.

“Is that a Maybach?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chadwick responded. “It’s a model 62.”

“What does that mean?” Jenna whispered in my ear.

“It means the car costs about four times as much as my
house,” I whispered back.

“Really? Nice,” Jenna enthused.

A red carpet had been rolled out for our walk to the car.

“This is unbelievable,” I said as Chadwick assisted me and
my dress into the car.

“Only the best for Mr. Vincent and his special friend,”
Chadwick responded with a wink.

Jenna and I were piled into the car. “Special friend?” Jenna
asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You heard that, huh?” I responded but quickly changed the
subject. “Chadwick, where are you taking us?” I asked through the open
partition that separated the front and back of the vehicle.

“Have you heard of Castle Adena?”

“I have heard of it.”

Castle Adena was an old ornate castle built in 1803 by one
of the richest families the state had ever known. It was about an hour away
from Ridge Hollow and located on acres upon acres of land, and the castle was
not visible from the street. It had been available for tours but was closed
about thirty years ago for major renovations and little was known about its
current occupants. That was, until now.

“Isn’t that place closed to the public?” Jenna asked.

“Yes, Miss Jenna, you are correct. It is a private residence
– the Drake residence. Please, enjoy some champagne as it will be a bit of a
drive.” Chadwick rolled up the window to allow us some privacy.

“Don’t tell me twice,” Jenna stated as she grabbed two
glasses and poured us some bubbly. I looked at the bottle and chuckled to
myself. It was the same champagne Vincent had served me at the cottage.
Apparently no expense was being spared for this evening.

We watched the countryside roll by. There wasn’t much to
stare at on the way to Castle Adena other than rolling hills, bare trees and an
occasional farm house. This was truly desolate country, but at least it was
finally a nice fall evening. It wasn’t raining, for once, and an almost full
moon hung in the evening sky, dark purple strips of clouds floating over it.

“Ali, you okay?” Jenna asked. “You’re fidgeting.”

I looked down. My legs were bouncing and I was playing with
my gloved fingers.

“Yeah, I guess I’m a bit nervous.”

“About what? Vincent is obviously crazy about you.”

“Not that. You know how I am about dancing in front of other
people,” I lied. I was nervous with anticipation for what this evening would
hold.

“You’ll be fine. Look – we must be here,” Jenna poked a
finger towards the outside.

Chadwick turned off the road and we passed under a mammoth
steel gate trimmed with a fall leaf garland. Jack-o-lanterns lined a driveway
that seemed to stretch on for miles. Nothing was around but flat land. No one
would know there was a party here if not for the decorations.

“I wonder who carved all these pumpkins,” I murmured.

We passed under a tunnel of trees, completely in the dark
except for the tiny purple, orange and black votive candles dangling from the
branches. And then we saw it. In the clearing ahead was a massive castle pitted
against the sky. The huge structure was several stories high with numerous
peaks. Each side was anchored with rectangular mural towers. It appeared to be
crafted out of some sort of large, irregularly shaped stone. The stained glass
windows were illuminated with a soft candle glow.

“You have to be kidding me,” I said aloud.

“My goodness,” Jenna whispered, and then exclaimed, “This is
going to be one heck of a party!”

Chadwick parked the car and opened the passenger door. Jenna
exited first since her costume was easier to navigate in than mine. Chadwick
grabbed my hand and pulled me from the car as I attempted to pull my skirt
through the narrow opening. I rearranged my dress and made sure everything was
in place, then looked up and saw Vincent.

“You look quite lovely this evening, Allison,” Vincent said
as he took my hand and kissed it. “Quite exquisite.”

“Thank you,” I said, my mind practically blank as I lost
myself in his eyes. I cleared my throat and broke my stare. “And thank you for
these wonderful costumes. Francesca did a fabulous job. They’re way more than I
expected.”

Vincent simply smirked. “Hello Jenna,” Vincent said. “It is
nice to formally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Jenna responded, seemingly in a trancelike
state. “Thank you for the invitation. And the costume. And the cool ride.”

Vincent chuckled, amused by Jenna’s reaction. “You are quite
welcome.”

Vincent offered both of his arms to escort us into the
party.

“And what are you, Vincent,” I asked as I examined his
outfit. “Count Dracula?” I asked with a chuckle. Jenna laughed as well, not
aware of the inside joke.

Vincent looked quite dashing in a black, no doubt custom,
suit that cinched at the waist. He wore a short cape secured around his neck
with a large oval ruby, like the one on my finger, with the same crest carved
in the stone. Under the cape, was a purple velvet sash with ornate gold
scrolling that coordinated with my gown.

“Aren’t you silly?” he replied, looking me straight in the
eyes as the three of us approached the castle. “Every queen needs a king, does
she not?”

“Oh Ali, that’s so sweet!” Jenna exclaimed.

“Sweet it is,” I said staring back into Vincent’s eyes and
suddenly overcome with emotion.

We stopped at the entrance. Vincent dropped our arms and
turned to face us. “Ladies, there is someone I would like you to meet.”

A handsome man, almost as handsome as Vincent, emerged from
the castle. His shoulder length blond hair flowed freely and his green eyes
were luminescent in the darkness setting in around us.

“Allison, Jenna, this is my brother, Lorenzo,” Vincent
announced.

Lorenzo approached me and reached for my hand. “Allison, it
is nice to formally meet you,” he said as he kissed my hand. His eyes had the
same gold flecks as Vincent’s.

“It is nice to meet you too, Lorenzo.” Somehow Lorenzo
looked familiar to me, yet I couldn’t recall ever meeting him. But there was
something about the way he had greeted me that sounded like we had met once
before. If we had met before in some informal setting, I certainly didn’t
remember. I surely would have remembered his sparkling eyes, muscular build and
angular jaw.

He gently placed my hand at my side and stood in front of
Jenna. “You must be Jenna,” he said as he kissed her hand, taking it gently and
wrapping her arm under his. “Do you mind if I escort you to the party tonight?”
he asked in a smooth voice.

“Um, uh, no, I don’t mind,” Jenna stammered. She looked back
at me as Lorenzo swept her into the castle.

“Bye,” I waved. “Have fun!”

After they both disappeared inside the castle, I asked,
“She’ll be safe with him, right?”

“She will be fine. There is no need to worry. As I told you,
precautions were taken. Humans are safe here tonight.”

“Those precautions wouldn’t have had anything to do with
that couple that was killed last night in Columbus, would it?” I couldn’t help
but ask. The question was at the front of my mind all day.

Vincent stiffened and his eyes clouded over just as they had
done when we were in the airplane hangar on Rattlesnake Island. “No,” Vincent
replied coolly. “
We
had nothing to do with that.”

“I’m sorry, Vincent. It’s just when you said precautions and
I heard that story…”

“It’s fine,” Vincent replied. “I understand why you would
think that. But let’s not talk about any of that tonight.” Vincent grabbed both
of my hands, took a step back and looked me over. “Hmm,” he admired.
“Absolutely beautiful and I finally have you to myself. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I responded. I felt my cheeks
flush.

We walked into a large room, the great room, Vincent called
it. The ceiling was several stories high with exposed chunky wood beams
crisscrossing over the room. Fall foliage filled the gaps between the wood
beams, giving the effect of a forest canopy. Large iron and aged wood
chandeliers had been hung at a safe distance from the wood beams and provided a
romantic glow. The walls were covered in sheer black fabric with back lighting
revealing bare tree silhouettes. The images, some thick, others pencil thin,
appeared to shoot straight up to the leaves in the ceiling, completing the
trees. High top tables were scattered around the perimeter of the room covered
in long purple silk linens. Centerpieces were crafted of fall flowers, gourds
and small pumpkins. A deejay could be heard, although he wasn’t visible through
the sea of people who were all dressed in costumes equally as extravagant as
mine.

“Wow,” I said.

“Do you like it?” Vincent asked, his eyes never leaving my
face.

“It’s beautiful and more than I expected for a simple
Halloween party.”

“My family doesn’t do anything simply,” Vincent retorted.

I continued looking around the room, taking in the
decorations and the other guests. My eyes settled on a doorway that was closed
to the party-goers. Above the door, carved into the stone, was a crest like the
one etched into my ring.

“I have to ask, what’s with the crest?”

“You noticed?” Vincent appeared surprised.

“Of course I did. It’s hard to miss. It’s the same crest
that’s in this beautiful ring and your brooch.”

“That is the Drake family crest. My siblings and I assumed
that as our last name many centuries ago and when we did, we had the crest
created. All significant covens have a crest. That was the
thing
several
centuries ago.”

I pondered that for a moment, but before I had a chance to
ask any more questions, the music changed and a slow song wafted through the
air. “May I have this dance?” Vincent asked. He bowed, extending his hand out
to me.

I shot him a look. Dancing wasn’t something I liked doing
normally, let alone in this huge dress. I thought I would consume the entire
dance floor and didn’t want all that attention on me.

“Please, do me the honor,” Vincent said as he grabbed my
hand and led me to the center of the room.

Vincent twirled me around, our hands interlocked as he
caught my waist with his free arm. He pulled me close – very close. We
effortlessly waltzed across the room. I didn’t give myself much credit as a
dancer because I moved smoothly across the floor. Or maybe Vincent was just
that good at leading. He stared deep into my eyes. We were so close I could
count the gold flecks in his eyes. There where exactly thirteen in each eye,
the same number I had in each eye. His body was warm, much warmer than mine,
and his breath smelled sweet. We glided across the floor and it felt like
others were moving out of our way. I broke my gaze, looked around and soon
realized that everyone else was still on the floor, not paying particular
attention to us. Vincent placed a finger on my cheek and turned my face back to
his. Looking into his eyes, I felt like we were the only two here.