Vampires of London: Books 1-3

Chapter Five

Chapter FiveWhy had she left like that? What had he done to spook her?

Alexander paced around the room, back and forth, for at least twenty minutes, as if somehow that would help provide an answer. Of course it didn't. It just made him more agitated.

Everything had gone so well. Until all of a sudden she turned completely pale, her eyes went wide with fear, and she'd fled. Had he accidentally shown his fangs?

He wasn't a regular womanizer like Michael was, but he wasn't that stupid either. No, it had to be something else...

Out in the hallway the large grandfather clock struck midnight, and Alexander couldn't contain his frustration any longer. This was his party and if the fun was over for him, it could b****y well be over for everyone. He burst through the door and down the stairs, when the first painting they'd discussed caught his eye.

Bloody hell!

Alexander stopped in his tracks halfway down and stared darkly at the portrait. He couldn't believe he hadn't put things together sooner. She'd left the moment she'd seen him without his mask on. She had recognized him. From this innocuous little hunting scene he'd kept around as a reminder of another life.

In all his years living here, he'd had plenty of humans over, mostly during events much like this one. Not one of them had ever put it together like she had.

Most humans were easy to fool and not all that perceptive. But Catherine wasn't like most humans.

"Okay, party's over!" Alexander raised his voice.

Some people at the bottom of the stairs turned to give him a disapproving look, then turned to each other again and continued their respective conversations.

"I mean it! Everybody out, now!" Alexander roared so loudly the chandelier above his head trembled, as did the windows beside the front door.

The music in the reception room stopped, as did all the chatter among the guests.

Within a split second, a disheveled looking Michael appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair was in a mess and he was shirtless; clearly Alexander's outburst had interrupted him with his two lady friends. If he was annoyed about the disturbance, he didn't show it.

"Go on, gather your belongings and make your way to the exit!" Michael shouted. Whatever his vices, the young vampire was loyal to a fault.

Alexander nodded his approval and turned to face the crowd again. The first people were on their way out, while whispering to one another.

This abrupt end to this year's famed Halloween event was going to be the fodder to many a gossip, no doubt. Alexander didn't care, though. He didn't care about any of these people who just came to drink the free champagne and eat the finger food.

The one person he cared about had already left, and he wasn't even sure why he cared. What was so special about Catherine?

As the humans left, all the vampires attending the party grouped around the bottom of the stairs waiting for some kind of explanation of what had happened. As they stared up at him, Alexander was reminded of their strange behavior when Catherine had just arrived. They'd all been able to smell her. Why?

What was it about this woman?

He ought to ask them, if only he thought he'd get an honest answer. Not from any of them, except perhaps Michael. But he had already found himself some company and retreated upstairs by the time Catherine had even arrived, so he probably hadn't noticed her presence at all.

The reception room and entrance hall quickly emptied out, leaving just the staff, who were frantically clearing up, and the vampires. Still, Alexander felt more agitated, not less.

"What are you all looking at? I asked everyone to leave. That includes you too!" he snapped.

Gillian, one of the more senior vampires in attendance, glared at him.

"Your behavior is completely unacceptable," she spat.

"This is my house and I get to behave how I like in it," he said.

They stared each other down, until Michael joined Alexander's side on the landing, causing Gillian to back off.

They couldn't afford a physical altercation, not with all the human staff still around. Tonight's events would make waves as it was. The last thing they needed was to be called in by the Council for outing themselves.

Gillian knew that better than anyone.

And so, even the immortals started to leave until only Michael remained.

"I might need a moment, if you know what I mean," he said, while looking in the general direction of the bedrooms upstairs.

Alexander nodded. That was the least he could do.

"Are you going to tell me what happened tonight?" Michael asked.

Alexander folded his arms. He wanted to. He ought to.

"All right. Join me in the library when you're ready."

Within the blink of an eye, Michael was gone, leaving Alexander alone with his thoughts again. He left behind the catering staff to do their jobs and retreated, a bottle of his finest aged brandy in hand. The library was always off limits to guests during events such as this one, allowing him one true refuge from all the activity that was still going on.

Alexander sat down in one of the leather arm chairs and poured himself a drink.

Of course, his metabolism didn't allow him to feel the effects of alcohol, but he still enjoyed the ritual of it all. This was one of those little things that allowed him to feel at home, no matter how much the world around him had changed.

So he stayed in that chair, sipping the amber liquid from an antique crystal snifter he'd had in his possession for the better part of the century, until Michael turned up.

"Sorry about that. That took longer than I expected it to," Michael said as he took a seat in the arm chair next to Alexander.

"A drink?" Alexander asked.

Michael accepted his offer and took a sip.

"So what happened tonight?" he asked, after setting down his glass on the table between the two chairs.

"It's rather difficult to explain." Alexander folded his hands and stared straight ahead. He wasn't quite sure what had happened himself.

"This woman arrived; she was unlike any I've encountered before. Her presence seemed to affect every vampire in the room," Alexander started, and closed his eyes to relive the moments leading up to Catherine's sudden change of heart. "I approached her, made a little conversation, you know how it goes."

"Right."

"Then I took her upstairs, where we danced. Things were going so well. She'd made me feel things I haven't felt in a long time."

"And this was a human woman, who had affected you so?" Michael's voice was laden with disbelief. Sure, he enjoyed the female form more than most, but he never got too involved with any of his marks.

Alexander sighed and opened his eyes again. It was all a game to Michael. He wouldn't understand.

"She wasn't vampire if that's what you're asking," Alexander said.

"Still, it all sounds bizarre."

"It was."

"And the others noticed her too? I'm almost sad I wasn't there to see her. Almost!" Michael winked at Alexander, who just shook his head.

They sat quietly for a while, giving Alexander more of a chance to relive his last moments with Catherine.

A loud bang on the door interrupted the silence. "Open up. Council business!" a firm female voice called out.

"Come in, Lucille!" Alexander sighed again. His outburst at the party had been unorthodox, but surely not serious enough to warrant an instant visit from the Council's enforcer?

The door swung open, revealing a petite, slender vampire, who marched in with her hand on her hip.

"What can I do for you, sister?" Alexander asked, while emptying his glass with one last sip.

"Alexander. Good to see you," Lucille said, then acknowledged Michael only with a curt nod.

"Well, unless you need me, I'll be upstairs," Michael said as he got up from his chair. The much younger vampire had never been comfortable in Lucille's presence. His quick escape would have been comical, had Alexander not had other things on his mind.

"Julius sends me," Lucille said as she took the seat Michael had just vacated.

Alexander poured himself another drink, then held up the bottle at Lucille, who shook her head. "I'll never know why you like this stuff."

Alexander shrugged and set the bottle down again.

"What does our dear maker want?" he asked.

"Word has spread fast about what happened at your little soirée this evening," Lucille started.

Alexander frowned. He had Gillian to thank for that, no doubt. The old hag loved to gossip, especially when she felt wronged somehow.

"What about it? I invited people over, and then I asked them to leave when the party was over."

Lucille shook her head and smiled subtly. "Brother, why so defensive? That's not what I'm here to discuss."

"Oh?" Alexander put his glass down and turned to face Lucille properly to observe her every move. They were brother and sister, in vampire terms. After Julius had made both of them, they had even spent their first century together.

But loyalties changed over the centuries. Who knew what Julius was up to nowadays? You couldn't fully trust another vampire, only yourself; time had taught Alexander as much.

Lucille smiled again. "We hear that one of your guests was very special indeed."

Catherine. They knew about Catherine.

Alexander tried his best to feign surprise. "Is that so? Special how?"

"Don't tell me you didn't notice. We hear you were the only one to interact with her!" Lucille argued.

Alexander remained quiet. So Gillian had told them everything. This was the last time she'd be invited to one of his parties.

"No matter. What we really want to know is: where is she now?" Lucille asked.

"How would I know? She left."

"Right. Well she came by an invitation somehow. Where does she live?" Lucille pressed him again.

"I never saw her before tonight. Someone must have passed their invitation on to her," Alexander said, while looking Lucille straight in the eye. One of the reasons Julius had appointed her as enforcer was that she had an uncanny talent for uncovering the truth. She could always tell when someone was lying. Luckily for Alexander, he truly had no idea where Catherine might have gone.

"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you or Julius... But are you going to tell me what it is that makes her so special?" Alexander asked.

Lucille pursed her lips like she usually did when she was mulling something over.

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, brother. You have been trying to cooperate after all."

Alexander leaned forward in anticipation. Any information that allowed him to understand Catherine better might help him track her down. If Julius and the Council were after her, that was bad news. She needed to be warned.

"Every so often a human female is born with blood so potent it has a profound effect on all vampires. It might be a mutation of some sort; we're not sure without further study. These women are called Blood Brides. So as you might imagine, having her walk around the city is bad news. Any vampire who tries to feed on her will not be able to control themselves. We could be outed, or worse."

Alexander's jaw tensed up. Lucille's explanation made sense. That was why Catherine had attracted everyone's attention the moment she walked in.

"So what do you plan to do once you find her?" Alexander asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"That's not for me to say. Julius ordered me to find her, so that's what I'm doing. Vampire lore has it that Vlad the Impaler was seduced by a Blood Bride sent in by his enemies. That's what led to his ultimate defeat. Hence reports of a real life Blood Bride have got everyone in the Council very worried indeed. If she fell into the wrong hands..." As Lucille spoke, Alexander couldn't detect any sign that she was lying or holding anything back.

"Fair enough. Thank you for sharing this with me. I'll keep my eyes open for her. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Alexander said.

Lucille smiled and got up. "Thank you, brother." She nodded at him, then made a quick exit, leaving Alexander alone with his thoughts again.

If the Council considered Catherine a threat, Alexander had to make sure he found her first.